Support Republican Politicians From Protesting Leftists

Looks like lots of Congress people are avoiding Town Hall meetings in their districts, even during the current recess. That is unfortunate. It is as though they have learned nothing. The left has organized and financially supported protesters and groups to come to conservative elected officials' meetings and cause a disruption. Texas Republicans are on the hit list. 

According to the Texas Tribune, in Texas only Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, has a scheduled Town Hall during the recess.

The regular protests are continuing nationally and locally. The media loves to run clips of rowdy disruptors at the Town Halls and the protests outside offices of elected officials. Even President Trump acknowledges what is going on.

On February 21, 2017 at 5:23 PM @realDonaldTrump tweeted:
"The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!"

That tweet was re-tweeted by @townhallproject with this response: "At Town Hall Project, we are inspired by increased civic engagement and are proud to make democracy more accessible. Amazing!"

Townhall Project's Twitter profile reads: "Town Hall Project is a grassroots effort that empowers constituents across the country to have face-to-face conversations with their elected representatives." This is a liberal organization. They exist to create havoc at conservative Town Hall meetings.

See how this is playing out? Some activists on our side are using social media skills by instructing others on how to get involved. Some are doing so on Facebook, some on Twitter or other platforms. It's all good but the main point is not being driven (mostly because they don't care) - this is war and we have to stick together and stick up for our own. Our own. That means conservative leaning voters stick up and defend elected Republicans against the attacks on the left. Whether that elected official is your favorite one or not doesn't matter in these situations. Republicans are not the enemy. The opponent is the left. Keep that in mind. And, yes, party loyalty matters.

We have to defend our own against the left. That doesn't mean you can't criticize your elected officials or give them a piece of your mind. It means there is a time and place for everything. The time to fight leftists hoping to block the conservative agenda in Washington, D.C. is now.

Not happy with the incumbent in our party? That's fine. Get off the sofa and stop bitching on the Internet. Recruit a viable primary opponent. Run for the job yourself. Don't know how to do that? Learn. It's that simple. Don't get behind someone who has zero chance of winning - no money, no name recognition, unable to articulate a message - find someone who can get the job done. Beating an incumbent is easier said than done.

Support groups who are able to get an elected official as a meeting speaker. Yesterday there was a protest outside the office of Senator Ted Cruz. I saw video clips of protesters airing their grievances but no response from local GOP leadership. This is a mistake. We have to get on offense, not remain on defense. Fortunately, HCRP is asking for those who are so inclined to be a part of a counter-protest at a local Republican women's club meeting today. The protest planned by the leftists is sponsored by  #ResistHouston, Greater Houston Democrats and the Human Rights Campaign. The #Resist movement is coordinated nationwide with Democrat money - they are part of the #Indivisible plan.

Support our elected Republican politicians against coordinated protests from the left. It's that simple.

UPDATE:

Thank you to Mary Sergesketter for checking it out and allowing me the use of her photos. I understand that the crowd was about 125-150 total (of both sides) people on the street outside the country club. Republicans showed up and that is a good thing.

Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't matter. Or quibble over 'optics' of a location. That's not what is important at this point. A deeply divided nation, evenly split, has moved on from all that.

A Look at Hillary's Cabinet Choices & Trump's First 30 Days

Remember that binary choice I referred to in my last blog post? This is what those who call themselves conservatives or Republicans who morphed into permanent #NeverTrump scowls were willing to give America in a President Hillary Clinton administration. This list is what a Hillary Clinton cabinet would look like.

According to Mike Allen in Axios, this was the list of Hillary Clinton's picks for her cabinet:

Secretary of State - John Podesta
Attorney General - Loretta Lynch

Labor Department - Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz
Defense Department - Michèle Flournoy
Health and Human Services - Center for American Progress executive director Neera Tanden
Environmental Protection Agency and/or the Department of Education -"an African-American candidate"
Brian Fallon - press secretary
Nick Merrill - traveling press secretary
Huma Abedin - deputy Chief of Staff
Ron Klain - Chief of Staff
Robby Mook - senior adviser
Philippe Reines - counselor
Karen Dunn - White House counsel
Heather Samuelson - White House deputy counsel (you may remember this name from email scandal at State Dept)
Jennifer Palmieri -“whatever she wants” in the West Wing
Sara Latham - deputy Chief of Staff for operations (you may remember this name from the Podesta password hack scandal)
Jake Sullivan - National Security Advisor (Hillary's State Dept deputy who sent classified emails to her private server)
Tom Donilon - CIA Director (Hillary's State Dept)

The list also shows Hillary wanted former Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez, to be DNC chairman.

Note that any African American name was good for Dept of Education and/or EPA - in Hillary Clinton's world, it is all about token identity preferences and politics. Just fill the quota.

We dodged a bullet when Trump won the election. This is why I was #NeverHillary from the get-go. Any Republican administration was going to be better for America - if you are of the belief that the Republican principles and philosophy are best - than a Hillary Clinton/Democrat/Socialist administration. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have continued to kowtow to Bernie Sanders and his supporters of the Socialist movement to gain their favor, just as she allowed herself to be pushed farther to the left by him in her campaign.

I shudder to think of who her Supreme Court nominee choices would have been.

The election was a binary choice. With 30 days in, Trump has nominated a conservative dream of a Supreme Court justice choice. He has rolled back regulations killing small businesses in America and sending businesses overseas. American corporations are announcing plans to remain or move back to this country and the amount of jobs that this will produce. He has surrounded himself with military officers willing to advise on the war on radical Islamic terrorism. He is pushing Congress to advance tax reform legislation and to repeal and replace Obamacare. He has begun the process of restoring working relationships with allies - Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Israel - all invited to the White House. He went to Dover AFB on the return of the casket of a fallen hero and pay his respects to the family. He honored their request for privacy - no pictures taken there.

Not a bad first month, if you ask me.

#NeverTrump Suffer Unintended Consequences in Binary Choice

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Happy Presidents Day! If, like me, you have been following along with the opposition to the current President's first term in office you may find yourself shaking your head in disbelief. Or maybe, like me, you understand there are a whole lot of displaced and confused folks out there who have lived large on either political party and now find themselves displaced. Maybe not so much that it has hit their bank account or opportunity to write a column or bloviating on television, but it has punched egos and brought about a loss of feeling powerful. Feeling important. Feeling smart.

Welcome to 2017. It's a whole new political world out there. Just as I absolutely know that the 2016 presidential election was a binary choice (despite the best arguments from voters not willing to stop Hillary Clinton's ascension to the Oval Office), I know that those now displaced are having a tough time finding a way to support the new order in Washington, D.C. Now is a time of prime opportunity for advancement of Republican policy and ideas yet some are too mired down in personal feelings to understand that. Just like Democrats, they are feelings-driven and lacking in a larger vision of what is possible. How sad for them.

If you, like me, find yourself checking in on social media throughout the day or evening, you know what a challenge it can be to tune out the anger and ugliness of the displaced. Conservative leaning voters and operatives now align fully with the leftists who cannot go for one day without ugly tweets or Facebook posts either wishing ill of people hoping for a successful presidency or going a step further and cheering for impeachment. What is lost is the fact that if this president is successful in office, all of America wins. And you will never win another person over to your side of an argument by belittling their intelligence, name calling, or other nastiness. Dismissing another's opinion keeps you in a bubble and unable to hear what the other side is saying. Why not arm yourself with the whole picture?

This longtime lefty columnist for the New York Times writes that even though the president has substantial support, it is time to use Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, though it has never been done before. Yes. This is the rational of the opposition to a GOP controlled Congress and White House. If you read this op-ed, you will see he asks the opinion of longtime lefty law professor, Laurence Tribe, who goes on to call the president's cabinet as "bizarre." Hmm. Sounds like Tribe make my argument - I assume the cabinet is bizarre in Tribe's world because it is generously composed of business people. You know, the people who have met payrolls and answered to stockholders. Unlike career government employees, they know a thing or two about accountability. In Tribe's world, this president is unstable and unfit to govern.

This odd piece is written as though the author is surprised that the president has lived through a month in the office. No doubt she is quite sad. It's sick.

And the "Not My President" rallies - predictable. As I've written about, a well-funded and well-organized has been grown on the left (and their willing allies on the conservative side) to protest as often as possible. Often these rallies turn violent and destructive. It is not organic - many are paid, professional agitators and political groups looking to raise money - and it is not like the Tea Party. The dinosaur networks and media are only too happy to do wall to wall coverage of these rallies, unlike Tea Party rallies in their infancy. The double standard is alive and well. CNN, for example, first nicknamed Clinton News Network is now 24/7 anti-Trump panels and stories.

Today marks the one month point in this new presidency. One month. Before this man was even raised his hand and repeated the words as directed from Chief Justice John Roberts on Inauguration Day, leftist political pundits and protest signs called for his impeachment. Those that claim that this president is shredding the Constitution clearly could use a refresher course themselves. Self-awareness is hard.

Conservatives in social media used to criticize other conservatives for re-tweeting 140 characters from leftists on Twitter or re-posting a Facebook post yet now this is exactly what they do. You may also notice the hypocrisy in their demand for conservative purism as they align so easily with the left now. The unintended consequence of the continual criticism is this - those who voted for the current President because of being aware of what a disaster Hillary Clinton would be for a conservative agenda and for appointments to the Supreme Court - not the ardent fans of Trump - now feel obligated to defend Trump from the media and #NeverTrump people. Also, the critics are being tuned out, not listened to. We will see how this all plays out in 2018.

In the presidential primary, I was #NeverTrump. In the general election, I was #NeverHillary. It was a binary choice. I'll take Republican leadership over Democrat rule any day.

The #Resistance is here, Republicans. Are you ready?

What began with the Woman's March the day after President Trump's inauguration has produced regular protests and marches, mostly on weekends, ever since. Welcome to the #Resist movement. The biggest resource currently being used is the Indivisible Guide. Their website provides information on protesting congressional town halls, among other actions.

A mere three weeks into the new administration, what have we seen? Let's look at recent events.

Former President Obama (how much do I love typing that? A LOT!) broke traditional decorum just nine days into the new administration when he tweeted out criticism of Trump's travel ban. Both he and two time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton regularly taunt Trump on Twitter now. Obama's political machine is alive and well, as evidenced in this article.

"A super PAC formed to reelect Barack Obama in 2012 is driving activists to congressional town halls. Veterans of Bill Clinton’s administration are joining marches and plotting bigger ones for the spring. Democratic senators who had befriended Jeff Sessions in the Senate voted — 47 to 1 — against his nomination for attorney general."

A social media platform used to organize events, @Matchup, tweeted out their support for the movement and emailed subscribers to their site:

"Feeling powerless? We launched 1,000+ free Meetup groups to make it easier to take action. #Resist"

Kudos to the conservatives and Independents on social media who have cancelled their memberships on @Matchup and exposed this organization for what it is - just another social media platform promoting the leftist agenda.

Despite an obvious misfire in typing out the tweet ( I think 'pouch' should have been 'loud'), the message is clear, Planned Parenthood is prominent among the leftist grievance alliance and part of the new #Resistance movement. This tweet was from an annual luncheon in Houston hosted by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast - note that they proclaim that 2,000 were in attendance.

"We're 2,000 strong at our @PPGulfCoast Roe v. Wade annual luncheon. The people of TX are speaking pouch & clear. #WeWontGoBack #IStandWithPP"

A major sponsor of the Woman's March (a more honest title would be the Liberal Woman's March) Planned Parenthood encourages women to wear pussy hats and vagina costumes as they march their public streets to protest a fake war on women. Frankly, as a woman, this behavior embarrasses me. How demeaning and uninspiring their actions are. Anger doesn't persuade, civil discussion does. Have you noticed most of the marchers are older white women and the children they drag along to shamefully use as their props?

The real challenge, though, will be if these groups truly consolidate and become the progressive answer to the Tea Party or if it is a new version of Occupy Wall Street. Often these protests are infiltrated by the Black Bloc thugs - those violent looters who dress in black from head to toe and violently assault innocent by-standers while they destroy property. They are anarchists.

Republican groups - be vigilant. The protesters are coming for your meetings and for political town halls. Do not let a few leftists disrupt and derail local meetings. The DCCC has announced a list of congressional races they have targeted - it includes my congressman, John Culberson.

Democrats are counting on voter fatigue with Trump by the time mid-term elections come around. They are organized and well-funded. Besides the Obama machine, the old Clinton people are active and many groups are being funded by socialist George Soros.

Are you ready?

Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Yates

I don't know about you but I am thrilled that President Trump took swift action and fired the acting Attorney General, a Deputy Attorney General under former President Barack Obama, Sally Q. Yates. Yates decided to make a political statement instead of doing her job - to defend the president's executive order on the travel ban. She made a statement that she didn't think it was legal. Trump rightly said her statement was a betrayal and fired her.

Yates had agreed to stay on with the Trump administration and act as Attorney General until the confirmation of Trump's pick, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions. You may remember how deeply politicized the office of Attorney General became in the Obama administration led by Democrat ideologue Eric Holder. Continuing on in this hyper-partisan atmosphere, Yates decided that not only would she defy the president, she would make her opinion known that she didn't agree with the policy put forward by Trump. She's a career prosecutor, not a policymaker. She deserved to be let go. From the New York Times:

Ms. Yates said her determination in deciding not to defend the order was broader, however, and included questions not only about the order’s lawfulness, but also whether it was a “wise or just” policy. She also alluded to unspecified statements the White House had made before signing the order, which she factored into her review.

The order had, in fact, been deemed legal by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. The office signed off on it. Yates gave no reason why she thought it was illegal.


Who is Sally Q. Yates? She is a career prosecutor from Georgia appointed to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia by Obama. Confirmed in 2010 by the U.S. Senate. In 2015, she was confirmed by a vote of 84-12 by the Senate as Deputy Attorney General. She served under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch in this capacity.  "In 2015, she authored the policy, known as the "Yates memo" prioritizing the prosecution of executives for corporate crimes.^12][13]"

Yates' bio has been removed from the Justice Department's office website and her replacement has been sworn in. Dana Boente, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, will serve as acting Attorney General until Senator Sessions is confirmed. Boente is best known for leading the corruption trial of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. Boente was sworn in at 9:00 PM Monday night and immediately rescinded Yates' order, instructing DOJ lawyers to "defend the lawful orders of our President."

This action was perfectly legit for Trump to make. There is precedent for sweeping changes to be made at the Justice Department as new administrations come in. You may remember that former President Bill Clinton fired all 93 U.S. Attorneys, for example, as he came into office. None of this would have happened if the Democrats had not decided to hold up the confirmation vote for Sessions in the Senate. Monday's actions have now spurred on his vote, so that is a good thing. Obstructing the vote on Sessions is part of the Democrats' strategy - vote down Trump's nominees and drag out the confirmation process as long as possible. It should be noted that on his first day in office, Obama had seven of his cabinet nominees confirmed by the Senate. Trump had two. Senate Minority Leader Chuck (fake tears) Schumer has declared he will seek a delay in "just about every one" of Trump's nominees.

A Temporary Ban on Entry into U.S. Causes Hair Follicles to Combust

With the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States comes a fresh slate of new concerns by the American press. These concerns have been dormant for eight years under Barack Obama but now rise to 24/7 cable news channel coverage. For example, the 90 day suspension of citizens traveling from a specific list of countries who will be refused entry into America, made through Executive Order by President Trump.

The countries on the list are: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. All are currently labeled as "countries of concern" in a law passed in 2016. All Muslim majority countries, the total populations equal about 134 million, according to latest census numbers.

This is the notice at the top of the U.S. State Department's Visa page:
"Urgent Notice: Under the Executive Order on Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals signed on January 27, 2017, visa issuance to nationals of the countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been suspended effective immediately until further notification. We will announce any other changes affecting travelers to the United States as soon as that information is available."

The inevitable happened almost immediately. Groups that have decided to be professional protesters over the course of the next four years assembled quickly and began protesting at an international terminal at JFK airport after the report was put out of two Iraqi men being held instead of being allowed to enter our country. Lawyers immediately appeared and lawsuits are being filed as I type this. Trust me when I say fundraising letters are being emailed for every non-profit dealing with social justice issues around the country. It was all a little too well coordinated, if you ask me. Congress members and the NYC mayor's office were a little too quick to become a part of their stories.

This is the new normal. For the next four years we will be divided by those opposing Trump and those supporting him. The losers are determined to create chaos and will profit from it. All those who lectured on "country first, not party first" now put themselves first. Even from the right, the ones unable to work for the betterment of Americans are gleefully working with the left against the Trump administration. Hey, there's some unity!

Of the countries on the list, I am most concerned about Iraq. I don't want the brave Iraqi handlers and fixers there working with our military and contractors to be at any more risk than they already are. Iraqis have waited for years during the normal process of being allowed to come to America so don't fall for the crocodile tears from American pundits and their willing cohorts in the press who would have you believe that suddenly these people are being stopped from coming here at the hands of that meanie Donald Trump. Barack Obama did little to help over the last eight years when the press was busy looking the other way.

The Syrian refugees is a heartbreaking problem but the photo of the toddler's body washed ashore happened on Barack Obama's watch. It was Obama's failure to respond when the Syrian madman crossed his red line threat that produced the devastation we see to this day.

The ban on travel from Iran? Pfsst. There is little anyway. I'm sure it will be used as a tool in unwinding parts of the horrible deal struck with them by Winter Soldier Kerry and Barack Obama.

A ninety day suspension will be inconvenient for some but it is not permanent and it is not the end of the world. Get some true vetting happening and allow the laws currently on the books to be enforced. Reform the system, if need be. Most Americans will welcome that.

Get a grip. It's going to be a long four years on the heels of a very long eight years of Barack Obama. Trump has only been in the Oval Office for 8 days. So far, he has done nothing but fulfill campaign promises. That's more than we can say for most of his predecessors.

The Not All Women's March - Stuck on Anger

The election of Donald Trump was a shock to most of us, most of all to Republicans and to Hillary Clinton. The left is still reeling from the election results and are working through their grief. Unfortunately, they are stuck on the anger that follows a loss.

There was a commotion called a "Women's March" last weekend - the day after President Trump was sworn into office. Large crowds of angry liberal woman marched in the streets to declare their unhappiness with the 2016 presidential election. Mostly feminists of the 1970's, mostly white and certainly unclear of their message, the willing cable news channels covered it from start to finish with breathless excitement. It was quite a sight.

One of the most sacred rights as an American is that of freedom of assembly. Freedom of speech, and political passion are important elements of our liberty as a free society. God bless America. Marches in the streets, disrupting normal routines of ordinary citizens so that your opinion is heard, are a part of the mix. I applaud citizen involvement.

The march was billed as a march for an entire gender. That kind of sweeping generalization never works, though. This march was clearly organized and comprised of the left. All of the elements of identity politics magically appeared. The Democrats have failed to realize why they lost so badly in the eight years of Barack Obama's presidency. The party is essentially decimated from state houses to the White House. Democrats still run the major urban areas but are powerless outside of them.

The organizers claimed that all women were welcome to march in support of equality and fairness, etc. That sounds good and conservative feminists should have been welcomed with open arms. But this really wasn't about inclusion. The Democrats aren't ready to listen to an alternative opinion on policy issues, so the bubble is still a safe haven. It's easy to get excited and talk with those who agree with you. The hard work comes with realizing that everyone should listen to alternative voices and form complete opinions.

Pro-life feminists were initially granted permission to sponsor and march with the others. Then, upon discovering some women think choice means choosing to save pregnancy, not destroy it, the permits and sponsorships were cancelled. The march was for some women, not all women. Again, the bubble is strong.

The next time a leftist woman demands to be taken seriously as a human being bigger than the sum total of her female body parts, think of the "Women's March" that took place in Washington, D.C. and across the country in traditionally Democrat-run metropolitan areas. Grown women wore "pussy hats" and vagina costumes and used young children to hold signs painted with foul language. Worn out feminist Gloria Steinem demanded that Trump resign immediately - less than a day into his first term. Hollywood celebs looking for even more attention than their craft provides spoke from written texts - including Madonna who voiced her dream of blowing up the White House. In her case, after the Secret Service was brought in to investigate her craziness, she explained it was only "a metaphor". What a coward once she is off the stage.

What was never clear was what exactly is their message. Other than that they are angry that Trump won the election, what is the hysteria about? Can you imagine if conservatives had taken to the streets like that when Obama won in 2008? It was just as much of a gut punch to Republican voters - and 2012 more so - but Trump had only been in the Oval Office mere hours at that point. Shouldn't the man do something before the marching begins?

Coalitions of the usual people marched, many paid for by criminal socialist George Soros. None of their messages were coordinated, other than they are angry that Trump won. What if they had harnessed this energy and did the work to convince regular American voters to vote for Hillary instead of only talking to themselves? What if they relied less on celebrities and more on community leaders to promote a candidate? Hollywood sure couldn't deliver the election for Hillary. They are still at it, though, now with a silly message of signing up to make sure Trump doesn't abuse the Constitution. Ironic, right? Obama - a Constitutional scholar, according to his bio - was overturned more than any other president at the Supreme Court.

Comparisons are being made in the liberal - leaning press that these marches are much like the Tea Party movement in 2009. The problem with that comparison, though, is that The Tea Party began in response to Obamacare, not Obama himself. TEA = taxed enough already. Remember how the press portrayed Tea Party marches and rallies? Remember ugly Democrat women (like Nancy Pelosi) calling Tea Party marchers 'brown shirts' and all the Nazi name calling? It's how the left describes the right. The Tea Party marchers wore silly costumes, too, but theirs were of historical reference, not female body parts. The message was clear from the beginning. The 2010 mid-terms were very successful for Republicans because of the marches and unity against a vast overreach by the Democrats and Obama. The movement has all but fizzled out now.

So, these marches should be watched. It's possible that the Democrats could get organized and communicate a clear message but so far they are off to a rocky start. Regular Americans don't much appreciate Hollywood celebrities - spoiled, rich, liberal celebrities - calling them names and yelling at them about voting for Trump. If it was all just about anger over losing an election, then all of this was for nothing. It will just have been a temper tantrum.

When the march was over, trash was strewn everywhere for someone else to clean up and monuments were defaced. This is the childish, selfish left. Tea Party rallies and marches were known for how clean the areas were when it was over. No one was expected to clean up after them. Personal responsibility - a tenet of Republican philosophy.

I'll be watching for the next event. You should, too. Republicans have been where Democrats are now and we will be again. Politics is cyclical. Stay aware and involved. Elections have consequences.

Hurray For a Non-Hollywood Inauguration

In the self-important land of the super-egos, Hollywood stars, entertainers and celebrities live for attention and approval from those around them and from complete strangers. One way of garnering attention is through political speech and activism. The entertainment industry is a leftist industry based in two very blue states, California, and New York. Once a conservative community, that all changed in the turbulent times of the 1960's. Now it is no longer tolerated to even voice conservative political views.

Every Republican president-elect endures headlines and speeches from the famous and wannabe famous leftists who strive for a few minutes of air time or a few paragraphs of ink spilled in, wait for it, leftist newspapers. They never support a Republican president. The added bonus in today's world is social media - Twitter in specific. President-elect Trump comes from this world, an offshoot of his real estate empire, so he knows how to play the game. Unfortunately for celebs, he plays it really well.

Rapidly approaching Inauguration Day, Hollywood and Broadway is in peak meltdown. Naturally the Congressional Democrats are jumping on the bandwagon. You may remember how Democrats disgraced themselves in their reaction to the election of George W. Bush in 2000. He, too, was blasted as "not my President" from the hideous left. Democrats are really sore losers. We had eight years of that.

The latest to join in the bashing ritual is Judd Apatow, executive producer of such stellar movies as "Freaks and Geeks" and he's a writer - he wrote Obama's slam on Trump over "Celebrity Apprentice" back in 2011 at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. It was to publicly humiliate Trump in the midst of the birther controversy.  You get the picture. You may have heard about actress Meryl Streep's screed against Trump and his voters during her acceptance speech of the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award. "Blackish" Actress Tracee Ellis Ross (daughter of Diana Ross) bloviated about donating her Golden Globe jewelry to Planned Parenthood. Rosie O'Donnell wants martial law imposed to stop the inauguration. Each day brings another story of a celebrity making a statement that he or she will not perform or attend Trump's inauguration. Most, I feel certain, were not even asked to do so but never mind.

Here's the thing - I think a Hollywood (and Broadway, for that matter) free inauguration will be refreshing. Much like the election of Donald Trump, it focuses on the regular people, on people without fame or fortune. Trump has also scaled back on the celebration - it is reported that he will only have 3 inaugural balls.Two will be for the public and one is the traditional Commander-in-Chief's ball with military and elected officials. That plan sounds pretty good to me. Instead of rushing from gala to gala and only spending a few minutes at each, Trump will be able to be a bit more relaxed and socialize with the attendees. It puts the focus back on the celebration of a peaceful transfer of power instead of the actual person, or who is seeking glory in the press for attending. 

Democrats are really sore losers. First Lady Michelle Obama declared "when they go low, we go high" and I laughed. She and her husband have been the most petty and divisive to occupy the White House in my lifetime. The silly videos and rallies and commercials used by the Clinton campaign did her no good outside of the large urban areas when Democrats rule. America clearly told them to shut up and act. Or sing. How's the last eight years with a celebrity president worked out?

UPDATE:

From Entertainment Weekly, news of a Broadway concert to be held about three hours after Donald Trump is inaugurated. 

"The roster for the gig — slated for Manhattan’s Town Hall at 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 20, just three hours after Trump is sworn in — brims with Tony Award winners, including Chita Rivera, Kelli O’Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Betty Buckley, Jessie Mueller, and Billy Porter. The lineup also features Sharon Gless, Andrea Martin, Bebe Neuwirth, Rosie O’Donnell, Rosie Perez, Lillias White, Judy Gold, Caroline Rhea, Stephanie Mills, and Charles Busch, among others.
Proceeds from the concert will benefit Planned Parenthood, NAACP, Sierra Club Foundation, Southern Poverty Law Center, and National Immigration Law Center."

They just don't get it.

Civil Rights Legend John Lewis Fires First Shot at President-elect Trump

After testifying against Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Al) using long ago discredited claims of racism earlier this week, Friday Rep John Lewis (D-GA) took aim at the legitimacy of the American presidential election's victor.

NBC News ran a video clip from an interview conducted with Rep Lewis Friday - the beginning of the MLK, Jr. weekend. Looking to incite racial and political divisiveness, Lewis said he would not be attending the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump and that it would be the first one missed since he came to Washington, D.C. "It will be the first one that I miss since I've been in Congress," he said. "You cannot be at home with something that you feel that is wrong, is not right." http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/john-lewis-trump-won-t-be-legitimate-president-n706676

Lewis stated that  "he does not believe Donald Trump is a "legitimate president," citing Russian interference in last year's election."
"Asked whether he would try to forge a relationship with the president-elect, Lewis said that he believes in forgiveness, but added, "it's going to be very difficult. I don't see this president-elect as a legitimate president." He went on to say that the alleged Russian interference "helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton". That last statement is enough to discredit Lewis' argument - Hillary Clinton destroyed her own candidacy in 2009 when she set up a private personal computer server when she became Secretary of State. That sole action was the root of all her problems in office and during her second run for President.

The predictable happened, as Lewis calculated it would - Trump took to Twitter to push back on Lewis. Democrats and the failed #NeverTrump brigade fought back with indignation - how dare Trump respond to Lewis! In the minds of those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, Lewis' past civil rights history exempts him from criticism. This is exactly what Lewis knew would happen. You may remember that Trump slammed another American hero, Senator John McCain, during the GOP primary season. Trump's reaction was no surprise. He punches back. Frankly, Democrats are not used to Republicans doing that.

This is the legacy of Barack Obama - President-elect Donald Trump. The country is more divided than ever and much of it has been deliberately encouraged by him and other Democrats looking to retain power. Make no mistake, this is a power grab play, not a statement about civil rights.

The inauguration of an American president celebrates the peaceful transfer of power in our democratic republic. The American experiment is alive and well. We have all been taught to respect the office of the president whether the incoming president was our choice or not. We are Americans. It's what we do. It is to the country's benefit and all of us in it for a president to be successful. The two victories of Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 were a punch to the gut for most Republicans. We were told to get over it immediately and give the man a chance. I did. His utter failure in office had nothing to do with his race but we were called racists for 8 years as we opposed his leftist political agenda.

John Lewis is not above criticism. We can respect his efforts in the civil rights movement and call him out for less than honorable statements, especially as an elected official, when he crosses a line.

This whole effort to delegitimize the election victory may feel familiar to you. It is right out of the playbook from 2000 when George W. Bush won that election. Democrats in Congress did the same thing - remember all the banners and buttons that read "he's not my president"? The Congressional Black Caucus disrupted Bush's confirmation in the House of Representatives then, too. Was that racist?

I can insert a couple of bromides here - change is hard. Elections have consequences. Neither make anyone feel any better and both are true. I was one who did give Obama a chance to get through his inauguration and into his first term with as open of a mind as I could muster. The same must be demanded of Trump's opponents now.

2016: A Death Knell to Baby Boomer Feminists

You know as well as I do that Hillary Clinton felt entitled to the U.S. presidency as no other candidate has in my lifetime. The worst part was her continued playing of the gender card - women HAD to vote for Hillary because she's a woman. So what did she do? She provided critics (including myself) with fodder when she allowed herself to become the very stereotype that women fight most when she was too emotionally fragile to handle her defeat.

I struggle to this day, as we usher out 2016, a full 54 days since the night of November 8, 2016 to understand what kind of role model she thought she was showing to younger women running for office. Hillary Clinton was too consumed with uncontrollable crying and outrage to do the most basic and the most important gesture any political candidate knows to do - go before her supporters in the victory party room and her voters watching on television to thank them. Instead of pulling herself together, she sent out her top minion, John Podesta, to address the crowd. Granted, many of those gathered had already begun to leave once the defeat was obvious, but Hillary Clinton was too self-absorbed to even do a brief thank you to those most loyal to her.

Hillary Clinton is in her own little bubble, sure, and she surrounds herself with people enabling her to live that life, but she ran on being tough and strong - ready to break the glass ceiling of being the first woman president. The irony is that a glass ceiling was indeed broken that night but not the one she droned on about. Donald Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, broke another kind of glass. Conway, a Republican woman, became the first woman campaign manager to successfully run a presidential campaign.

Clinton has lived off the coattails of her husband throughout her entire career, while pronouncing herself the top feminist in the country. Thank goodness the Trump campaign went after an electoral college win instead of being consumed with the popular vote. Also important to note, the Republican candidate was able to think as traditional politicians do not and he made a play for non-traditional Republican voters, as well as those in blue states. It paid off.

Saddest of all is the reaction of leftist women who voted for Hillary Clinton. I see their posts on Facebook and Twitter. They are so consumed, still to this day, with anger over her loss that they relish ridiculing Conway's difficulty in placing her four young children in private schools in D.C. - how's that for solidarity? When a leftist tells you that all women must act one way, remember it is a one-way street for them. They have yet to learn the lessons of this election. It's good for Republicans, by the way. Let them live in bitter bubbles.

I am thankful that Hillary Clinton was defeated. As a baby boomer feminist myself, I am tired of the left's hijacking of the term. Conservative women are also feminists and understand the term means living life as you chose to live it.

If you had told me a year ago that I would welcome the inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017, I would have laughed. Now, though, I do welcome it. The uncertainty of a neophyte in the highest office in the land, along with the possibilities to shake it all up and begin doing the nation's business in a better, more efficient way far outweighs the certain disaster of Hillary Clinton. It was, in fact, a clear, binary choice for me.

Other People Died, Too, In 2016

Much has been made in recent days of the death of celebrities in 2016.  The year seems to be a particularly brutal one in pop culture. In light of what seems to be 24/7 coverage of celebrities and the lives they lead, I did a quick search of other celebrity deaths - those who have left a unique mark in the field of science and medicine.

In January, Marvin Minsky died. He co-founded the artificial intelligence lab at MIT in 1957. 1957. Ponder that. Not surprisingly, he was friends with science fiction legendary writer Isaac Asimov. I was interested to read his wife is a pediatrician. She, too, was forging a new frontier - women who practiced medicine were not the norm in that day's society.

The world runs on email. The man who invented email and the '@' used to separate our names from our machines died in 2016. His name is Ray Tomlinson. Thanks to his forward thinking in technology, our lives have been made easier - keeping in touch with loved ones and business associates, sending documents and other paperwork, sending photos, etc. He is a member of the Internet Hall of Fame. Yeah. It's a thing.

In the world of space exploration, besides John Glenn, there is Edgar Mitchell, the sixth person to walk on the moon, died in February. You may remember his fellow moonwalker, Alan Shepard for golfing on the moon but their Apollo 14 mission success was important after the drama of Apollo 13. He was colorful in his interests of ESP experiments and paranormal phenomena.

Vera Rubin was the only graduate in astronomy from Vassar in 1948. She went on to earn a PhD from Georgetown University and her work confirmed the existence of dark matter in the universe. She died Sunday, Christmas Day. Her death, after her game changing work, should earn her as much recognition as any celebrity death. It won't, of course, but there has been some acknowledgement on Twitter.

Unlike most 'climate scientists' who spend their career behind a desk, Gordon Hamilton pursued his scientific theories in the field. He died in October on a scientific expedition in Antarctica. I don't agree with his climate change alarmism but he was well-respected in his community for the personal risks he took in pursuit of data gathering.

Dale Schenk decided to go into science instead of pursuing his love of the piano after witnessing the ravages of Alzheimer's disease on his grandmother and others. He and his team made great strides towards a vaccine for the disease - they have been successful with mice but not in humans as of yet. He died in October at the age of 59.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, inventor of the Heimlich technique that saves choking victims, died in December. A thoracic surgeon, his history is checkered with friction within the medical community. He was a skilled self-promoter and once tried to take credit for a technique for saving a damaged esophagus, only to later admit a Romanian surgeon had been using the technique for many years. He was 96 years old.

I am sure there are many others. There are also teachers, community activists, athletes, as well as other professionals who shape our lives and make the world a better place. Most importantly, our military service men and women are never properly acknowledged, if you ask me. As free people, we can never thank them enough for their service in our names.

Celebrities on screen and in music touch our lives in an emotional way. They are a part of the touchstones in life and that is important to acknowledge. I just wish real life, every day heroes garnered the same attention.

On the Eve of Hanukkah Obama Proclaims Screw You, Israel

In a truly unprecedented move, President Obama took a parting shot at Israel. During the time of the week known for Friday document dumps, the news broke on social media: America abstained in a vote at the United Nations meant to condemn Israel for settlement development in areas "claimed" by Palestine. In his usual cowardly way, Obama bets that no one is really paying attention to news on the Friday afternoon of Christmas weekend. The kicker? Saturday is Hanukkah. The message from President Obama is clear - Happy Hanukkah, Israel. Screw you!

..."the first the Security Council has adopted on Israel and Palestine in roughly eight years". Eight years. The two terms of Obama.

In 2007, Egypt became the second non-NATO nation to sign on to a joint border security agreement with NATO as it relates to the war on terror. Israel was the first nation to sign on. So it is quite disturbing that now Egypt is the country credited with moving this resolution forward in the U.N. This resolution, on top of the already bad Iranian Peace Agreement, spells additional danger for Israel, the only democracy in the region. The language of the resolution hampers Israel's ability to negotiate in peace talks.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to U.S. President - Elect Donald Trump to help head off the resolution vote in the U.N. Trump has stated his unwavering support for Israel.

Other Than That, Vice-President Elect Pence, How Was "Hamilton"?

The precious snowflakes on the left are so freaked out by the election of Donald J. Trump that they are now openly confessing that they are too delicate to continue on in civil society. Their actions speak loudly, from demonstrations that turn to riots in the streets of America to the most recent example - Vice President-Elect Mike Pence attending a performance of the Broadway show "Hamilton: An American Musical" and was soundly booed and cheered by his fellow audience members. The show was interrupted more than once due to boisterous outbursts of applause as some lyrics were sung, for good measure. Then the icing on the cake - actor Brandon Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, delivered a statement to Pence from the cast at the end of the performance. I'm not kidding. This is an actual thing that happened.

The manifesto, er, statement began with a thank you for coming kind of opening that quickly devolved to a statement dripping for contempt for the man's election victory.

"At the end of the show, one of the actors asked Pence not to leave the theater so a statement from the cast could be read. 

 

"Vice President-elect Pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us at 'Hamilton: An American Musical,' " actor Brandon Victor Dixon said onstage. 

 

"We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. We hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us."

The Twitterverse was all aflutter over this obnoxious behavior by some spoiled brats working on Broadway - remember, this is the group of actors that did a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton - and we all know they were With Her. As you might imagine, Donald Trump took to Twitter to speak up for Pence.

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump                         

Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!

Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump                                      

The Theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!

And the actor responded:

@BrandonVDixon

@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen.

Except reading off your statement to a man on his way out of a theatre isn't a conversation.

And the creator of the hip-hop version of liberal America's American history, Lin-Manuel Miranda, weighed in:

Lin-Manuel MirandaVerified account ‏@Lin_Manuel         

Proud of @HamiltonMusical. Proud of @BrandonVDixon, for leading with love. And proud to remind you that ALL are welcome at the theater.

"Leading with love." Yeah. Ok.

Isn't it just a little ironic that the liberals and #NeverTrump voters who are so unhappy with Republicans shellacking Democrats on November 8, 2016 and the Trump- Pence ticket winning the Electoral College vote (in about landslide level) now use the cover of #Hamilton to voice their dissatisfaction, given Alexander Hamilton all but set up the Electoral College?

And for real American history - not the re-written version favored by College professors and Hollywood liberals - it's Democrats who put an actual Klansman on the Supreme Court (Hugo Black) and elected a former Klansman as Senate Majority Leader (Robert Byrd).

The people disrespected the most, however, were the average Joe and Jane who likely saved up for quite some time to get a night out in Manhattan and an evening at a Broadway show. It's a lot of money to most Americans - especially the majority of Trump voters who struggle to remain in a shrinking middle class. The cheapest ticket is listed at $179.00. That adds up to a chunk of change for a family of 4 or 5. Imagine if you were an audience member on a trip to New York City from another city or state. Imagine their interest in seeing the newly elected Vice President of the United States walk in to join you in watching the play. And imagine having that experience ruined by boisterous audience members more intent on advancing a political agenda than simply enjoying an entertainment treat. How about if you were celebrating a kid's birthday with a splurge in the family budget?

The cast members felt entitled to express their disappointment that their candidate didn't win the election and throw that on the audience, just to get to the Vice-President. Let's call it what it was - a deliberate attempt to embarrass Mike Pence. Pence was reaching out and joining in as he came to the theatre. It is reported that he clapped and responded like all the other audience members enjoying the performance. But, for merely showing up and attending the play, he was booed and made to feel unwelcome.

The cast wanted to make Pence feel unwelcome and then demand he listen to them tell him to listen to them. Only in America.  

The Biggest Loser of Election 2016? Barack Obama.

So, how about that election! Tuesday, November 8, 2016 and into Wednesday, November 9, 2016 gave the Republican party what had not been accomplished since 1928 - a Republican president, House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate. America has a majority number of Republican governors and Republican state houses, too. It's a good day to be a Republican. I haven't been able to say that in quite some time. Thanks, Obama.

Even Wall Street joined in the celebration - despite predictions of doom and gloom, the DOW closed on a record high number Wednesday afternoon.

This election was a referendum on Barack Obama. His power grabbing executive orders, his intentional use of race-baiting rhetoric, his divide and conquer policy-making, his unapologetic contempt for Republicans, and his non-stop quest for a real legacy led to a complete rejection. This election was the final rejection of Obama's failed policies which have led to 3/4 of Americans thinking our country is going in the wrong direction.

I worked at a polling place this Election Day and I was so grateful to have that distraction from the usual all day prognosticating of the talking heads on cable news and radio. This was an election cycle that, if anyone was truly honest would admit, no one knew what the hell was going to happen. It was a very long day but I found it impossible to not be uplifted to watch fellow citizens exercising their right to vote.

Credit where credit is due - Donald J. Trump won the presidential election against all odds. The first winner who never held elected office or served in the military, Trump had the great majority of media against him along with Democrats and a bunch of #NeverTrump Republican voters. Consultants and professional politicos, all of whom depend on politics as usual for a living, openly spoke with a theatrical level of disdain against him. Sitting elected officials boasted that they would not support or even vote for the Republican nominee. I will write about the failed #NeverTrump strategy later.

And then November 8, 2016 changed the electoral map of America. States not won by Republican presidential candidates, like Pennsylvania, since 1988 went to Trump.

Let me be clear, Donald Trump was my 17th choice in the Republican presidential primary. He only very recently declared himself as a Republican and clearly is not by any stretch of the imagination particularly interested in basic political philosophy. He is a 70 year old man with a lot of personal baggage that was impossible to ignore. So, when he won the nomination, I had to work through the Kubler-Ross five steps of grief. Then I made a decision - I would vote for my party's nominee for my party's sake. It is really as simple as that. I am a loyal Republican and that means I have voted for many who were not my first choice with the belief that any Republican is better than a Democrat. Have I skipped some races on a ballot? Yes. In my book, that is always a possibility.

The media was defeated and that makes me very happy. No longer even pretending to be unbiased, this political season proved to be the most openly biased I've lived to see. Very few who call themselves journalists are worthy of respect. The liberal take-over of American universities is in full display.

Pollsters were defeated. The polling in 2016 was very wrong. An exaggerated percentage of Democrats were polled and the results were skewed. This appears to have been intentional, as we learned from the leaked emails via WikiLeaks.

Four in five white evangelical voters handed victory to Donald Trump. Two in five black evangelical voters went with Clinton but that demographic failed to produce the results given to Barack Obama in previous elections.

A glass ceiling was broken, too. It wasn't the one that Hillary Clinton spoke about but one equally important - Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, is the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign. That is a very exciting milestone in politics. Women, the majority of voting Americans, want a woman president but not corrupt Hillary Clinton. White women, by a majority of 53%, voted for Trump. Women will not be bullied into voting for a candidate simply based on the gender card. As I said throughout this election cycle, "Yes, I want a woman president. Just not THAT woman."

After many years of feeling left out and ignored by their own government, regular Americans flocked to the polls and said, "enough". Our Constitutional Republic is strong. The wisdom of the Founding Fathers was proven again - Trump received the highest number of electoral votes of any Republican since 1988 and perhaps 1 million votes less than Clinton in the popular vote. The electoral college is a protection that allows all Americans to have an equal say in governance, not just the heavily populations areas of the country. All votes are created equal, to paraphrase the 12th Amendment.

Liberal losers with hurt feelings - and a desire for a paycheck from the likes of George Soros - are protesting in the streets of blue America. These areas are also media centers for optimum press coverage, not a coincidence. I say let them protest our system of democracy and take to the streets to do so. Hopefully, these public expressions of disappointment will not result in loss of life or property. It is their right. Just don't be fooled - these demonstrations are at the hands of professional agitators, the likes of whom were also paid to protest Trump campaign rallies and incite violence while doing so. Their willing stooges in the media were in on the ruse. Americans in flyover country were not swayed, in fact, this backfired and only made Trump supporters more determined.

There is much work to be done. God bless President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. God bless America. Thanks, Obama!

Does This Updated Presidential Candidate Debate Information Look Fair and Balanced?

Ready for the debates between the presidential nominees? Maybe you are more interested in the debate scheduled for the vice-presidential candidate. Either way, here is the info:

"Journalists from NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox News will moderate the three scheduled debates between U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 8 election, the nonpartisan group organizing the events said on Friday.

NBC anchor Lester Holt will ask questions at the first debate on Sept. 26 in New York, while ABC global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz and CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will co-moderate the Oct. 9 "town meeting" style debate in St. Louis, the Commission on Presidential Debates said.

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace will moderate on Oct. 19 in Las Vegas, it said in a statement.

 

CBS journalist Elaine Quijano will moderate the single vice presidential debate on Oct. 4 between Republican Indiana Governor Mike Pence and his Democratic rival, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the commission said.

 

C-SPAN's Steve Scully will be a back-up moderator for all four of the debates, it added."

 

New York, St. Louis and Las Vegas. You may have also noticed that the only shot at a somewhat balanced moderator is Chris Wallace. Sadly, this is what Republicans have come to expect. Is it any wonder that finally Republicans are demanding better from those who make these decisions?