Thursday, May 23rd, 2019
My Dear America:
Joe Biden has been leading the ever expanding pack of Democrats vying for their Party's Nomination for President since before the first of many Democratic Candidates announced. Bernie Sanders has also been a friendly Contender of Joe's in the race for the White House. Bernie, like most of the Democratic Presidential Hopefuls has only had nice things to say about Joe Biden. I believe that this will continue to be the case. Bernie ran a campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016 that certainly emphasized their policy differences but Bernie, to his everlasting credit, never made any personal attacks on Mrs. Clinton and at the Democratic Convention did everything he could to encourage his supporters to support Hillary in the final months of the 2016 Election Campaign, including campaigning for and with Hillary.
Although I have been personally concerned for awhile about the large numbers of Democrats competing for their party's Nomination, It has become clear to me that far from being a negative aspect of the 2020 Presidential Campaign, the high quality of the Candidates will help to press home the Democratic message to Americans all over the country.
As long as the Candidates continue to run high quality, non backbiting campaigns which can and will end in November of next year with a United Democratic Party we can all hope to see the end of the reign of King Donald in January of 2021.
There are many fine Democratic Candidates for President presently running for their party's Presidential Nomination. Only One will win, and it increasingly looks as though that One will probably be Joe Biden.
Although Joe had thrown his hat in the ring some time prior to last Saturday, May 18th, Joe B. had a large rally in Philadelphia this past Saturday announcing that he was in the race for good and was looking forward to advocating the concept of Unity in America as the cornerstone of his Campaign for President, in direct opposition to King Donald and his campaign to divide and conquer the American electorate in 2020.
I was very pleased to see my Daughter, Laura's pictures on Facebook of the Biden Rally and I am very proud of her attending the Rally. My wife and I watched the Biden Rally on Television and were pleased to see it on CNN and
C Span, although the poor sound quality made it difficult to hear everything that Joe B. was saying to his large Philadelphia crowd. Joe's wife, Jill Biden, introduced Joe to the crowd and was clearly up to the task of introducing her husband. She was gracious and articulate and strikingly attractive. Joe was also up to the task of giving a Great Campaign Kickoff Speech, as well.
Although I feel rather badly about all of the high quality Presidential Contenders who are going to be spending a lot of money and time promoting themselves and not winning the Nomination for President, I think that we Democrats are lucky to have so many top shelf individuals willing to put themselves forth in an effort to eventually lead our country. However, in the race for the American Presidency there can only be one winner at a time.
Policy wise I find myself in total agreement and in true Admiration of Candidate Bernie Sanders. I feel,however, that even at this point in time it is so important for Democrats not to blow this next Presidential Election that I must say that although my heart belongs to Bernie, my vote next year will belong to Joe Biden.
There are many reasons that I will be supporting Joe Biden for President in 2020.
One reason is that, like Joe Biden, I spent my early years in Scranton, Pennsylvania after being born in the same year as Biden. I left Scranton a little later than Biden but Scranton will always be my Hometown, despite the fact that I have not lived there for more than fifty years. I also love the state of Delaware, in Particular the Rehobeth Beach area where my wife and I have vacationed many times.
Another Reason that I will be voting for Biden is the fact that he has been in Congress for a long time and always had a reputation for not only being a Nice Guy, but also being a Smart Guy. I still remember Joe B. advocating before the Iraq war a policy of partitioning the country and giving certain ethnic groups their own portion of the country to live in. After the disastrous Iraq war in which countless lives were lost, the end result of the war was a policy that partitioned off the country of Iraq, just as Joe Biden had suggested years before.
Joe Biden was also a very successful Vice President, many times using his charm and his contacts to help President Barack Obama smooth out matters of policy with Congressional leaders, as well as individual Senators and Members of Congress, when the going got tough for the Obama Administration. Joe Biden was always a valuable member of the Obama Team and a man who was also a true friend, as well as Vice President to Barack Obama.
Certainly a politician who has been in office for as long as Joe Biden has some problem areas to address.
Biden seems to be at least trying to apologize and make up for the fact that Anita Hill has called into question Biden's leadership in the disastrous Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas. Biden did allow some of his Senatorial Colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to rake Anita Hill over the coals.
Biden also found himself embroiled in a scandal years ago for plagiarizing a document or a speech. This scandal ended up knocking Joe out of the race for the Presidency in some bygone era. One commentator called the scandal "Quaint" in comparison to Donald Trump's many more serious scandals.
These days Joe Biden has been identified as a "hair sniffer and hair kisser" by a couple of women, while several women friends of Biden have discounted this as his "touchy feely" friendly attitude which is harmless. Unlike Donald Trump, who never apologizes, Joe Biden has apologized and will be more careful in the era of the Me Too Movement. This also seems to be "Quaint" in comparison with Donald Trump who has been identified as a serial sexual predator by many women and who admitted to grabbing women by the "pussy" in the Access Hollywood Tape.
It seems that some people are also getting on board with a story about Biden's son making investments in the Ukraine. While I don't know much about this story I doubt whether Biden's son is meeting with representatives of Vladimir Putin to get dirt on Donald Trump. Unless Joe Biden is proved to be the one involved with Ukraine I don't trust that scandal and I think it will pale in comparison with Trump's many and more serious scandals.
Right now I am getting on the Biden Election Train and I am encouraged by recent polls showing that if the election was being held today Biden would beat Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, among other places.
I don't see the prospect of other Democratic Candidates for President leaving the Campaign Trail for good any time soon. I certainly hope that Democrats keep in mind just how important it is to stay United in 2020 and whoever wins the nomination all other Candidates should pledge their strong support for the winner of the 2020 Democratic Nomination.
Right Now all I can say is Go Joe Biden. I'm in your corner.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
To Be Or Not To Be On Fox News - That Is The Question
Monday, May 20th, 2019
My Dear America:
Maybe with everything else that is going on in America right now, whether Democratic Candidates for President appear on Fox News or not might seem like a minor problem. In contrast to Women's rights to choose what happens to their bodies when they get pregnant, yes, it is a minor problem.
I certainly agree with Candidate Elizabeth Warren's extremely negative assessment of Fox News and I think she has every right to turn down possible Town Halls and interviews on Fox News. Fox News is nothing more than a megaphone for the disgusting, unending lies and distortions of the truth by Donald Trump. That is true.
I applaud Senator Warren's choice to refuse to appear on Fox News. I don't blame her for her choice.
On the other hand, it cannot be dismissed that many members of Donald Trump's fan base watch Fox News exclusively. What Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic Presidential Candidates need to think about is what happens when those exclusively Fox Watchers and Trump Voters don't get the Democratic Message because it never appears on Fox.
Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete B. have already appeared at Town Halls on Fox News. Both of these candidates had to come away from their respective Town Halls with good feelings about how the Town Halls went. I saw Bernie's Town Hall and he clearly did a great job in his Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Town Hall. Although his Fox hosts, Bret Bair and Martha McCallum tried to put Bernie on the defensive, Bernie's overall acceptance by the Town Hall audience was very positive. Although I have not actually seen Mayor Pete's Fox Town Hall what snippets I have seen show a skilled young politician doing well with a Fox selected crowd.
I think that each Democratic Candidate for President needs to make their own choice about whether or not they choose to appear on Fox, or not.
They can, Like Senator Warren refuse to appear on Fox News because they consider it a scumbag network. If they refuse, however, they may be making a serious mistake in that, like it or not, Fox viewers vote in strong numbers.
I think that any Candidate refusing to accept appearing on Fox News is hurting their candidacy by writing off Fox Viewers, which may, in the end prove to be the kind of viewers and voters who might be able to swing the 2020 Presidential race in favor of the Democrats.
Finally, and perhaps most important, is the fact that in both Bernie's and Mayor Pete's Town Halls one of the results of the Fox News appearances were Tweetstorms by Donald Trump showing that he watched the Town Halls and was angry that both Bernie and Mayor Pete had good showings on what Donald Trump considers his personal network.
Regardless of what they decide about appearing on Fox News I think Democrats probably need to think about reaching as many voters as they can by TV or Personal appearances, Debates, Whatever.
Donald Trump won in 2016 by saturating the airwaves with himself in any way possible.
Democrats would do well to learn from Donald Trump's lesson on PR and use it to their advantage in 2019 and 2020 to win the White House.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
My Dear America:
Maybe with everything else that is going on in America right now, whether Democratic Candidates for President appear on Fox News or not might seem like a minor problem. In contrast to Women's rights to choose what happens to their bodies when they get pregnant, yes, it is a minor problem.
I certainly agree with Candidate Elizabeth Warren's extremely negative assessment of Fox News and I think she has every right to turn down possible Town Halls and interviews on Fox News. Fox News is nothing more than a megaphone for the disgusting, unending lies and distortions of the truth by Donald Trump. That is true.
I applaud Senator Warren's choice to refuse to appear on Fox News. I don't blame her for her choice.
On the other hand, it cannot be dismissed that many members of Donald Trump's fan base watch Fox News exclusively. What Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic Presidential Candidates need to think about is what happens when those exclusively Fox Watchers and Trump Voters don't get the Democratic Message because it never appears on Fox.
Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete B. have already appeared at Town Halls on Fox News. Both of these candidates had to come away from their respective Town Halls with good feelings about how the Town Halls went. I saw Bernie's Town Hall and he clearly did a great job in his Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Town Hall. Although his Fox hosts, Bret Bair and Martha McCallum tried to put Bernie on the defensive, Bernie's overall acceptance by the Town Hall audience was very positive. Although I have not actually seen Mayor Pete's Fox Town Hall what snippets I have seen show a skilled young politician doing well with a Fox selected crowd.
I think that each Democratic Candidate for President needs to make their own choice about whether or not they choose to appear on Fox, or not.
They can, Like Senator Warren refuse to appear on Fox News because they consider it a scumbag network. If they refuse, however, they may be making a serious mistake in that, like it or not, Fox viewers vote in strong numbers.
I think that any Candidate refusing to accept appearing on Fox News is hurting their candidacy by writing off Fox Viewers, which may, in the end prove to be the kind of viewers and voters who might be able to swing the 2020 Presidential race in favor of the Democrats.
Finally, and perhaps most important, is the fact that in both Bernie's and Mayor Pete's Town Halls one of the results of the Fox News appearances were Tweetstorms by Donald Trump showing that he watched the Town Halls and was angry that both Bernie and Mayor Pete had good showings on what Donald Trump considers his personal network.
Regardless of what they decide about appearing on Fox News I think Democrats probably need to think about reaching as many voters as they can by TV or Personal appearances, Debates, Whatever.
Donald Trump won in 2016 by saturating the airwaves with himself in any way possible.
Democrats would do well to learn from Donald Trump's lesson on PR and use it to their advantage in 2019 and 2020 to win the White House.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Russia If You Are Listening - Why Are You Reading My Blog
Sunday, May 5th, 2019
My Dear America:
Although I have been publishing my Blog since 2008 I must admit that although I have paid close attention to Politics in my Blog I have never, until recently, began to pay much attention to the number of readers of my Blog. In other words my Blog traffic.
In fact, although I am ashamed of my lack of technical skills regarding my Blog, I never knew until recently that I could follow and see statistics tracking how many readers I had on a daily basis. Once I realized that I could find out how many readers I have I was truly shocked and disturbed to find out that in recent months as my daily reader statistics seemed to be improving I found out that I could even track where my readers were from.
What I found out that disturbed me greatly is that although my United States readership has improved significantly, at the same time my readership in Russia has improved twice as much as the U.S. readership.
The bottom line for me is Who the hell are these Russians reading "Letters To A Lost Nation" and why are they doing it. Are they Russian government employees looking to take my negative content about Donald Trump and use it to their advantage. I don't know who they are or why they are doing it. If they are Russian Trolls looking to do harm to America I wish they would stop.
On the other hand if they are, by some miracle, just normal Russian Citizens who are simply trying to find out about America I welcome them.
Because of the terrible things the Russians did in the 2016 Campaign and continue to do, I am very concerned that my Blog could be used by them to sow discontent in the United States.
I love America because, even with all it's faults it is the best country in the world. I certainly would not be allowed to write and express myself about my government and in particular about my President in Russia in the same way I can in the U.S. I appreciate my country even though I don't appreciate it's President. I am lucky and proud to be an American and I want to say to all Russians who might be reading my Blog I hope that someday you are as free in your country to dissent as we are in ours.
I advertise my Blog on Twitter and Facebook and I know that they are under the gun these days because of some serious mistakes that they have made. To Twitter and to Facebook I ask them to realize that my Blog is an American Blog with no ties to Russia other than readership.
I don't hate Russia. I simply feel sorry for those people who live there in a society which is not free.
As disturbed as I am about this Russia connection with my Blog I will continue to write my Blog and will continue to hope that any Russians who read my Blog Postings will say to themselves, whoever they are, I wish we could be free enough to write this way in our country.
Maybe someday they will be able to. I hope that very much.
Sincerely
Jerry Gallagher
My Dear America:
Although I have been publishing my Blog since 2008 I must admit that although I have paid close attention to Politics in my Blog I have never, until recently, began to pay much attention to the number of readers of my Blog. In other words my Blog traffic.
In fact, although I am ashamed of my lack of technical skills regarding my Blog, I never knew until recently that I could follow and see statistics tracking how many readers I had on a daily basis. Once I realized that I could find out how many readers I have I was truly shocked and disturbed to find out that in recent months as my daily reader statistics seemed to be improving I found out that I could even track where my readers were from.
What I found out that disturbed me greatly is that although my United States readership has improved significantly, at the same time my readership in Russia has improved twice as much as the U.S. readership.
The bottom line for me is Who the hell are these Russians reading "Letters To A Lost Nation" and why are they doing it. Are they Russian government employees looking to take my negative content about Donald Trump and use it to their advantage. I don't know who they are or why they are doing it. If they are Russian Trolls looking to do harm to America I wish they would stop.
On the other hand if they are, by some miracle, just normal Russian Citizens who are simply trying to find out about America I welcome them.
Because of the terrible things the Russians did in the 2016 Campaign and continue to do, I am very concerned that my Blog could be used by them to sow discontent in the United States.
I love America because, even with all it's faults it is the best country in the world. I certainly would not be allowed to write and express myself about my government and in particular about my President in Russia in the same way I can in the U.S. I appreciate my country even though I don't appreciate it's President. I am lucky and proud to be an American and I want to say to all Russians who might be reading my Blog I hope that someday you are as free in your country to dissent as we are in ours.
I advertise my Blog on Twitter and Facebook and I know that they are under the gun these days because of some serious mistakes that they have made. To Twitter and to Facebook I ask them to realize that my Blog is an American Blog with no ties to Russia other than readership.
I don't hate Russia. I simply feel sorry for those people who live there in a society which is not free.
As disturbed as I am about this Russia connection with my Blog I will continue to write my Blog and will continue to hope that any Russians who read my Blog Postings will say to themselves, whoever they are, I wish we could be free enough to write this way in our country.
Maybe someday they will be able to. I hope that very much.
Sincerely
Jerry Gallagher
Friday, May 3, 2019
Wacky William And Dumb Donald - Together Again For The First Time
Friday May 3rd, 2019
My Dear America:
Well, Donald Trump has done it to us again. At first Glance, William Barr seemed like, if nothing else, at least a reasonably good pick for Attorney General of the United States. Unlike many, if not most of Donald Trump's selections for his Cabinet positions, William Barr actually had some relevant experience. Not only was he a lawyer but he even had prior experience as The United States Attorney General.
Hold On, I thought, Could Donald Trump have finally picked someone qualified for his job in his increasingly Corrupt Administration.
I made it a point to get up early on the day Barr was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee and found his testimony to be somewhat reassuring, considering the fact that Barr was being appointed to the Attorney General's position by Donald Trump. What I found to be especially reassuring was the fact that when Barr was questioned about his relationship with Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, Barr suggested that he and Mueller and their wives were all very good friends and had often spent what sounded like quality time together. Surely William Barr was a man of honor and a solid legal reputation and would help and assist Bob Mueller in his investigation of Donald Trump's Campaign ties to the Russians and Trump's possible Obstruction of Justice.
Well, unlike The Who's anthem, "We Won't Get Fooled Again," we have been fooled again by Donald Trump. Is it any surprise that we have once again been bamboozled by Donald Trump. By this time I guess we should be getting used to it.
I keep waking up everyday hoping that this will be the day when Donald Trump suddenly becomes a decent, law abiding statesman who children can look up to and a man who we can all be proud of. Then I turn on the television and find out what is the latest Donald Trump Outrage and the daily nightmare continues.
Although I rarely watch television when Omarosa is on it, I had the TV on this past Sunday when she was being interviewed on MSNBC. At one point in the interview Omarosa started talking about something that I found to be very interesting and relevant to what has been happening since Trump took over the White House in January of 2017.
Omarosa stated that she was aware of the fact that Donald Trump, with the help of Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, put together a list of incredibly outrageous things that Donald Trump could say or do when Trump wanted to distract the news media (Sometimes called the "Enemies of The People) and change the conversation in the media. In other words if a news story was breaking that Trump did not want to be covered as the lead story of the day, Trump brought out his list of Outrages and proceeded to do or say something Outrageous enough to refocus the news on what Trump wanted to hear.
While Omarosa is not a person who I look to as a purveyor of Great Wisdom, I have to admit that looking back, not only on Trump's white House years, but also on his Campaign for President, Omarosa's revelations seem to make sense.
Sometimes watching Donald Trump stumbling over his words it is easy to dismiss him as a Stupid Fool. While Donald Trump will never be known as a scholarly man of letters and often times does stupid and foolish things he is also sometimes a very shrewd and masterful politician and when he wants to be he can be and is a Master of Distraction and a clever molder of public opinion. We consider him to be stupid only at our own risk.
Take Attorney General Barr, for instance. Donald Trump pulled a fast one on us. Barr had already revealed prior to his nomination by Trump, that he did not feel that Trump could be found guilty of Obstruction of Justice. If we had only all read his letter to the President expressing how he felt about how Trump could not be found guilty of obstruction we would have known that Barr was already in Trump's pocket even prior to his Nomination. Should we be surprised that Barr has gone to great lengths to protect the President.
No. Not Really.
At this point in time it is clear that William Barr is one more Trump Lawyer protecting him. The Attorney General should be someone who is looking out for all of us. In Barr's case that is not going to happen. Whatever honor Barr had in his previous legal life, that is gone now and William Barr is one more swamp creature under Donald Trump's control.
Sincerely
Jerry Gallagher
My Dear America:
Well, Donald Trump has done it to us again. At first Glance, William Barr seemed like, if nothing else, at least a reasonably good pick for Attorney General of the United States. Unlike many, if not most of Donald Trump's selections for his Cabinet positions, William Barr actually had some relevant experience. Not only was he a lawyer but he even had prior experience as The United States Attorney General.
Hold On, I thought, Could Donald Trump have finally picked someone qualified for his job in his increasingly Corrupt Administration.
I made it a point to get up early on the day Barr was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee and found his testimony to be somewhat reassuring, considering the fact that Barr was being appointed to the Attorney General's position by Donald Trump. What I found to be especially reassuring was the fact that when Barr was questioned about his relationship with Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, Barr suggested that he and Mueller and their wives were all very good friends and had often spent what sounded like quality time together. Surely William Barr was a man of honor and a solid legal reputation and would help and assist Bob Mueller in his investigation of Donald Trump's Campaign ties to the Russians and Trump's possible Obstruction of Justice.
Well, unlike The Who's anthem, "We Won't Get Fooled Again," we have been fooled again by Donald Trump. Is it any surprise that we have once again been bamboozled by Donald Trump. By this time I guess we should be getting used to it.
I keep waking up everyday hoping that this will be the day when Donald Trump suddenly becomes a decent, law abiding statesman who children can look up to and a man who we can all be proud of. Then I turn on the television and find out what is the latest Donald Trump Outrage and the daily nightmare continues.
Although I rarely watch television when Omarosa is on it, I had the TV on this past Sunday when she was being interviewed on MSNBC. At one point in the interview Omarosa started talking about something that I found to be very interesting and relevant to what has been happening since Trump took over the White House in January of 2017.
Omarosa stated that she was aware of the fact that Donald Trump, with the help of Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, put together a list of incredibly outrageous things that Donald Trump could say or do when Trump wanted to distract the news media (Sometimes called the "Enemies of The People) and change the conversation in the media. In other words if a news story was breaking that Trump did not want to be covered as the lead story of the day, Trump brought out his list of Outrages and proceeded to do or say something Outrageous enough to refocus the news on what Trump wanted to hear.
While Omarosa is not a person who I look to as a purveyor of Great Wisdom, I have to admit that looking back, not only on Trump's white House years, but also on his Campaign for President, Omarosa's revelations seem to make sense.
Sometimes watching Donald Trump stumbling over his words it is easy to dismiss him as a Stupid Fool. While Donald Trump will never be known as a scholarly man of letters and often times does stupid and foolish things he is also sometimes a very shrewd and masterful politician and when he wants to be he can be and is a Master of Distraction and a clever molder of public opinion. We consider him to be stupid only at our own risk.
Take Attorney General Barr, for instance. Donald Trump pulled a fast one on us. Barr had already revealed prior to his nomination by Trump, that he did not feel that Trump could be found guilty of Obstruction of Justice. If we had only all read his letter to the President expressing how he felt about how Trump could not be found guilty of obstruction we would have known that Barr was already in Trump's pocket even prior to his Nomination. Should we be surprised that Barr has gone to great lengths to protect the President.
No. Not Really.
At this point in time it is clear that William Barr is one more Trump Lawyer protecting him. The Attorney General should be someone who is looking out for all of us. In Barr's case that is not going to happen. Whatever honor Barr had in his previous legal life, that is gone now and William Barr is one more swamp creature under Donald Trump's control.
Sincerely
Jerry Gallagher
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