Saturday, November 23rd, 2019
My Dear America:
Well, it took a little longer than George Orwell anticipated, 35 years longer as a matter of fact, but we have finally arrived at 1984.
Orwell predicted in his Classic Novel that in 1984 Black would be White, Wrong would be Right and the world would be turned upside down. People would be locked up in cages and sometimes killed for minor crimes against the state. To put it mildly, 1984 would be a very very bad year, indeed.
Actually, 1984 began in 2017, when Donald Trump took office. Remember his choice for national Security Adviser, Michael Flynn. Barack Obama warned Donald Trump not to hire Flynn but, of course Trump hired Flynn anyway. Anyone Obama didn't like had to be good for Trump.
What a surprise to find out that Flynn was a Russian Asset who had assured the Russians that Trump would not continue sanctions on them. Then, of course Trump allowed Russian Diplomats (Spies) in the Oval Office where he allowed Russian Cameras but not American media cameras. Trump then bragged to the Russians about how he fired James Comey and what a whack job Comey was.
Suffice it to say that 2017 and 2018 were not good years for America and things have not gotten better. They have only gotten worse.
Clearly, to anyone who has their head on straight Donald Trump is either a Russian Asset or is just an Ass when it comes to Russia. To me it seems as though Donald Trump is just a Dumb Ass who thinks that kissing Putin's Ass is going to lead him to further riches.
We have seen some things happen, however, in recent times that I personally think are encouraging. For one thing in 2018 the Democrats won back the leadership of the House of Representatives and that legislative body came alive. They voted through a ton of worthwhile legislation that, unfortunately Mitch McConnell and the Republican led Fairly Brain Dead Senate managed to kill by inactivity.
The issue of Impeachment has been a hotly discussed issue for some time. For awhile Donald Trump continued his assault on Democracy and unfortunately Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi was unwilling to support efforts to Impeach the President.
But of course, Donald Trump in his infinitely witless wisdom kept up his Assault on American Democracy and pushed so far to the extreme right that even Pelosi, who was genuinely trying to avoid Impeachment proceedings, had to agree to begin them.
Although there were many Democratic House Members who were already on board the Impeachment Train, something happened in late September or early October that spurred even Nancy Pelosi and many other House Members to get on board the Impeachment Express.
Dates and times concerning The Whistleblower and their contacts are sketchy but what is certainly not sketchy is the influence that the Whistleblower's complaint has had on the House Intelligence Committee and the start of and the continuation of efforts by Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff and the Democrats on the Committee to begin Impeachment efforts. Those efforts seem to be roaring along at breakneck speed even though Republican members of the Intelligence Committee seem to have been doing everything in their power to stymie the Impeachment Investigation. Republican efforts to kill or even slow down the Impeachment Investigation seem to have been in vain, however.
After a series of closed door testimonies by significant witnesses Republicans complained that the closed door testimonies were unfair to them and to the President. So Committee Chairman Schiff this past couple of weeks brought back the most significant Impeachment witnesses for Televised Testimonies. Those testimonies have been fascinating but extremely disturbing.
After spending an inordinate amount of time watching the Televised Testimonies over the past two weeks I have found that all of those testifying seemed to be credible witnesses in one way or another to the effort that President Trump made to force Ukraine's newly elected President to open up clearly politically motivated investigations on Joe Biden and Biden's son, Hunter Biden, who admittedly and unfortunately caused his father a lot of grief by becoming a board member of Burisma, a Ukrainian company of questionable reputation.
While Hunter Biden did not do anything illegal, he certainly didn't do his father any favors by raking in 50 Thousand dollars a month from this sleazy energy company. In addition to seeking dirt on the Bidens, Trump also held up over 400 Million Dollars in funds that had been voted on almost unanimously by everyone in Congress to help the Ukrainians out in their efforts to repel Russian military efforts. While Trump held up the Congressionally funded money Ukrainian freedom fighters continued to die in battle.
The Impeachment Testimonies stand alone as efforts by distinguished governmental employees, for the most part, to do the right thing. There were some very important lessons in government, however, to be learned through these testimonies. Some of the lessons I have learned by watching the Impeachment hearings are the following:
I felt that throughout the hearings the Intelligence Committee Chairman, Democrat Adam Schiff conducted himself in an admirable and exceptionally fair manner. As many Republican Committee members railed at Schiff for being unfair to the President and Republicans on the Committee, I observed Schiff maintaining his cool and leading the Committee in what I observed to be a fair and consistent manner.
The Republicans, and in particular Ranking member, Devin Nunes, however, conducted themselves, for the most part, in a very unfair, totally biased and sometimes uncivilized manner. They were overall disgusting in their treatment of some very decent individuals who had the nerve to show up to testify at the hearings even though the President had told them not to.
The Intelligence Committee Witnesses were, with the possible exception of Gordon Sondlund, good, decent, hard working and competent individuals who had a good sense of right and wrong. It was difficult for me to watch as people like Jim Jordan and Nunes tried in vain to disregard and disrespect witnesses who had a decent sense of right and wrong, unlike their Republican aggressors.
Although many of the Witnesses have much to be proud of certainly Former Ukraine Ambassador, Marie Yovanavich and Former White House NSC Advisor on Russia, Fiona Hill, as well as NSC Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman were not only brave and outstanding witnesses, they were also outstanding examples of why the United States should continue to be a beacon of hope for immigrants interested in coming to the United States and becoming Citizens.
All in all the Impeachment Hearings accomplished in my mind what they should have. They showed clearly that Donald Trump is not fit to be the President of the United States and should be impeached and removed from office.
Most certainly Donald Trump has racked up enough dirty dealings to deserve many articles of Impeachment. As it looks now only Democrats will vote in the House to Impeach Trump and it is doubtful that Republicans in the Senate will have the balls to vote him out of office.
But who knows what will happen. At least for now we have the House Democrats ready to do the right thing. If enough voters begin to pay attention to what is going on and contact their representatives and Senators perhaps we may very well rid the White House of Donald Trump. and his cesspool of corruption. We can only hope that will happen but for now we can be proud of those individuals who spoke up for liberty and Justice for us all.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Five Days That Shook The World
November 10th, 2019
My Dear America:
Thirty Years Ago something extraordinary happened to me that not only changed my life but also changed your life, as well, America. I can't recall all of the details of what happened 30 years ago as well as I would like to but certain aspects of that fateful week are still embedded in my brain.
I was working for a local Children's Home as a Caseworker back then. As part of my job I was required to spend a week with most of the kids from the Children's Home at Camp Trexler, A Boy Scout Camp in the Pocono Mountains that the Children's Home rented out for the week.
It was my first time going with the kids to Camp Trexler and I was a little apprehensive. Although I liked many of the kids I worked with, I recognized that the some of the kids had some serious behavioral issues that could, and often did, explode at times unexpectedly and sometimes violently.
On my drive to work on the Monday morning of the Camp Trexler trip I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect in being with the kids in the desolate Pocono mountains for a week. If kids wanted to run away (which they often did) how in the world would we find them. Were there going to be fights that I and other staff members would have to break up, as we did often at the Children's Home. I was quite frankly excited about the camping trip but also worried about what was going to happen in the upcoming week long outdoor excursion.
The radio was on as I drove to work and I was listening to the news. The Newscaster indicated that there was some sort of trouble brewing in Russia. Apparently there were indications that Soviet leader Gorbachev was being held against his will under House arrest by members of the Communist party. The information was sketchy and unclear. Gorbachev had been under pressure by his own party as he moved Russia closer to the ideals of his friend and United States President Ronald Reagan. According to the radio broadcast no one seemed to know what was going on. As I listened to the broadcast I became more nervous, not only about Camp Trexler, but also about the status of the world. Were we on the brink of Nuclear war. Who knew. I certainly didn't. I suddenly thought about the fact that I was going to the Boy Scout Camp at exactly the wrong time. The fate of the world was hanging by a thread and I was going to be stuck in the woods away from my family. It had already been proclaimed by the powers that be at the Children's Home that radios, phones and other electronic devices would not be allowed at Camp Trexler. I decided to take my car to the Boy Scout Camp so that I could listen to my car radio every day and try to keep a handle on maintaining knowledge about the fate of the world.
Suffice it to say that with a few exceptions the week spent at Camp Trexler was fantastic.The kids and the staff were kept busy every day with swimming, boating, hiking, playing cards and board games and sitting around campfires singing at night. There were a couple of kids that were taken back to the Children's Home after acting out but their quick departure from the camp was an obvious lesson to the other kids who were having a good time and genuinely wanted to stay for the rest of the week.
I had so much fun and so much to do during the week that I completely forgot about my plan to listen to the Radio. I didn't think of my radio until I turned it on at the end of the week on Friday as I was driving out of Camp Trexler.
I listened to a radio broadcast on Friday that partially filled me in on how much the world, and in particular, the Soviet Union, had changed during the course of the past week.
Looking back on my week in the Poconos today I have to say that I am grateful that my camping trip with the kids from the Children's Home kept me from experiencing the depressing terror that must have been experienced by everyone following the story of the Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Although we tended to get used to the worries about the prospect of a Nuclear Showdown between the United States and Russia it was a relief, at least for a little while, when Boris Yeltsin came to Gorbachev's rescue and Russia as we knew it became a thing of the past, or so we thought.
Certainly the Berlin Wall was a symbol of Soviet Terror and Tyranny. It was heartening to the world when it came down.
Now, however, in our day and time we in the United States of America have been forced to witness our discredited American President constantly pledge allegiance to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who seems to constantly benefit from Donald Trump's cowardly attempts to placate the Russian Dictator.
It is understandable that young Americans do not understand the stress of living in a world of Soviet Terror. It is not understandable that older Americans who lived for many years and decades under the Soviet threat would now pledge allegiance to a Russian Stooge like Donald Trump and watch their Democracy fall apart piece by devastating piece.
We still have a fighting chance to get it right. United States Republican Legislators don't seem to care that Democracy in America is in danger of going the way of the Dinosaurs. The latest elections in which Virginia turned blue and Democrats won the majority of election victories nationally should give Republicans some serious concerns about what is coming for them and for Donald Trump following Impeachment Hearings.
Wake up American Republicans. The bell is tolling. You can't hide your heads in the sand forever. The Freedom Bell is tolling for all of us and it is time to recognize that you have been backing a Dictator in a not too good disguise.
It is once and for all time for you to do the right thing for America.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
My Dear America:
Thirty Years Ago something extraordinary happened to me that not only changed my life but also changed your life, as well, America. I can't recall all of the details of what happened 30 years ago as well as I would like to but certain aspects of that fateful week are still embedded in my brain.
I was working for a local Children's Home as a Caseworker back then. As part of my job I was required to spend a week with most of the kids from the Children's Home at Camp Trexler, A Boy Scout Camp in the Pocono Mountains that the Children's Home rented out for the week.
It was my first time going with the kids to Camp Trexler and I was a little apprehensive. Although I liked many of the kids I worked with, I recognized that the some of the kids had some serious behavioral issues that could, and often did, explode at times unexpectedly and sometimes violently.
On my drive to work on the Monday morning of the Camp Trexler trip I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect in being with the kids in the desolate Pocono mountains for a week. If kids wanted to run away (which they often did) how in the world would we find them. Were there going to be fights that I and other staff members would have to break up, as we did often at the Children's Home. I was quite frankly excited about the camping trip but also worried about what was going to happen in the upcoming week long outdoor excursion.
The radio was on as I drove to work and I was listening to the news. The Newscaster indicated that there was some sort of trouble brewing in Russia. Apparently there were indications that Soviet leader Gorbachev was being held against his will under House arrest by members of the Communist party. The information was sketchy and unclear. Gorbachev had been under pressure by his own party as he moved Russia closer to the ideals of his friend and United States President Ronald Reagan. According to the radio broadcast no one seemed to know what was going on. As I listened to the broadcast I became more nervous, not only about Camp Trexler, but also about the status of the world. Were we on the brink of Nuclear war. Who knew. I certainly didn't. I suddenly thought about the fact that I was going to the Boy Scout Camp at exactly the wrong time. The fate of the world was hanging by a thread and I was going to be stuck in the woods away from my family. It had already been proclaimed by the powers that be at the Children's Home that radios, phones and other electronic devices would not be allowed at Camp Trexler. I decided to take my car to the Boy Scout Camp so that I could listen to my car radio every day and try to keep a handle on maintaining knowledge about the fate of the world.
Suffice it to say that with a few exceptions the week spent at Camp Trexler was fantastic.The kids and the staff were kept busy every day with swimming, boating, hiking, playing cards and board games and sitting around campfires singing at night. There were a couple of kids that were taken back to the Children's Home after acting out but their quick departure from the camp was an obvious lesson to the other kids who were having a good time and genuinely wanted to stay for the rest of the week.
I had so much fun and so much to do during the week that I completely forgot about my plan to listen to the Radio. I didn't think of my radio until I turned it on at the end of the week on Friday as I was driving out of Camp Trexler.
I listened to a radio broadcast on Friday that partially filled me in on how much the world, and in particular, the Soviet Union, had changed during the course of the past week.
Looking back on my week in the Poconos today I have to say that I am grateful that my camping trip with the kids from the Children's Home kept me from experiencing the depressing terror that must have been experienced by everyone following the story of the Collapse of the Soviet Union and the Collapse of the Berlin Wall.
Although we tended to get used to the worries about the prospect of a Nuclear Showdown between the United States and Russia it was a relief, at least for a little while, when Boris Yeltsin came to Gorbachev's rescue and Russia as we knew it became a thing of the past, or so we thought.
Certainly the Berlin Wall was a symbol of Soviet Terror and Tyranny. It was heartening to the world when it came down.
Now, however, in our day and time we in the United States of America have been forced to witness our discredited American President constantly pledge allegiance to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who seems to constantly benefit from Donald Trump's cowardly attempts to placate the Russian Dictator.
It is understandable that young Americans do not understand the stress of living in a world of Soviet Terror. It is not understandable that older Americans who lived for many years and decades under the Soviet threat would now pledge allegiance to a Russian Stooge like Donald Trump and watch their Democracy fall apart piece by devastating piece.
We still have a fighting chance to get it right. United States Republican Legislators don't seem to care that Democracy in America is in danger of going the way of the Dinosaurs. The latest elections in which Virginia turned blue and Democrats won the majority of election victories nationally should give Republicans some serious concerns about what is coming for them and for Donald Trump following Impeachment Hearings.
Wake up American Republicans. The bell is tolling. You can't hide your heads in the sand forever. The Freedom Bell is tolling for all of us and it is time to recognize that you have been backing a Dictator in a not too good disguise.
It is once and for all time for you to do the right thing for America.
Sincerely Yours
Jerry Gallagher
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