Happy New Year America in 2021

Thursday, December 31st, 2020

My Dear America:

Well, here we are again, Old Friend.  We have had a Rough Year.  The roughest that I can remember in a long time.  In fact, we have had a Rough Four Years here in our country.  I remember when we thought that Richard Nixon and George W. Bush were the worst we had ever seen.  Well up to their time they pretty much were the worst that we had ever seen.  But the past four years have shown us that before Trump we didn't know how bad things could really be.

At Midnight tonight we will enter a New Year and a New Age and it can't get here fast enough for me.  Oh, Donald Trump will be gone from the Presidency soon.  He will be gone but never forgotten, at least by me.

He was, by far, in my estimation, the worst President that we have ever had.  For four years this Monstrous Egomaniac took us all on a trip to a place that we never wanted to go in America and we must remember that The Republican Party enabled his every despicable move.  They defended even his most cruel and heartless separation of children at the border from their parents.  That is a move that will echo into the lives of every child that was a victim of that cruel and senseless Trump Project.  Why?  Why did Donald Trump and his Toady Attorney General do that to those poor kids and their parents who thought that they were escaping somewhere horrible and bringing their children to somewhere good. The shame of it is that we are somewhere good.  At least we were before the clouded election of Donald Trump.

We Americans had never seen anything like the shameless behavior of a man who didn't give a damn about us.  He cared only about himself and what he could do for himself while in office.  He brazenly colluded with Russian Spies in the Oval Office shortly after firing James Comey from his job as Director of the FBI.  He virtually destroyed the Justice Department and the FBI while he was in office.  

It was not only the Justice Department that he destroyed.  Trump put his Weird and Gutless Trump Worshippers in as the heads of every single Department of the Federal Government.  But they will be gone soon.  We must never forget what has gone on in our country in our name, in the name of Americans and we must never allow what has gone on for the past four years to ever go on again in our country  in our name.

In mid January we will be swearing in a new President, a man who is totally different from Donald Trump.  Joe Biden has been throughout his life a decent man who cares about America, who, unlike Trump, has empathy for other people, who does not view Military Men and Women as "Suckers and Losers" as Donald Trump does.

God knows, how many people Donald Trump killed in his desperate plot to act like Covid 19 was nothing.  Clearly Trump didn't want Covid to get in the way of his Re Election, but it did.  Thank God Covid did something good.  But in the meantime we have seen over 300 thousand of our brothers and sisters taken away from their Families and Friends.  We can't blame Donald Trump for all of their deaths but he is certainly responsible for a good many American Deaths.  

Certainly we have to give credit to Trump for backing "Operation Warp Speed" and the quick development of Covid 19 Vaccines.  It was Pence and his Covid 19 Advisory Board who pushed the idea of "Operation Warp Speed" and thank God they did but in every other way Trump did the wrong things with Covid 19.

"No Masks for me" Trump told his followers.

"No Need to Social Distance" Trump showed his followers by his Rallys and his White House Superspreader Events.

"Don't listen to Anthony Fauci.  He's a Never Trumper" Trump told his followers.

I spent a little time this week looking over Wikkipedia's Qanon page.  I would suggest that everybody to do the same.  Look it over and think about the fact that so many Americans have bought into this Incredibly Stupid Bullshit.  I have been trying to wrap my head around how many people voted for Trump even though he lost.  Clearly if many Americans could believe in Qanon they could believe in Trump.

I am not one to totally put down Conspiracy Theories.  I have some real concerns of my own about The JFK Assasination and UFO Coverups but anyone believing in Qanon should not be going to Congress.  They should be going to a Mental Hospital.

But rather than looking back at the First American President to join The Dictators Club with his Buddies from Russia, China, North Korea, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, we should be looking ahead to the Next President of the United States.  

I watched a very interesting interview on You Tube this week that Mike Wallace had with Aldous Huxley, Author of Brave New World, that was broadcast in 1958.  In this interview Huxley was extremely prophetic about how it could be that the United States of America might possibly slip into a Brave New World in which we could lose our Democracy.

Quite Frankly, we came damn near to losing our Democracy for good during these past four years but luckily we saved our Democracy, but only by the skin of our teeth.  Had it not been for the personal sacrifices made by every Major Democratic Presidential Hopeful to throw their support to Joe Biden we might well be looking toward the beginning of a Second Trump Term on January 20th.

Good God, Please take that Image away.

But instead, we are looking toward the long overdue comeback of a Living Breathing Democracy led by the man from Scranton and Delaware who will need the support of Americans as he tries to dig us out of the ditch that Donald Trump drove us into.

No, Joe Biden is not a Miracle Worker.  He is going to make mistakes but they will be Honest Mistakes rather than the Self Centered Dishonest Mistakes made by Donald Trump.  Can we please give Joe Biden a chance to get us on the right path without tearing down everything he does.  Lets give him the Honeymoon Period that we have given so many other Presidents.  

As Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress look down the road I hope that they, with the cooperation of Republicans who we can only hope will come to their senses when Trump is gone, will get rid of the Electoral College once and for all.  It is outmoded and unnecessarily dangerous and as we have found out this time around, as well as in the case of Gore-Bush and Kerry-Bush it can be manipulated, and not in a good way.

So as we stand before the crossroads of 2020 and 2021 let us thank Joe Biden for getting in the race this time around and thank his Democratic Comrades who stepped out of the way and threw their support to Biden.

We Salute you all and we look forward to the New Year of 2021 and a New Truly Democratic Administration led by a man of Decency and Honor.

To 2020 and to Donald Trump we say loudly "We are glad you are almost over"

I also want to say Thank You to everyone who has joined me this year in reading my Blog and listening to my Podcast  Your support is much appreciated.

I hope you will be coming back in the New Year.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher  

  

  

 

Welcome To Pardon Palooza

 December 26th, 2020

My Dear America:

Hey Everybody, Welcome to Pardon Palooza.  Its wonderful to have you all here.

Now Let me tell you how all this works.  

If you have been convicted of a crime or even if you just might just be on the verge of being convicted of a crime you have come to the right place, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  

Have we got a deal for you. Step right up and get your Pardon.  No waiting.  We work fast and loose around here.

Let me introduce you to some of our illustrious  customers.

First up is somebody who is a very satisfied customer, Michael Flynn.  Michael step right up here where we can see you.  Michael was treated very badly by the Obama Administration.  You see Barack Obama and some other Generals in the Pentagon didn't like the fact that General Mike Flynn had some very close friends in High Places in Russia. Mike was in charge of the DIA, which is the Defense Intelligence Agency.  You see, other Generals and President Obama were very jealous of the fact that Mike got to sit next to my buddy, Vladimir Putin and some other very high up Kremlin spies and officials. They all wanted to sit next to Vladimir Putin just like I do.  But Mike got the chance to do it.  I'm very jealous of you too, Mike.  

Well, anyway when I won the 2016 Election, by a lot of votes, I might add, if you don't count those damned illegal California votes, I met with President Barack Hussein Obama in the Oval Office and he told me "Whatever you do in your Administration, Donald, Whatever you do, don't hire Michael Flynn for your Administration. 

I knew right away what Obama was trying to do.  He was trying to keep me from hiring one of my favorite Generals, the one who shouted "Lock Her Up" the loudest at my rallies.  Obama was jealous that Mike Flynn was on my side now so naturally I knew that the right thing to do was to hire Mike Flynn so that's what I did.

I love you Mike.  You're one of my favorite people.  I know you lied to the FBI when they came and talked to you and asked you whether you had talked to my good Friend and Russian Ambassador,  Sergey Kislyak.  I know you lied For Me and that is why I'm granting you a full Pardon.  I know you pleaded guilty twice to lying to the FBI but I don't care, Buddy.  You are Okay in my book, You and your Lawyer, Sidney Powell, what a legal genius she is.  Now that I've pardoned you we can follow up on your very brilliant plan to declare Martial Law in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan Wisconsin and Pennsylvania so that we can seize the voting machines in those states and force a New Election in those states in which I didn't win.  Man, what a genius plan.

Next up on Pardon Palooza is my Great 2016 Campaign Manager, Paul Manafort.  I'm so sorry, Paul for all you've been through.  You were such a great campaign manager and you worked for nothing.  You didn't even get paid.  I never quite understood why you didn't want to get paid but I didn't fight it.  So what if you reported to Russian spies about everything that was happening in our campaign.  I didn't care.  you came cheap.  I saved money.  I'm sorry that you went to jail for me, Paul.  But you'll be Okay now.  You are Pardoned, my brother.  No more jail time for you, that is unless you do any more illegal stuff and I know that there's no chance of that happening.

And Next but not Least on Pardon Palooza is my Brother in Real Estate and my Son In Law's Father, Charlie Kushner.  I don't know why I'm giving you a Pardon, Charlie.  You already served your time, 16 months and you were released in 2006.  I guess I'm pardoning you because Jared asked me to.  So you got it Charlie.  Take that, Chris Christie.  I'm still in Awe of you, Charlie, for what you did to your brother in law and your sister.  Charlie's brother in law was ratting on Charlie to the Feds so Charlie got a prostitute to seduce his brother in law, Charlie taped the sexual encounter and send the tape to Charlie's sister.  I'll bet you don't get invites from that your sister and her husband anymore Charlie. 

Well that's it for this  particular session of Pardon Palooza.  I'm sure we'll have a few more pardons to give out before our time runs out here in the White House.  In the meantime I'm going to screw up the deal that would give Americans 600 Dollars, extended Unemployment Compensation benefits, and a moratorium on evictions.  

I'm going to insist that the Congress increase the Grant amount from 600 dollars to Two Thousand Dollars. I know the Republicans won't go for that.  And it will look like I really care about these suckers and losers that are dying because I screwed them over with Covid.  

Oh My God,  I'm such an Evil Genius.  Make that  A Stable Evil Genius.

Well, Goodbye for Now From Pardon Palooza.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

He Wouldn't Dare

 Monday, December 21st, 2020

My Dear America:

Certainly in a a normal Election Year we would be recognizing reality by now.  Whether we were Republicans, Democrats Or Independents we would be looking back at the November 2020 Election and whether we were happy about it or sad about it we would be recognizing that in the United States Of America when the votes are counted that there is a Winner and there is a Loser.  It is highly unusual to have, at this point in time, someone who didn't win the highest number of votes continually declaring that they are the legitimate winner of the Presidency in the November 2020 Election.

But Here we are.  Less than a month to go before Joe Biden is Inaugurated and Donald Trump has not conceded the election.  Not only that, Trump reportedly has been meeting with the craziest of his right wing confidants including Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn and they have been discussing among themselves the serious possibility of Trump Declaring Martial Law and dispatching the Armed Services to go to states which Trump LOST during the election and seize the voting machines with the intent of canceling votes cast in November and instituting a new election in those states that Trump Lost.

He wouldn't dare I hear myself saying.  Its a phrase that I have said countless times before.  Yet I know that in so many instances in the past Donald Trump continually did what we were sure he would not do and could not do.

He wouldn't dare Fire James Comey, Andrew McCabe and other FBI and Justice Department Officials including Sally Yates.

He wouldn't dare support Pardoning Michael Flynn.

He wouldn't dare disrespect Republican Stalwart John McCain and many other members of the Republican Party.

He wouldn't dare take the word of Vladimir Putin over the leaders of America's Intelligence Agencies.

He wouldn't dare lie to the American people time after time after time.

He wouldn't dare fire General Alexander Vindman and others who testified to the House Intelligence Committee prior to the Sham Republican Impeachment Show Trial. 

You get the idea.  The prospect of Donald Trump living within limits, norms and laws is a concept that does not exist.   

I know that I should be used to Donald Trump's insanity by now but until and unless Joe Biden and Kamala Harris genuinely take over our Government on January 20th I can't be calm about Trump's planned attempted Coup.  I will not say "He Wouldn't Dare" stage a straight out coup attempt.  And if he does who will stop him.  Will the members of the Republican Party stop him.  They haven't tried to stop him ever up to this point.  Well, to be fair Mitt Romney voted to impeach him but every other Republican member of  the House and Senate refused to Impeach him for things that certainly would not be tolerated had it been a Democrat that was doing them.

Certainly some Journalists are sounding the alarm but the question remains is anybody listening as Trump Conspires with Michael Flynn, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Sidney Powell and Mark Meadows to discuss Trump's reckless attempt to stay in power when he has no right to do so.  Certainly if we were watching this blatant illegal prospect to seize power in some other country we would be righteously disturbed.  Well, Its happening right here in what we still hope is the cradle of liberty.

I keep hoping that Congressional Republicans will wake up to reality before its too late. The truth is that although Joe Biden seems to want to work in cooperation with Republicans I hope President Elect Biden begins to recognize that his era of Democratic and Republican Cooperation and Consideration for one another seems to be a concept that may be no longer workable.

One can only hope, however, that possibly Joe Biden's willingness to work with Republicans will work out.  

Because if it doesn't work out Trumpzilla and Company if they are not successful this time out might end up Lying their way back into power again someday.  I don't think our Democracy can deal with another dose of Donald Trump.

Good Lord, take that nightmare away, along with the prospect of an impending Trump Coup.    

Lets just hope that on January 20th We Americans are saying to Donald Trump "Goodbye and Good Riddance" instead of "Sieg Heil."

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Stop The Steal

 Saturday, December 19th, 2020

My Dear America:

Yes it is true, America

Someone has genuinely tried to steal the November 2020 Presidential Election.  The attempt to steal the election has been blatant and truly disturbing.  It has been widespread and it is a dangerous threat to our Democracy and those who are behind it should stop it, Right Now, Today, before it goes any further.

Although Donald Trump has been the one accusing Joe Biden and the Democrats of Stealing the 2020 Presidential Election, the sad fact is that the person who has been defiantly trying to steal this past Election is Donald Trump.  As is usual for the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump has been loudly criticizing Joe Biden of trying to steal the election when the entire time Trump is the one who is strangely, and to my mind embarrassingly, trying to hang onto power by deep sixing the Democratic principle of a Free and Fair Election and attempting to distort the results of November's election.

It seems as though many Republicans are victims of Trump's mind control techniques.  Countless Republican members of Congress and many Republican State Attorney's General seem to have inexplicably signed onto the the Trump Twisted Truth Train for one last dangerous ride through America.  Thankfully the State officials in charge in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan have, regardless of their party loyalties held onto their principles and held off the unwarranted and unhinged Trump sponsored ballot challenges. 

It is time for the Big Republican Lie to end.  The results of the 2020 Election are in.  They have been in for a long time now.  We have tolerated the ridiculous nonsense suits all over the country that haven't gone anywhere because they have no basis in reality.  The truth is that if we look hard enough we can probably find some minor instances of voter irregularities that could change a few votes here and there.  But the reality is that Joe Biden won by a wide enough margin in enough states to give him enough Electoral College votes to assure that he is the legitimate winner of this past election and that on January 20th, he will be inaugurated as the next President of the United States.  After that he will lead The United States Of America for the next four years, at least. 

I understand the frustration experienced by the Trump voters.  They have reason to be genuinely disappointed that, although Trump got one of the largest vote totals ever for a Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden got far more votes.  It is actually a good thing that so many votes were cast in this past election, far surpassing the vote totals in any other previous election.  Donald Trump has good reason to be proud of his vote totals but the fact is that he didn't win the election.  He is a LOSER and a SORE LOSER, at that.

We Americans do get wrapped up in our political struggles.  I understand that well.  I certainly felt the sting in many instances when Candidates that i voted for and sometimes campaigned for, like George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Jerry Brown, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton didn't get elected.  I felt very disappointed and  dejected but I didn't go out on the street and stab people like Donald Trump's supporters did last weekend.

It took Mitch McConnell a long time to do it but he has finally congratulated Joe Biden on his Presidential Election Victory.  Now it is time for the rest of his party to join him in his acceptance of what we have known for over a Month.

JOE BIDEN WON THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, NOT DONALD TRUMP

If we didn't know it before, we should know it now.  Donald Trump is a Delusional Highly Disturbed Individual who happens to have been the President of the United States for the past four years.  Thank God Joe Biden had enough support to get more votes than Trump in the states where he needed to get them.  I don't even want to think about what would have happened to this country if Trump had been elected for another four more years.

Facts are Facts.  Votes are votes.  Regardless of what Trump wants to think or what he wants us to think, he has lost the Presidential Election to Joe Biden by a wide margin.  No amount of his senseless Whining, Lying or Distraction is going to change that.  

DONALD TRUMP IS A LOSER AND THATS THE FACT, JACK.

It is time to clean out the Traitorous stink from the White House and send Donald Trump back to Mar A Lago where he can continue his ridiculous charade and continue to build his money chest by sucking his supporters dry.

Let Trump pardon whoever he pleases, even including himself, as he walks out the door of the White House.  

Let his disgraced former National Security Advisor who Trump already pardoned continue to talk about Trump maintaining Martial Law to produce a rerun election.

Or let Trump stay in the White House and have to be dragged out kicking and screaming.

Just let this Burned out Mental Case named Donald Trump take his deranged sickness somewhere else and get the hell out of Washington D.C. and out of our lives and let the New and Improved Resident of the White House take his place in our Government and our lives.

Look out everybody, Normal is on the way back into our lives.

I don't know about you but I can't wait.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

             

Saturday Night Live And All's Almost Well

 Sunday, December 13th, 2020

My Dear America:

It's 11:30 PM On Saturday Night, December 12th, 2020 and my wife and I are watching our NBC Station, Channel 10 broadcasting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kate Mckinnon is portraying Doctor Anthony Fauci and Heidi Gardener is Portraying Doctor Debra Birx.  After a couple minutes of imitation the dynamic duo say the magic words.

"Live From New York, Its Saturday Night"

And once again through the magic of Television we are watching one of the longest running, consistently funny, truly satiric Broadcast Masterpieces of the modern age coming into our homes.

Throughout the past four years Saturday Night Live has done what it has done since it came on the air in the mid seventies.  It has made us laugh during hard times and good times and all times in between.  

It has reminded us at least once a week that we are living in a free society in which no matter who is in power they cannot and will not silence every critic like they do in some repressive societies such as Russia, China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia, for example.  

We are free in America to skewer our political leaders with impunity and no American Television Program does it better than Saturday Night Live.  

SNL did it with Gerald Ford, with Jimmy Carter, with Ronald Reagan, with George H.W. Bush & with George W. Bush, with Bill Clinton, with Barack Obama and with Donald Trump.  

Most Presidents took it in stride and even brought some Satiric Saturday Night Live Comedians to the White House for the Annual White House Correspondent's Dinner.  

Indeed, legend has it that Barack Obama and Seth Myers at one of those White House Correspondent's dinners poked fun at Donald Trump.  Trump's reaction was to get angry and to run for President himself and after winning the Presidency to try to undo nearly everything that Barack Obama had done to push the United States forward.

This Past Saturday Night Live was to my mind very special.  Timothy Shalome did a good job hosting  The skits were good and the music was Bruce Springsteen playing new Material.  How could you go wrong with Bruce Springsteen returning to Saturday Night Live once again after a long absence.

Quite Frankly Watching Saturday Night Live almost every Saturday has been a lifeline for my wife and I during not only the past four years but also the past forty plus years.  It has been extremely important, however, during the Trump years to be able to watch in their skits with Alec Baldwin playing Trump and on Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che putting Donald Trump in his place week after week.

I loved it.  Some weeks I lived for it.

While I was watching Saturday Night Live this past weekend I came to what I feel was an important revelation.  SNL had been part of my life for nearly 45 years.  My wife and I have watched SNL religiously for nearly as long as we have been together and we're still watching it.  Certainly SNL has changed over the years.  The SNL Cast has changed often, sometimes not in a good way, sometimes in a great way.  I think that SNL Producer, Lorne Michaels has, for the most part, made some good decisions and some bad ones but overall every cast has had some outstanding cast members.  

The Original Cast was called the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.  That Cast caught on very quickly.  The cast included John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Larraine Newman and Gilda Radner. It was truly an Outstanding Comedy Troupe.

Over the years many incredibly talented people have wandered the halls of Saturday Night Live during all night Writing Sessions in order to produce weekly miracles.  Although things are a bit different these days in the old days the Writers and Cast Members would produce a brand new show every week during Fall, Winter and Spring.  These days the Cast and crew seem to get a little more down time.  

Certainly Being asked to be a Guest Host on Saturday Night Live has got to be a signal that the Guest Host has "Made It."  Anybody who is anything has either Guest Hosted on SNL or is dying to do so.

Some of my favorite Cast members over the years in addition to all of the the Not Ready For Prime Time Players have been Will Ferrell, Kristin Wiig, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Eddie Murphy and so many others whose names escape me right now.  Some like Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock have gone on to great success.  Unfortunately some other cast members have left the show only to find obscurity awaiting them.

Some like John Belushi, Chris Farley and Steve Hartman have found Tragedy awaiting them after leaving the show.

Steve Martin during his comedy Heyday released a record called "Comedy Is Not Pretty."

Seeing some of the tragedy mixed in with the Comedy (Richard Pryor Comes To Mind) Steve Martin had it right.

This past Saturday as I watched SNL I thought about all the Saturdays during the Trump Era when I watched the show and was angry about what Trump had done the previous week to screw up the country.  Day after Day, Week after Week we had to put up with the madness of King Donald running roughshod over our Democracy.  It was terribly Frustrating to accept every week.  

But nearly every week we had Saturday Night Live to point out what an incredible Jackass Trump was and I honestly felt better knowing that I wasn't alone in my disgust with Trump.  SNL helped me and I am sure many other Americans to get through the terrible Trump Years.

The truth is that although SNL was a very important Comedy Program letting the Democracy shine through to Reasonable Americans we had other stalwart Comedy Democracy Warriors in addition to Saturday Night Live.  

Every night on CBS Stephen Colbert reminded us that Trump was crazy and out of control. So did Seth Myers on NBC.  Some of the other Comedy Soldiers included: Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah on Comedy Central, Bill Maher and John Oliver on HBO and Samantha Bee on TBS.  

As I watched SNL on Saturday Night I thanked God that we live in a Country where every four years we vote for a President.  

Despite the fact that many Republicans refused to recognize reality, we had a free and fair election in November in which Donald Trump, while he got more votes than I had expected, lost the Presidential Race to Joe Biden.  Despite Trump appointing three Supreme Court Justices, None of the Supreme Court Judges were willing to support any of Trump's baseless and worthless claims of fraud. 

The Supreme Court had announced on Friday, the day before SNL, that they were not going to hear any case involving Trump's election.  

It made this past Saturday Night Live even more enjoyable than usual because it certainly seemed as though in the United States of America the worst was over.

Unfortunately, however, while I was enjoying Saturday Night Live many Trump Supporters were clogging the streets of Washington D. C..  Some were beating and stabbing their fellow citizens and desecrating black churches. 

It appeared as though Donald Trump's Poison was not yet out of our system of Government.  Hopefully it would be soon.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

 

The Stepford Senator

Monday December 7th, 2020

My Dear America:

As I watched Republican Senator, Kelly Loffler "Debating" on CNN Sunday Night with her Senatorial Opponent, Democrat and Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Raphael Warnock, I couldn't help thinking I had seen her before.

It took me awhile to remember where it was that I thought had seen her before. 

Then it hit me.

I had seen her in a Movie called "The Stepford Wives."  That was it.  Like all of "The Stepford Wives," Kelly was long on hair and good looks and short on personality and original thought.  Kelly had a very weird and phony looking smile on her face throughout the debate.  While it was appropriate to smile at times, there were other times when serious topics were being discussed and her smiling was strangely inappropriate .  

Loeffler appeared to be almost robotic throughout the debate as she repeated stock Republican talking point phrases over and over like her description of Reverend Raphael Warnock as a "Radical Liberal," a description she repeated so often that I lost count.  She also threw the word "Socialist" around a lot and also accused Warnock of wanting to "Defund The Police."  Warnock strongly defended himself from these seemingly baseless repeated charges. 

Loeffler also had trouble with a question regarding whether or not she supported Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, or Donald Trump in their dispute about who won the November Presidential Election race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in Georgia. Loeffler refused to say that Biden had won the election.  She did not seem to want to commit to either Kemp or Trump but just kept repeating that Donald Trump was entitled to follow through on every legal avenue open to him.  Loeffler would not commit to whether Trump won or lost the election to Joe Biden.

To my mind any thinking person would not vote for Kelly Loeffler but after all I am a "Radical Liberal" so what do I know about Georgia Politics.

On the other hand I was impressed with the debate performance of Raphael Warnock.  I got the feeling that Reverend Warnock could definitely preach one heck of a "Come To Jesus" Sermon in Atlanta on any given Sunday.  He did dodge a question about whether he would support Packing The Supreme Court but other than that he seemed to be willing to answer relevant questions honestly.  Warnock made it clear that being the 11th of 12 children His priority was not going to be the Wall Street Corporate World but the Main Street World of the Poor and Middle Class Regular Americans.

 The Devil Went Down To Georgia, He Was Lookin For An Election To Steal

The Night before the Senatorial Loeffler-Warnock Debate Donald Trump had come to Georgia supposedly to campaign for Republican Senate Candidates, Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue, whose elections held the key to whether Republicans or Democrats would control the United States Senate during the upcoming Biden Administration.   

While Trump did actually mention the Candidacies of Loeffler and Purdue in his Georgia speech occasionally, unsurprisingly the two Senate Candidacies seemed to take a back seat to Trump's Grievances about how unfairly he felt he had been treated by Georgia State Officials in the Presidential Election Count.  Trump made it clear to Georgians that he felt that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Secretary of State had treated President Trump terribly by not prostituting themselves and their state by actually refusing to lie about which Presidential Candidate won more votes in Georgia.  Kemp had made it clear that although he personally supported Trump and voted for Trump, his state had voted for Biden by a substantial margin.

Certainly Governor Brian Kemp was not some Anti-Trump Democrat who had it in for Trump.  Prior to the Presidential Election Republican Kemp had shown himself to be a certified Trump Supporter.  Kemp had refused to mandate masks in the Covid Ravaged State that he had won in the Tainted Governor's Election Race with Stacy Abrams.  Abrams had eventually conceded that very close election to Kemp.  She had also made it clear that she felt that Kemp's questionable decimating the Democratic Voter Rolls as Secretary Of State making it difficult for voting in high black voter areas made his election extremely suspect, if not downright corrupt.

Loeffler had been left in a precarious position hanging between loyalty to Kemp, who had appointed her to the Senate after Georgia Senator Johnny Issackson had resigned due to health concerns, and Trump, whose agenda she had enthusiastically supported throughout her brief term in the Senate.  

During the Sunday Debate The Stepford Senator was asked which side she was on, Kemp's or Trump's.  The answer to that question seemed to be both of them.  She did her best to avoid a choice between the two high powered Chief Executives.

Although Loeffler had a rough night on Debate Night in Georgia in the other  scheduled Senatorial Debate the night before Trump came to town, only one of the two invited debaters had shown up.  David Purdue had endured a tough time during an earlier debate with Democrat, Jon Ossoff, in which Ossoff accused Purdue to his face of being a "Crook" for using information he learned in the course of his Senate duties to sell stock that he knew was going to be devalued.  Purdue did not look good in that early debate and in this last scheduled debate he refused to show up.  Ossoff debated an empty podium.  This made a very strange Debate night even stranger.  The Stepford Senator had also unloaded stock that through her Senate seat she found out was going to be affected by Covid 19.

Time will tell how things will eventually play out in the Georgia Senate Race.  Right now it certainly looks as though Georgia voters have been and will continue to be major players in the 2020 Presidential Election and in the upcoming Senate Runoff Election in Georgia.

Right now things have gotten even stranger in America with Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas initiating a suit against several states that were key to the Biden Presidential win, including Georgia, in an attempt to change the reality of Biden's election victory.  Paxton is a man who is obviously fishing for a Pardon from Trump to protect him from a Federal investigation into charges of corruption.  His desperate attempt to stymie the legitimate election of Joe Biden by having Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan Electors prevented from voting for Biden and turning the Elector selection over to the Republican led Senate is something that one might expect to happen in Russia but never in the United States of America.  

This incredibly disgusting display of Political Insanity will end in January when we can all look forward to a hopefully boring and normal Biden Administration beginning.  We just need to hope that after Trump's Incredibly Damaged Administration that it will be possible to get America back to being the most enduring Democracy in the world once again.

As Politicians are prone to saying, "God Bless The United States Of America."

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

 

 

The Legend Of Banjo Bob

 Sunday, December 6th, 2020

My Dear America:

To make this year even worse than it already was, My Great Friend, Banjo Bob Miller died this past week.  I'm not sure of the specific details of his death but Karen told me this week that Bob passed away in the hospital.  I assume it was Lehigh Valley Hospital since that was where he went when he had some heart problems awhile ago.  Karen, her husband Len and Gary and I were all players and singers along with Banjo Bob Miller in The Lehigh Valley Folk Music Society Performing Group in the most recent version of the Band.  We hadn't been playing together since January because of Covid 19.

We had quite a few different band members over the years. I think at one time we had as many as 9 members, maybe even 10 or 11.  Since we were registered as a Non Profit Group we didn't make money but we had some great gigs all around the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania and we all had a great time playing the kind of music that we had grown up listening to, Folk Music.  In recent years we were also doing some oldies and Doo Wop Music, as well.  We made some good music over the years we played and sang together and had a lot of good times together.

Bob had a lot to do with the direction of our music and everything to do with our recordings.  During the time I was with the group we recorded Two CD's, "Home Beyond The Sky" and "Garlic and Angels".  "Home Beyond The Sky" was a Two CD set of Gospel Songs, Two of which were songs that I wrote.  On the "Garlic and Angels" CD we featured two original songs apiece written and recorded by everyone in the band.  Bob really showed his extraordinary sound abilities in recording and mixing those Two CD's.  He also recorded at least one CD of songs he had written.  I am looking around right now for my copy of his original music CD so that I can listen to it again.  I just listened today to "Home Beyond The Sky" and I have to say this Gospel Folk Recording holds up really well.  Bob did a hell of a job recording the band.  He really knew what he was doing.

The last time I spoke with Bob on the phone he tried unsuccessfully to convince me to get together for a jam session with the group.  Clearly he wanted to get the band back together.  I did too, actually, but I refused to get together because of the pandemic.  I thought that we would have many more years to play after Covid.

I was wrong.

Overall, Bob and I had a pretty good relationship over the nearly thirty years that we played and sang together in the Folk Music Society.  Bob was opinionated and so was I, so we locked horns occasionally but it never lasted for very long.  Bob was not a guy who held grudges for very long.  He was a very sociable guy, for the most part.  He could be a bit difficult when we had gigs.  He always seemed to be a little PO'ed when we were setting up his equipment for a Gig.  He barked out orders like a drill sergeant and it got on our nerves but we band members put up with it because he always did his best to make us sound good.  He was an amazing sound Guy.  He knew his stuff about amplification equipment and he bought a terrific Bose Sound System for the Band out of his own pocket.  He wanted us to sound Great and generally we did.  We had some very good singers and players over the years we all played together.

I joined the Band  sometime in the mid Nineties. I had heard the Lehigh Valley Folk Music Society Play at a local Coffee House and at the time I was running a Christian Coffee House at a local church.  I asked Bob and the other members of the group if they would play for coffee and donuts at the Church Coffee House. They all said yes and I booked them.  While they were playing at the Church Coffee House I was standing in the background, very impressed by how well they played and sang.  Although I was nowhere near a mike I started singing some harmony along with "Sinner Man", a Gospel Folk Song that I knew well.  After the performance Bob came over to me and told me that he heard me throwing some harmony on "Sinner Man" and liked it.  He asked me then and there to join the band.  I told him that the band didn't need any more singers.  Bob Disagreed.  So I joined the band and played with them for many years, although I took a few years off to deal with some family issues.  Joining this band was one of the highlights of my life and my friendship with Bob is something that I will treasure forever.  He was a true friend and someone who was very special to me for nearly thirty years. 

Some of us called him Banjo Bob because he was such a good banjo player and he had a whole bunch of great sounding banjos.  He also had a whole lot of great sounding guitars and other instruments including a dobro.  He also played Great Harmonica.  Bob was a good banjo player but he was an even better guitar player.  Bob did all the booking for the band, paid all the bills and ran the jam sessions at the local Senior Center for many years.  

In recent years he had retired from his job as an executive and a Chemical Engineer at Air Products where he was an expert in Hydrogen.  During his Air Products employment He was on both State and Federal Advisory Committees with regard to Hydrogen use.  He was apparently a highly regarded expert on Hydrogen.  I remember him talking about going to meet in Harrisburg with Katie McGinty, who at the time was in charge of Environmental Protection for the state of Pennsylvania and who later on ran unsuccessfully against Pat Toomey for Senator.  Bob came back from one of his meetings with Ms. McGinty stating that at an earlier meeting he had given Katie a copy of our "Home Beyond The Sky"  CD.  Bob was thrilled because Ms. McGinty told Bob that she had listened to the CD and really liked it.   

I just discovered this week a voicemail on my I-Phone that Bob had left me on November 7th, just after the Election.  Bob was thrilled that Joe Biden had won and was asking me to call him.  I hadn't checked my voicemail for a long time because I couldn't get voicemail for a long time.  In fact, I was surprised this week that I was able to get voicemail at all.  

It is too late now to call Bob or get together with him.  I will certainly miss him.  This has been a lesson to me, however, that I need to call back and connect with some important people in my life while I can.  Because you never know when your time to get together might run out.

I will miss you very much my brother in Music.  

As we sang so many times on one of our Gospel Songs, "You've Been A Friend To Me" and I will never forget how much your friendship has meant to me.

On the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Album "4 Way Street" Neil Young says about his Friendship with Stephen Stills the following:

"We've had our ups and downs but we're still playing together."

I wish my time of playing with Banjo Bob wasn't over. But I will always have his incredible recordings to listen to and appreciate.  

Good Bye, Banjo Bob.  I will certainly never forget you. 

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher