Saturday, July 31, 2021

Blue Lives Matter Although Not At The United States Capitol Building on January Sixth

 July 31st, 2021


My Dear America

They were lined up seemingly from shortest to tallest.  The Boys in Blue.  The  Police Officers who bravely defended the Nations Capitol Building on January Sixth, that terrible day that we all wish didn't happen.  That is all of us Except Donald Trump and apparently those Republican Allies who are foolishly sticking by him in his efforts to Eradicate Democracy and install a Hitlerian Form of Dictatorship in The United States Of America.  

The Police Officers testifying before the January Sixth Commission were Daniel Hodges and Michael Fanone of the D.C Metropolitan Police Force and Sergeant Aquillo Gonell and Officer Harry Dunn of The United States Capitol Police Force.

The Police Officers were testifying at the First Public Session of the House of Representatives Select Committee appointed To Investigate the Invasion of the Capitol Building on January Sixth, Twenty Twenty One.  This Investigative body has been charged by the House of Representatives to investigate Who Invaded The Capitol, Why They Invaded the Capitol,  What damage the Invaders did while in the Capitol and Who Planned and Encouraged the Capitol Invasion.

There had been considerable arguing between Democrats and Republicans regarding whether or not there should have been an investigation by the Congress to begin with.  Democrats said Yes, there  should be.  Republicans (With The Exception of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger) said No, There should not be an investigation by the House

On the Morning of Tuesday, July 27th, however the matter was moot.  The January Sixth Commission was fully in operation with Several Democratic Members of the House, including Commission Chairman, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Zoe Loghgren, Adam Schiff and Pete Aguilar, from California, Jamie Raskin from Maryland, Stephanie Murphy from Florida and Elaine Luria from Virginia and the Two Republicans, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who were now being called "Pelosi Republicans" by House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy.

I guess being called "Pelosi Republicans" must mean that they are Republicans who believe in telling the Truth rather than parroting and promoting Donald Trump's Bullshit Lies.

The Police Officers Testimony was riveting and certainly made it clear that Donald Trump and his Republican Allies had good reason not to see this investigation take place.  

Republicans had downplayed the necessity of an investigation of the January Sixth Insurrection. 

One Republican House member characterized the Capitol Incursion as being like a bunch of 'Tourists' walking calmly through the Capitol Building, apparently not taking into consideration that the mob smashed windows to get in for their "Tour" of the Capitol shouting "Where's Nancy" and "Hang Mike Pence." They even crapped on the floor.  

Metropolitan Police Officer, Daniel Hodges had a different term for these "Tourists" which was certainly more appropriate.  He called the members of the mob "Terrorists" every time he spoke of them during his testimony to the Committee.  They certainly were that to him during his encounter with the Trump Goon Squad.  He and all four of the Officers testifying spoke of the horribly violent treatment they had all received at the hands of the Trump inspired mob.  

They were beaten with pipes, flag poles carrying Trump Flags and American Flags kicked and spat on and subjected to all manner of degradation by the "Terrorists."

Officer Harry Dunn was bombarded with epithets including countless cries of "Nigger" when he bravely acknowledged that he had voted for Joe Biden after he was told by a Crowd member that "Nobody voted for Joe Biden."

Sergeant Gonell stated that he was called a "Traitor" and a "Disgrace' by the rioters despite the fact that he was an Iraq Army Veteran, as well as a Police Officer.  He was also told that he should be executed and, in fact, thought he was going to be.  He was beaten badly by the rioters, as were the other testifying officers, and has numerous continuing Physical as well as Emotional wounds, as do the other officers on the panel.  Gonell mocked the Trump claim of "Hugs and kisses" given by the rioters to the officers. Gonell likened the violence of January Sixth to the violence of a medieval battlefield.  He stated that January Sixth was worse than anything he ever experienced during the Iraq War.

Officer Daniel Hodges said he was told by one of the "Terrorists" that "You will die on your knees.

Officer Michael Fanone testified that he was pulled into the crowd beaten, shocked repeatedly with a taser, robbed of his badge and knocked unconscious, suffering a heart attack.  Fanone also said he heard a rioter say "Kill him with his own gun."

Although one woman was shot inside the Capitol the officers testified that they did not use their guns in their attacks because they realized that shooting rioters would only make a very bad situation worse. I think we should applaud them for their obvious restraint when it came to shooting.

Although Republicans found it appropriate to fund countless investigations of Benghazi, Mitch McConnell had the nerve to state that he couldn't find the time to tune into the January Sixth Hearing which was Televised.  

Everything revealed in the testimony of the Police Officers about January Sixth is Deeply Disturbing.   That testimony  combined with the nationwide efforts of Republicans to rip away voting rights from Democrats makes it time to recognize that we are knee deep in a political quicksand that is about to kill Democracy in the United States Of America.

Yes, Democrats right now control the White House, The House and Senate but if Republicans nationwide get their way Democrats will not be in the driver's seat for long.  Efforts are continuing in nearly every state in the union to restrict voting for many Democratic constituencies.

It is time for Democrats to get active in every way possible in every state, County and municipality in the country  

It is time for Real Patriots to step up and do what we can to save the benefits of Democracy that we have taken for granted for so long.  

It is time to put Donald Trump and his White Nationalist-Ku Klux Klan and Nazi Patriots out to pasture and regain sanity again in both the Republican and Democratic parties.  We owe it to our Founding Fathers and we owe it to Ourselves to rid this nation of this Anti Democratic Cancer on our Democracy before it is too late to save what Democracy we have left.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher



Saturday, July 24, 2021

Nancy With The Slapping Face

 July 24th, 2021


Republicans seem to have an obsession with trying to denigrate and demean Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  They have tried it over and over and time after time Nancy Pelosi comes out on top and remains one of the most effective House Speakers and indeed Politicians we have ever had.  Yet in this increasingly Male Dominated Political realm the Republicans don't seem to learn their lesson that Nancy Pelosi is no shrinking violet that anybody in Congress can kick around.  She is widely respected and admired by Democrats in this Congress and she will continue to be the Strong Leader of Democrats that she has always been regardless of Republican efforts to sabotage her.

Nancy has always been Ballsy and Fearless even in the Ugly face of Republican Scorn and Truly UnAmerican Activities on January Sixth when MAGA Monsters invaded the Halls of Congress in search of Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence, as well as other Democrat Legislators to hang on a scaffold they had built outside the Capitol Building.  It was not the first time Shameless Individuals like this had wanted to hang people in the United States.  There had actually been a long and shameful history of mobs hanging people in the United States of America in decades long gone.

Clearly on the day of the Capitol Insurrection, urged on by Donald Trump's "Big Lie" and his Minions, the death, destruction and damage at the Capitol could have been even worse than it turned out to be, although what happened was certainly bad enough.  On that dark day in January people died.  Looking back on it and watching the continuing frightening footage that keeps appearing on television it strikes me that it is a total wonder that it did not become the bloodbath it would have been if Black Lives Matter Protesters were the ones storming the Capitol.  

But then it wasn't Black Lives Matter Protestors who invaded the Capitol.  It was those Whack Lives Matter Trump Supporters who stormed the United States Capitol.  

It wasn't Antifa who stormed the Capitol.

It wasn't Democrats pretending to be MAGA Supporters with their Red hats and Trump Flags and American Flags.

It was the MAGA supporters themselves carrying their Trump and American flags on the flagpoles that they beat she shit out of the Capitol Police with.

On January Sixth both Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell seemed to know who to be angry with about the Invasion of the Capitol.  They both condemned Donald Trump for organizing a "Stop The Steal" rally in Washington on the same day that Joe Biden would be officially certified by Congress as having been elected President of the United States.  At that Rally Trump continued to spread the Bullshit Lie that the election had been stolen from him.

McCarthy and McConnell both condemned Trump's Senseless and Selfish Actions on that day and shortly afterward.  Yet following that horrible day Mc and Mc seemed to to develop a form of Political Amnesia regarding the actions of Donald Trump on January Sixth.  

Democratic Congressional Leaders including Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, however, have had no trace of that Political Amnesia and have been pushing since January Sixth to have a fair, reasonable and bipartisan investigation conducted regarding What happened on that day, Why it happened and What to do to prevent it from happening in the future.

My wife and I were watching the Election Certification Activities on Television on the afternoon of January Sixth.  Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley in the Senate and several Republican members of the House, although the election results were clear that Biden won, were wiling to Obstuct the Certification proceedings in order to kiss up to Donald Trump. 

Plain and simply Donald Trump knew what he was doing on January Sixth.  He knew that his mob would follow his lead and he told them that he was going to go with them to the Capitol.  He did not do that, however.  He slunk back into the White House and according to White House Staffers he really enjoyed the Capitol TV Show and could not understand why others in the White House were not as excited and pleased by the proceedings as he was.

Clearly the Democrats have tried to do the right thing when it comes to investigating the Capitol Insurrection.  They tried to appeal to Republicans in the House and Senate to set up a Bipartisan Investigation of the Capitol Riot.  Republican Leaders and many Republican Legislators rejected that effort.

So when that bipartisan effort failed Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in the House decided to set up a Select Committee through the House of Representatives including Democrats and Republicans.  

Republican House Leader, Kevin McCarthy was allowed to make Five Choices for appointment to the Committee.  Two of his choices, One of whom was Jim Jordan, who was well know to be a Trump Ass Kissing Disrupter in previous Impeachment Investigations of Trump, were rejected by Nancy Pelosi.  Good for her in preventing the January Sixth Investigation from turning into a Clown Show.

Although McCarthy is presenting Nancy's blocking of two disgustingly partisan Trump allies from being appointed to the Investigation Committee as Abuse of Power, it seems to me that the shoe is on the other foot and it is McCarthy who has mistakenly knowingly made bad choices for the Committee.  Like the fool that he is, McCarthy took his appointees and went home refusing to seat any of the Republicans he had chosen to be on the Committee.

Now he is in the unenviable position of watching Nancy Pelosi outwit him again.

Nancy had already appointed Conservative Republican, Liz Cheney to the Committee and word is that Republican House Member, Adam Kinzinger is also probably going to be appointed to the January Sixth Investigation Committee.  So in the end Kevin McCarthy will not have any of his chosen members on the January Sixth Investigation Committee.

Way to go, Kevin.  Nancy Pelosi has outsmarted you again.  

Now ain't that a Slap in the Face.  

You should be getting used to it by now.     

So as it stands now only the two Republican House Members who have refused to believe in Trump's "Big Lie" will be sitting among the Democrats appointed to the January Sixth Committee when it meets this coming Tuesday to begin its Investigation of the January Sixth Invasion of the Capitol.  They will begin these public hearings by listening to the Police Officers who put their lives on the line on January Sixth to protect members of Congress.

It should be interesting but also disturbing testimony as the officers reveal the details of the January Sixth Invasion of the Capitol from their perspective.  

Even though most Republicans will not be part of the Investigation I hope they do pay attention to the Officer's testimony and will in the end help to insure that what happened on January Sixth will never happen again.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Happy First Anniversary To Podcast For A Lost Nation

 July 12th, 2021


I recorded the first Episode of "Podcast For A Lost Nation" just about a Year ago in July of 2020, the year of the Covid 19 Pandemic.  

Remember that.  

Our President at the time discouraged people from wearing masks and thanks to him several hundred thousand people died who probably could have been saved.  Oh yes, also President Trump had his own Weird theories on how to deal with Covid 19.  He famously said all that was needed was a little bleach and some light inserted through the rear end of the body.

These and many other insane and reckless lunatic fringe ideas from the mind of Donald Trump that Americans tolerated for four long years pushed me in July of 2020 to think about starting a Podcast.

What finally pushed me over the edge into actual Podcasting was listening to several episodes of Michael Moore's excellent Podcast, "Rumble".  On the episodes I heard Michael Moore encouraging listeners to start their own Podcasts on Spotify.  I listened to his encouragement and checked out the "Anchor" Website which gave instructions on what to do to start a Podcast.  I found out that I had the right equipment already with a good Shure microphone and a "Focusrite" Interface to attach to my computer.

After four years of Madness with Donald Trump in the White House I was terrified in July of 2020 that he might get re-elected.  I wanted to do something other than what I had done in other Presidential Elections in which I volunteered to call Democrats on the phone.  I know those calls do need to be done but I hate making calls to people, who on those few occasions that they answer, get annoyed by your calls.

I thought that with a Podcast if someone got annoyed listening to it that they could turn it off and I would be none the wiser if they were annoyed. 

In 2008 I had begun writing a Blog that I called "Letters To a Lost Nation" and had been continuing to write Blog Posts ever since.  I found that it was rather easy for me to take my Blog Posts and read them off my IPad and record them as Podcasts.

So that's what I have done with "Podcast For A Lost Nation" over the past year. I was hoping that by now in July of 2021 that i might be able to write about something other than Donald Trump and I have, at times, but like a Zombie or a Cat with nine lives, even though Donald Trump was defeated in the November 2020 Election he has only gone to Mara Lago but has not gone out of our lives.

I don't know what was wrong with me to think that after the 2020 Election that Donald Trump would behave like every other losing Candidate in every other American Presidential Election and Congratulate Joe Biden as the winner and leave the scene.  I guess I forgot that for Donald Trump the absolute worst thing in the world is to be a "LOSER."  So after what was clearly a good showing for Donald Trump in November of 2020 Trump simply refused to accept the election outcome and apparently, at least to his own mind, he is still not a loser. 

Trump did lose, however, in an election in which the American people can be proud of the Genuine Integrity of the election.  Despite the disgusting raid on the Capitol by Trump's Goon Squad on January Sixth in which Trump incredibly hoped to prevent the United States Electoral System from working correctly, thanks to Mike Pence and the United States Congress it did work correctly, however and the Congress and Mike Pence did their jobs.  Even Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell did their jobs correctly on January Sixth.  They both condemned Trump and the Capitol Insurgents on the 6th but since that time they have once again, along with most other Republicans in Congress, pledged allegiance not to The United States but to Donald Trump.  

Instead of the vast numbers of Republicans waking up to the reality of how bad Donald Trump really is, it seems as though Trump's Narcissism has spread like a Cancer throughout the Republican Party, not only in Congress but in nearly every State House in America.  

Republicans choose to call their Incredibly Anti Democratic Legislation Voter Integrity Bills.  There is no integrity in these bills that are blatantly meant to disenfranchise Blacks and Young Voters, in particular and Democrats, in general.

I saw two interviews this week with Michael Woolf who has written three books about Donald Trump.  The latest book is called "Landslide" and is about the Final Days of the Trump Administration.  Although many commentators have danced around calling Donald Trump what he is, Michael Woolf was very clear in what he thinks about Donald Trump.

Woolf had the following words to say about Donald Trump:

He is Deranged.

He is A Lunatic.

He is Crazy.

Hats off to Michael Woolf.  You can't get much clearer than that.  

Its just too bad that Donald Trump seems to have made the Republican Party just as crazy as he is.

On this First Anniversary of "Podcast For A Lost Nation" I would like to take a minute to thank you, the listeners of "Podcast For A Lost Nation."  It has been encouraging to me to see how many of you have tuned in to the Podcast.  Unlike many other Podcasts that have production teams and sponsors I don't need or want a production team or sponsorship.  I see nothing wrong with these things but I would prefer to keep things simple.  I thank all of the listeners in the United States and in many other countries throughout the world including Germany, England, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, France and the United Arab Emirates who have tuned in to the Podcast.  I especially thank my friends and the members of my family who have tuned in and on occasion have given me some very valuable feedback.  

Thanks to Mickey, Jon, John and Anita, Larry, Rachel and Dom, Colleen, Laura and Evan and to everyone else who has listened to the Podcast.  

I also want to thank Joe Biden for winning the Presidential Election in November of 2020 and his Cabinet and Staff for showing us all how Government should be and could be done correctly. 

I certainly thank Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania and Josh Shapiro, Attorney General of Pennsylvania for doing what they can to keep Republican Pennsylvania Legislators under control in our state and helping to keep Democracy alive in Pennsylvania.  

I also thank Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and their Democratic Colleagues in Congress for all they do in keeping Democracy Alive in the House of Representatives and Senate in Congress and in The United States of America. 

I also want to thank Michael Moore for his enduring dedication to keeping Democracy alive in the United States of America and his inspiration for me to keep striving for Democracy even in the face of tremendous Republican efforts to weaken it or, in fact, kill it.  

Although I would like to see a time when I could relax and enjoy the encouraging progress made by the Biden Administration and look forward to many more years of Responsible Democratic Governing, the frightening changes happening in the Republican Party and the United States of America seem bound to keep me focused on keeping our "Lost Nation" a Democracy.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank "Anchor" and "Spotify" for providing me the opportunity and the tools to make "Podcast For A Lost Nation" possible at no cost to me.  

I look forward to many more years of Podcasting to come.  Even though this year has been stressful, it has also been rewarding in a lot of ways.

Once again I say to all of you:  "Thanks For Listening."


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher