Jimmy Carter Is Dead - Long Live Jimmy Carter

Tuesday December 31st  2024

My Dear America:

I was planning to simply let my February of 2023 Blog Post and Podcast be my only Commentary on former President Jimmy Carter.  Essentially I thought that in that blog post and Podcast that I pretty much nailed it and said almost everything that I wanted to say about my Democratic Presidential Hero, Jimmy Carter.

But after some reflection and observing the mainly positive reaction to the Passing and Legacy of Jimmy Carter I realize that there is still much to say about this incredible American Statesman and as Folksinger Phil Ochs sang many years ago "I'm Gonna Say It Now"

First of all, It goes without saying that I wish the Family of President Carter all the best in their time of Incredible Loss and Grief.  It wasn't as if family members were surprised at Jimmy's passing.  What was surprising to me and I am sure to many of them is that Jimmy hung on as long as he did.  He made it clear to his close family members and friends that he wanted to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris and he did vote in November's Election.  

I certainly think that it is fitting at this time that American Flags will be flying at half mast for President Carter as we prepare for four years of chaotic madness as Donald Trump returns to the Presidency.  Jimmy Carter made it very clear over the years how he felt about Donald Trump.  Lets just say he was not a fan of a man who was not exactly a Paragon of Virtue who narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College but lost to her in the tabulation of all legitimate votes.  When asked about it Jimmy Carter indicated that he felt that Trump's victory owed much to Russian interference in the American Presidential Election.  Jimmy Carter knew about and cared about legitimate elections all over the world and he and the Carter Center were asked and responded to many countries who trusted him to supervise their elections.

Although there is a lot wrong with America these days one of the worst things that I have seen are some of the bad taste comments made by some Republicans about President Carter.  Scott Jennings is one and a Colorado Republican is another.  These sick and disturbing comments about a Good President and a Good Man are undeserved and despicable.

In a world in which Money and Power seem to be the main driving forces in the Current Republican Party and Despite his many serious deficits, Donald Trump's continuing stranglehold on the Republican party seems to be stronger than ever.  The legitimate comparisons of Donald Trump to Hitler do not seem to move Republicans to return to a Republican Party that valued Decency and Stood against Corruption and against Communism.

Whatever else Jimmy Carter was he was a thoroughly Decent Man and proud of it.  In my previous Post and Podcast I listed the many positive things Jimmy did in his life.  I would ask those who may be interested to check out that post and Podcast.

It is most encouraging to me to observe the Great Majority of comments on the passing of President Carter from every corner of the World.  Even Donald Trump, unlike most of his comments regarding other politicians, had some nice things to say about Carter.  I have a suspicion that perhaps someone in Trump's orbit other than Trump really made the comments for him but I hope I am wrong about that.

I am very glad that at this odd and perilous time in our history that we will be celebrating Jimmy Carter in a way that is deserving of his contributions to our country and our world.  Jimmy Carter was one of a kind and we will miss him but at least he will not be around to suffer through the brutal reality of what might be coming in the next four years.  

I thank Joe Biden, another Extremely Decent and Highly Unappreciated Democratic President, for agreeing in advance to Carter's request for President Biden to Eulogize Jimmy Carter.  

It makes sense to me that President Biden should be the person to celebrate Jimmy Carter's legacy.  They were two of a kind.  They were two Decent Dudes who loved America with all their heart and all their soul and did a good job in their Elected Positions as Presidents of the United States of America.  We will miss them both in the coming Dark Days in America.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

  

Please Check Out "Thank You and God Bless You President Jimmy Carter" which was published initially on February 23rd, 2023

These Are The Good Old Days - Enjoy Them While You Can

 Saturday, December 14th, 2024

My Dear America:

Carly Simon said it back in the day in her song, "Anticipation".

"These Are The Good Old Days" she sang, or something close to it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  We didn't know how good we had it during the Biden years.  

Joe Biden saved us in 2020 from dealing with what we are now going to have to deal with in just a few weeks.  And we are finding out right now that the Gutless Republicans in Congress seem to be ready to  rubber stamp Donald Trump's Awful Cabinet picks.  Donald Trump is pushing hard for Kash Patel to take over the FBI where he has promised to hunt down such hardened criminals as Journalists who have written that Trump did not win the 2020 Election (Never mind the fact that the Journalists are telling the truth).  Patel also has on his wish list of criminals to track down the Congressional members of the January Sixth Congressional Investigative Committee as well as those mainly Republicans who testified to the January Sixth committee. (Never Mind the fact that the January Sixth Committee and their brave Republican Witnesses were telling the truth about Donald Trump's Organized Insurrection and uncalled for invasion of the Capitol).  

Although initially it looked as though Senator Joni Ernst might have some problems with Trump's pick of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense because, among other things, he had stated that he did not want Women in Combat.  But somehow now the Republican pressure program seems to have Turned Senator Ernst around to a more acceptable MAGA Perspective.

Tulsi Gabbard's Questionable loyalty to Syria's Assad and to Vladimir Putin should by all rights prevent her from being considered for appointment to Director of National Intelligence.  Time will tell, however how that all turns out.  

In the meantime as we continue to reel from the inappropriateness of Trump's Cabinet and Leadership picks we just found out that FBI Director Christopher Wray resigned.  Although Trump appointed him FBI Director for a 10 year term apparently Wray got a little tired of hearing about his impending doom as Kash Patel was obviously going to be Trump's choice for FBI Director.  I am disappointed that Wray didn't force Trump to fire him but I can't blame him for wanting to leave his FBI Post with more dignity than James Comey got when Trump gave him the Ax.

I am personally finding it harder and harder to watch TV and read newspapers lately.  The news which was uncertain for awhile ever since the election has been very hard to take.  

I continue to appreciate the fact that we still have a few more weeks of governmental sanity prior to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris going off into that Land of peace and quiet for them but insanity and horror for the rest of us.

I am trying to keep my spirits up by writing and playing music.  I have a few more writing projects in mind for right now and I am sincerely looking forward to the new movie about Bob Dylan called "A Complete Unknown".  It has been a long time since I was willing to shell out money to go to a movie theater but I am very excited about the Dylan movie.  The reviews seem to be very positive and I am desirous of anything positive right now.

I just finished reading "The Passage of Power" the last volume of Robert Caro's 4 Volume Series "The Years Of Lyndon Johnson".  (I read the last 3 volumes during the past year) These books have helped me to focus on politics but not necessarily on Donald Trump.  But that buffer zone is gone now although I have several other good books to read in the coming difficult years including Hillary Clinton's latest book, "Something Lost, Something Gained", which my wife just read and recommends highly.

I have heard it said recently that apparently Bill Maher may be considering giving up his HBO Show, "Real Time With Bill Maher".  I became a fan of that show some time ago and I probably would miss it if it goes off the air.  He always seemed to have interesting guests and commentators.  Apparently Bill Maher has stated that he is tired of talking about Donald Trump.  I completely understand his frustration.  Clearly Maher never appeared to be a fan of Trump but on the other hand he was brutally cruel in his criticism of Joe Biden often and Kamala Harris sometimes.  Perhaps Mr. Maher is beginning to recognize that perhaps his constant criticism of Democrats might have had something to do with the fact that Donald Trump is on his way back to Washington shortly.  

To be sure I feel sick about the fact that Donald Trump is going to be back in power.  I would love to say that I am also sick of writing about Donald Trump because I am but everything I see tells me that whether I like it or not I need to continue to write about the bastard.   I can see by his Cabinet picks and his imminent plans to start picking up immigrants from even churches, schools and Hospitals (which had been off limits to Ice) that it will be hard to avoid writing about him.

I have been giving a lot of thought lately about how I and my Democratic Friends are going to be able to survive the upcoming four years.  

I am dusting off a lot of books that I have bought over the years and I have more than a few writing projects that I am going to try and finish, as well as some that I plan to begin.

I've got a number of streaming services to provide TV and movies to keep my mind occupied.

My wife and I are going to try and get serious about getting and staying in shape in the coming years.

But all in all it is going to be very hard to get through the next four years.  I found that out the hard way just a few days ago.   

I hadn't been to see my Podiatrist since 2019 and since my feet were getting increasingly numb I thought that it might be a good Idea to get them checked out so I set up an appointment.  Since I have had some good conversations with my Family Doctor about politics and Donald Trump in particular I just assumed that talking to my Foot Doctor about my political concerns would be very similar.

As we discussed the holidays and the upcoming new year I told my Foot Doctor that I was "Not Happy" to see Donald Trump returning to the White House.

As he stood by the door ready to leave the Exam Room the Foot Doc looked at me with a wide smile on his face and told me that he was "Very Happy" to see Donald Trump returning to the White House, just prior to practically slamming the Exam Room Door in my face.

This was an experience that probably shouldn't have been unexpected but it was.  

Ever since this happened I have had this movie scene in my head from a Fifties Movie called "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". In this movie Kevin McCarthy (The Actor, not the Politician) plays a doctor who returns to his Hometown only to find that residents of the town are being replaced by Pod People (New bodies that rob the old bodies of their minds and emotions)

At the end of the movie The doctor is trying to escape from the town and jumps onto a truck only to find that the truck is carrying hundreds of the Pods that came from space that have been sucking the lives and emotions out of the Doctors Friends and Relatives and he realizes that the truck is carrying the overwhelming number of pods to the rest of the world and there is probably nothing he can do about it.

I feel kind of like that Fictional Doctor right now.  I can see that although there are some of us left who are not Pod People That "The Invasion of the Mind Snatchers" is not only underway but it looks like it has been completed to the point where there are enough of the Pod People to have voted in Donald Trump, a man whose faults are too numerous to mention over Kamala Harris, An intelligent and talented politician whose excellent characteristics and accomplishments are also too numerous to mention.  

Like Kevin McCarthy, overwhelmed in the back of the Pod Truck I am also finding it harder and harder to find people today who have not been taken over by the MAGA Crowd.  I continue to value my friends and neighbors who still value Democrats over Republicans, Truth over Lies and Kindness over Cruelty.

I'm not sure how we are going to be able to suffer through the upcoming four years but for right now before the MAGA Fat Lady sings on January 20th I am going to continue to try and have a good time and be grateful to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the fact that they have made our lives a lot better than they will be coming next year.

I know that I am going to have a hell of a hard time this New Years Day saying "Happy New Year" but I continue to hope for many good things happening in the coming years.  I still live with hope that America and the world have many fine years ahead of us.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

The Pardoning Of Hunter Biden

 Tuesday December 3rd  2024

My Dear America:

Let me say right away that as a Democrat and as a United States Citizen I completely  support the Right and, indeed, I believe the Responsibility, of Joe Biden to pardon his son, Hunter Biden for any and all crimes that he may have committed during the past several years.

I find that the Outrage that seems to be coming from Right Wing Republicans to be Extremely Hypocritical.

Republicans are bending over backwards to prop up Donald Trump's disastrous nominees for Cabinet and other Leadership roles in the Pending Trump Administration.  Those being tapped for important roles in the Trump Administration from what I can gather are pretty much the worst of the worst, for the most part.  The only qualification that I can see most of them having is total fealty to Donald Trump.  Clearly, in the Trump Cabinet only Yes Men and Yes Women are qualified to participate in important Government Jobs.

It remains to be seen if Republicans in Congress will stand up to Trump and his reckless and unqualified nominees.  My guess is that if any Republicans insist on the nomination of only qualified candidates that their days will be numbered in their party and in some cases in Congress.

Donald Trump's reaction to the Hunter Biden Pardon was certainly predictable. He tweeted today complaining about the Biden Pardon and asking whether President Biden will be pardoning the "J-6 Hostages".  

No Donald, Joe Biden will not be pardoning the January Sixth Insurrectionists who broke into and damaged the Capitol and threatened and injured many Police officers.  He will be leaving that up to you.

First of all, there is no equivalency regarding what the Trump Insurrectionists did and what Hunter Biden did.  

And while we are at it, Donald, you have a hell of a lot of nerve bitching about pardons when you were handing out pardons to some of the worst people ever during your administration.  Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone actually committed serious crimes.

Democratic Representative Daniel Goldman was asked on CNN about the Hunter Biden Pardon and pointed out that in a sane world Hunter Biden never would have been charged with a crime if his name was other than Biden.  I am convinced that Daniel Goldman was right.  Hunter tried to work out a plea deal for his chickenshit charges with the Special Prosecutor and the judges but Congressional investigators were not satisfied and pushed the issue with the Justice Department and the Special Prosecutor and Hunter Biden went to trial in what even one of the Jury members who convicted Hunter determined that the trial was a waste of Government time and money.

Maybe Joe Biden made a mistake in stating more than once that he was not going to pardon his son.  But President Biden has seen the continuing parade of misfits being nominated by Donald Trump for top positions in the Justice Department including Kash Patel for FBI Director and Pam Bondi for Attorney General.  

These people, like many other Trump appointees, are not the cream of the crop.  They are not even the cream of the crap and I don't blame Joe Biden in the least for his decision to save his son from the incoming "Justice" Department.  

Bravo Joe.  I know that you know that you have done the right thing. If I was in your shoes I would have done the same thing you did.  You know that if your son was Hunter Smith and not Hunter Biden he never would have been charged with filling out a form incorrectly or tax charges in which Hunter already paid his correct taxes long before the tax charges were filed.   

Donald Trump and his band of misfits are about to take over the Government of the United States.

"God Bless us and Save us" my Irish mother would have said if she was alive to see this political madness.

At least Hunter Biden will hopefully be saved from the reckless revenge of the Trump regime.

Not only should you have saved Hunter's hide from reckless Justice, Joe but I think it might be a good idea for you to pardon yourself and  every member of your Administration Team to prevent Donald Trump and his merry band of misfits from following through on Trump's promise to unleash revenge on those of you who Governed responsibly during the past Four Years.

God Bless you, Joe.  You are a Great Father and you have also been a Great President.  

We Love You and We will surely miss you.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher