“I am almost positive James Madison fell off a cloud somewhere today when Trump said that. The founders of the republic stitched together a complicated game of chess to ensure our president was a very weak king who could be simultaneously slowed down by the legislature, judiciary and federalism. His authority is far from total.”
—Republican donor Dan Eberhart, on Trump’s absurd claim on Monday that he had “total authority.” [Now, if the legislature, i.e. Congress, and the judiciary would only live up to their responsibilities to provide checks and balances…]
“The reality is that the WHO failed to adequately obtain, vet and share information in a timely and transparent fashion.”
—Donald Trump, in explaining Tuesday why he was withholding funding for the World Health Organization. [No explanation was forthcoming as to why Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus for at least six weeks, even going to far as to call it a Democratic “hoax” aimed at hurting his presidency—with Rush Limbaugh cheering him on. Oh, let’s not let Loudmouth Limbaugh off the hook on this.]
“In fact, we expect the first checks to be in the mail early next week.”
—Treasury representative, on when the first stimulus checks will be going out. [That sounds familiar, along with something about still respecting you in the morning.]
Louisiana Voice 
I am thinking those checks will go out post haste because they now will carry the Donald J. Trump scrawl signature in big black sharpie because he needs to use every jot and twiddle of our tax paid government to further his re-election campaign. How I long for the days when our Senate would function as a check on this out of balance president. And, lest we forget, this Republican Senate, except for Romney, created this “president monster!”
The Treasury Department has ordered President Donald Trump’s name be printed on stimulus checks, a process that is expected to slow their delivery by several days. His name will appear on the left side of the payment. It will be the first time a president’s name appears on an IRS disbursement. The decision is another sign of Trump’s effort to cast his response to the pandemic in political terms. – From The Press Democrat
Another example of Trump wanting credit for anything seen as good, but taking no responsibility for anything that reflects on him negatively (such as blaming W.H.O. for slow CV response). And I am sure Jefferson was right there with Madison when he fell off the cloud.
Just what we need the WHO restricted on funding. I guess it was a gut in-stink by Putins useful idiot….(Why not anything to disrupt the american people from interfearing with his reign.) Been thinking about international affairs beyond Crono infections? Me neither?) Iraq. Iran, N.Korea, S. Korea relations, Billions of taxes on the american people in Tariffs, Mexico paid border wall? Talaban killing Americans, you know the ones invited to Camp David by the Lover of the Great N. Korea murderer…..And so the diversion show goes on, unfund the WHO in the middle of this situation. Thanks Bone Sour or is it STD Pres…
Remains to be seen if he can “unfund” W.H.O. “The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed in response to perceived abuse of the power under President Nixon. Title X of the Act removed that power, and Train v. City of New York (whose facts predate the 1974 Act, but which was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court after its passage), closed potential loopholes in the 1974 Act. The president’s ability to indefinitely reject congressionally approved spending was thus removed.” Source: Wikipedia
I appreciate your pointing out so many of our “Trump international screw-ups” intended to further weaken America abroad….not to “make America Great Again”…Putin laughs!
The WHO needs to be de-funded. Pretty much the United Nations as well. They certainly do not work in our favor or even in a neutral fashion. And they covered for China in this instance.
https://www.westernjournal.com/newly-released-email-shows-seemingly-ignored-coronavirus-warning-december/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=PostTopSharingButtons&utm_campaign=websitesharingbuttons&fbclid=IwAR2MhdOsWD5r–yFNuU1TjJmuTVFdkrvJwx5FLG4ClEBWESi0_4rLfUIfVI
And Remi, if Putin is Trump’s :friend”, I would not want to be one of Trump’s enemies. Trump has sanctioned the Russians to the point of ruining their economy (as Iran as well). Trump bombed Russian soldiers in Syria.You are the classic misinformation person. Evidently you like the USA to pay high tariffs on exports while having low tariffs on imports. I assume you took economics with AOC. And Remi, did you serve ? Trump served about as much as Clinton or Obama. If you did, thanks for doing so. STD ? At least pretend to have manners.
CJ, I agree with you for a change on the stimulus checks.I do not need to see Trump’s signature on my check. Trump is starting to sound like Obama, all good is me, and everything else…..well, you know the song.
And Edith…when exactly were those days you “long for” when the Senate was a check on the President ? You know, the elected President. Do you pine for the days when Obama gave us three dollars per check back by reducing % of social security tax and Nancy Pelosi told us how lucky we were ? Yet, she called tax reduction by Trump peanuts? My, what short memories.
Zoe, Edith is referring to the checks and balances put forth by the forefathers of this country. Yes, it applies to elected presidents.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/western-journalism/
Just sayin’.
Zoe,
Fredster’s comment makes the important point: You read and believe conservative news sources that are lying to you, just like impeached trump lies to all of us many times each day. There is little point in extensive responses to your factually challenged writing when you will rarely accept actual facts that conflict with your conservative faux facts.
One question: You think Obama was one of our worst presidents. Would you please provide a short list of the most terrible specific things he did as President?
And as a follow up. I note the last five words in sentence one are “that are lying to you”. Tell me what are those lies you refer to ? I am “factually challenged” , and “rarely accept actual facts” ? Conservative “faux facts” ?
I say to you, do some research before you lie about me. If I am shown to be wrong, I accept that and apologize, and have done so in this particular column,. An opinion is not always factual. You are proof of that.
Zoe,
Vanity Fair, a year ago said Impeached trump had told over 10,000 lies since inauguration. More recent stories from Huffington Post and the Washington Post have the count over 15,000. Conservative media repeating as truth what reputable journalists have identified as lies make them liars also.
And then there is InfoWars and similar sites. They make up things like the Sandy Hook shooting being fake. One of their principles and a follower have both lost in court as a result of Sandy Hook parents being harassed because of that particular lie.
Kelly Ann Conway once referred to “alternate facts” she used in responding to a question. Those of us living in the real world call those lies.
And these are just the easily documentable examples.
I’m waiting for you to apologize for the lies that you have repeated on this blog. There are way too many to list them all.
OneState worker;
1. First President to be photographed smoking a joint.
2. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
3. First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
4. First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States.
5. First President to violate the War Powers Act.
6. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
7. First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
8. First President to spend a trillion dollars on “shovel-ready” jobs when there was no such thing as “shovel-ready” jobs.
9. First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
10. First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
11. First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S., including those with criminal convictions.
12. First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
13. First President to tell a CEO of a major corporation (Chrysler) to resign.
14. First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space.
15. First President to cancel the National Day of Prayer and to say that America is no longer a Christian nation.
16. First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
17. First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
18. First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly spoke out on the reasons for their rate increases.
19. First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state it is allowed to locate a factory.
20. First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN).
21. First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
22. First President to actively try to bankrupt an American industry (coal).
23. First President to fire an inspector general of AmeriCorps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
24. First President to appoint 45 czars to replace elected officials in his office.
25. First President to surround himself with radical left wing anarchists.
26. First President to golf more than 150 separate times in his five years in office.
27. First President to hide his birth, medical, educational and travel records.
28. First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
29. First President to go on multiple “global apology tours” and concurrent “insult our friends” tours.
30. First President to go on over 17 lavish vacations, in addition to date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends paid for by the taxpayers.
31. First President to have personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
32. First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000 a year at taxpayer expense.
33. First President to fly in a personal trainer from Chicago at least once a week at taxpayer expense.
34. First President to repeat the Quran and tell us the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.
35. First President to side with a foreign nation over one of the American 50 states (Mexico vs Arizona).
36. First President to tell the military men and women that they should pay for their own private insurance because they “volunteered to go to war and knew the consequences.”
37. Then he was the First President to tell the members of the military that THEY were UNPATRIOTIC for balking at the last suggestion.
And this does not touch things like “Fast and Furious”, Benghazi, Using Justice Dept, CIA, NSA to spy on American citizens, falsify FISA warrants, use IRS to punish enemies, involve himself in local matters and interject race issues to cloud things, instigate riots (Dallas, St Louis etc) take sides against law enforcement. Where do you understand that conservative news sources are lying to me ? It is CBS, NBC, CNN MSNBC that have been caught actually fabricating stories and misquoting people.
And as for Fred, what do you think CNN / MSNBC do ? Just sayin !
And Cliff, I can read. We have a system that is, by design, cumbersome and slow to react to avoid “lynch mob” mentality. My response to Edith was to ask when were the glory days she refers to ? When the Democrats controlled both houses and White House ? The Republican senate did not “create” anything…the people elected Trump. And although I personally think the signature on checks is not necessary, I will accept mine if I receive one although I do not think I deserve one as I am still working. I think only those who are filing for unemployment should receive assistance Edith, I am sure you will return yours as will Fred, CJ, Stephen, Cliff and Remi.
The balances work – lest you forget, as Nancy says “He will always have the stain of impeachment”. It will come back to haunt future democrat Presidents
Zoe, Nos. 36 and 37 are false. No. 13, that’s partially true. Yes, his administration did ask the CEO of GM(not Chrysler) to resign after he went to the administration’s task force on the bailout of the auto industry and asked for an additional few billion over what GM had already received. Also, some of his decisions at GM had placed GM in that precarious position. By the way, in 2008, the Bush administration asked the CEO of AIG to resign, he did. The task force/agencies handling the bailouts do want to see changes that are for the better. If they want the money, sometimes there has to be structural changes. No. 35, I guess you are talking about the instance in which the Obama sought to prevent Arizona from enforcing a law which would have required local and state law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being here illegally. The Obama administration argued that such a law would sap local and state law enforcement and immigration is a federal issue. Having 50 different state laws on this issue is ludicrous. I am not going to try and research all that is on your list.
As for the stimulus check, unlike you I am not working. I am retired and thanks to this great state I am able to live comfortably. But, like you, I don’t think I deserve a check. However, I will keep it and spend it in the grocery stores for food and household supplies. Now, that we are stuck inside these items tend to disappear quicker and spending it will also help those employees keep their jobs. Also, through sales taxes, generate some revenue for the state.
Zoe,
I am pleased and surprised that you responded to my question. As expected, most of the things you list are not “terrible specific things he did as President”.
#1 is a good example. Even if the photos that purport to be Obama smoking a joint are accurate, they were obviously taken long before he was President and nothing to do with his performance as President. #2 and #3 don’t qualify for the same reason.
While determining that #4 is technically true, it was the result of Republicans in Congress being unwilling to pay for the expenses they had approved, I found this analysis of a list that seems very similar to your list: https://www.truthorfiction.com/obama-report-card/ They did find 4 items true and 12 false. The rest are less clear.
I assume you will be apologizing for repeating the false allegations.
I reviewed the four true items and they certainly do not seem to justify the level of loathing that you direct toward President Obama.
Another question, when Obama was President, did you accord him the level of respect that you demand that we show Impeached trump?