by Barry Hastings

I have to admit I’m not amazed at the number of Republican ‘leaders’ who loudly claimed they’d “never” support Donald Trump for President, They’ve come crawling on their bellies (like the reptiles they are) to kiss his butt.

This, despite his outrageous lies, ugly comments about Hispanics, fraud in the Trump University scandal, several bankruptcies that ruined thousands of investors, refusal to release his tax records (a tradition for five decades), outlandish lies about our old, loyal allies in NATO, sucking up to a man (Vladimir Putin) as rotten at heart as himself, and a vociferous, regular slanderer of women.

He’s a perfect representative for the GOP. Their racist attitude toward the sitting president Is the biggest cause of the dangerous position we occupy in the world at large, the shaky condition of our national economy, and our inability to meet, and beat, our many enemies — Iran, Russia, China. N. Korea, and ISIL. I’ve never seen a group of so-called leaders so rife with weak-chinned men (Mitch McConneli, Reince Priebus). They ail seem a bit weak-willed to me, as well. Trump hopes to break the nation to his will under a barrage of fear-mongering reaction, lies and legislation. (If your grandparents, and their parents, had given In to fear circa 1939-45, we’d all be speaking German today.)

Christ ‘a mighty, why would these people want to dismantle the most successful international mutual defense treaty in history, and one that’s effectively protected western democracies (and still does daily) for over half-a-century? Sure, it’s very expensive. Most of you don’t have a clue about just how dangerous the world is for America right now, and it’s the people talking this rot who are deceiving you. Recall the small patches you often see sewed on hats and jackets worn by many veterans, “Freedom isn’t free.” Take a good long look at the rows and rows of soldiers’ graves in our numerous (and world-wide) veterans’ cemeteries.

Would you mind if I reiterate? There is nothing more frightening, or deadly, than needing a good military, and good allies… and having neither. In the words of Billy Joel’s song about his Vietnam experience as a combat Marine, “We will all go down together/’ (though separately) should this “shoot-from-the-hip” nitwit prevail.

About Hillary Clinton’s E-mail server

Can anyone blame Hillary Clinton for activating a server in her home, given the extremely poor record(s) of just about every federal government agency protecting against hackers from all the usual suspects named in this article’s second paragraph? They were in the Pentagon’s system for at least two years before being discovered there. Departments of State. Homeland Security, among others, have also been hacked, and successful attacks on the nation’s leading banking and big business computers are a regular occurrence (you hear about them just about every news cycle – but seldom hear the whole sorry story, or of the damage done to national security).

About Bernie Sanders

The doddering old fool Bernie Sanders, his mob of callow youths, and the old ultra-liberals of the Democratic Party are apparently willing to risk a Trump presidency, to gain liberal (as opposed to moderate) control of the Democratic party, and run it in their old familiar way — ignoring the facts of realpolitick, and vulnerability of the Western democracies to our many varied enemies.

I’m sick to death of the old fart, his “windy” (a WWI soldier’s term for wimpy) avoidance of discussion on matters of military preparedness, and national security. Their kind of thinking led ultra liberals in Europe and America to kow-tow (cave-in) to Fasists and Nazis in the 1930s.

I wonder if people in West Virginia (strung-out as they are on heroin and opioids) think Bernie is ready to let them, keep digging and burning coal? I do believe they’re hoping for it. Did he mislead them? Probably. He never says much about the many contributions to his campaigns by gun manufacturers.

About those whining flyers

Tens of thousands in airport ticket and/or security lines, are whining on their devices about exceptionally long periods of time required to complete the process. Which, would you rather do, wait a bit longer in line… or scream like an operatic soprano for the five minutes it takes a plane to reach terra firma after being disabled at 40 thousand feet?

You really are the “Right now!’ people, aren’t you? (Shut up! Sit down! Stop whining – you’re no more entitled than the rest of us – ya know, the ones who prefer “safe,” to “sorry” or dead.)

About the 2016 Olympic games in Rio

Our athletes competing in swimming and boating events in Rio, will do so in a harbor as filthy as any other in the world. Prophylactics, feces, miscarriages join oceans of trash and waste dumped by ships, sailors, tourists swilling about in a beautiful harbor to photograph, but one with which you should avoid skin contact.

“Be the first one on your street to have your athlete kid come home in a box” or almost ready for one. And don’t forget about those Zika skeeters. The (proven) corruption of the International Olympic Committee is coming home to us every day, with more and more announcements about graft, theft, dirty money in allocation of game sites.

It appears Japan is the latest nation caught buying the games (2020) with bribes. If our athletes have any sense, they’ll refuse to attend Rio games for reasons of health and well-being. Rio is a big, dirty, corrupt, violent city within a big, dirty, corrupt and violent nation.

Miscellaneous crap

A quick look through ‘letters and editorial’ sections of the Hastings Banner this morning, brought me to a letter proudly written and signed by a badly informed, foolish man named Peter VanDenBroek. Pete’s still trying to make a case tor “Good guys with guns.”

Problem is, he’s full of merde right up to his eyebrows, perhaps beyond. His first mis-statement of fact is the sentence, “Nowhere (he must have meant “no where”) in these United States has there been ‘wild west’ violence where concealed or open carry is exercised.” Think about what you wrote. Pete. Remember the imaginary “good guys with guns” haven’t made a single appearance I’ve heard of in many mass shootings over several years — it’s a line created by an NRA publicist and given credence by fools like ol’ Pete, who calls gun ownership a “natural right.” As I’ve mentioned more than once, if you’re carrying openly (as fools in our legislature want) you’re making yourself ^{a target,} not safer.

Sadiy, but always expected, the Banner owners reasoning in another pathetically weak editorial titled “The people will make America strong again,” fails to present a strong case for improvement. His “Grand old Potty” ain’t gonna play a positive role, if it happens. I have my doubts the GOP is capable of governing.

Think about their most recent top leaders. Nixon impeached, resigned; Agnew forced to resign; Reagan weak responses to terrorist acts led directly to troubles with them now, and he was almost impeached for Constitutional reasons (spared by misplaced sympathy for his declining mind); GHW Bush, whipped due to tax hikes he promised not to make, and failure to depose Saddam Hussein when he had him by the short hairs; Dubya, (look around us.)

There currently is not one GOP leader of stature similar to that of Eisenhower, T.R., or Lincoln. Trump? Laughable, but only if you care to risk the nation. Every one of them wants to limit the rights of one segment of the citizenry or another.