A first order of business: a large Thank You to Georgia T. Benedict of Benicia for her positive response to my column of last week, “Mad Dog & Bozos.” It’s always a pleasure to hear that somebody appreciates reading my column. We are a small town and this is a limited edition newspaper, but we aspire to great ideals. The current illegitimate president (small letters intentional), Mr. Trump has irritated me to the core since he was first debating the other Republican candidates. Nowhere near Presidential material, not even empathetic professional courtesy was his to fellow adults and candidates. Grammar school playground bully mouthings, nothing more. And the U.S. media seemed to eat it up. He was “good for ratings.” It was as if the National Zoo and Trump Circus were open all year long, all manner of idiocy was prevailing. Then he became president! Not by my vote, I was and am totally still for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris and a handful of others that pop up occasionally. I’d love to have a female president, but the Hillary-DNC agenda was totally lame before Bernie negotiated it to have some progressive cojones.
Now after nearly a full year of Trumpisms, even Syria has signed on to the Paris Global Warming Accord or whatever it’s termed, leaving the U.S. as a result of Mr. Trump as the only science-denying blowhard to both deplete the EPA while denying that fossil fuels burning effects the global atmosphere…Has he ever once read the NASA papers of Dr. Jim Hansen, the former NASA environmental scientist? Does Mr. Trump have any clue that there is a NASA?? May all of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigations come to fruition with further Grand Jury indictments in the next few weeks.
May all the complicit hackers of Vladimir Putin be fully exposed as well as those GOP members who have accepted campaign contributions from Russian-affiliated sources. Joy supreme that indictments have begun in this monumental Constitutional Crisis & charade.
Another reader of my column (who shall remain nameless) commented in the online Herald that I was “anti-American” in criticizing Mr. Trump and that I was no doubt “hating all Republicans,” and that I was evidently a “Socialist-Progressive.” I respond here that “I like Ike” Eisenhower was a damn fine Republican, some of my family may be Republican and that’s their choice, and if the DNC and Hillary Forces played games with Bernie’s overwhelming popularity in 2016, I reject any former affiliation I once had with the now today, desperately-lame Democratic party (unless one of the Obamas can find their way back to occupy the White House in 2020). Otherwise Bernie and all he represents will do just fine. Add Elizabeth Warren in the mix and Kamala Harris.
Cheers to all Readers & Writers, they’re a wonderful mix, including Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Jack London, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, John Fogerty, John Prine, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Herb Caen, Mark Twain, Billy Joel, Michael McNevin, Molly Ivins and a bazillion others.
With any luck I’ll return after my current Tour of Duty as a rambling butterfly, Border Collie, or relative to Molly Ivins. I’ll be checking my DNA in 2018 via Ancestry.com and keep readers posted as to what I find.
Peter Bray writes, works, and lives in Benicia
and has written this weekly column since 2008.
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I think Peter was talking about me Bob “The Owl” Livesay. Peter I stand by my comment which you just proved in this article. Sorry Peter you are a Socialist Progressive. Just admit it.
What is your point, Bob? SOCIALLY PROGRESSIVE IS A GREAT WAY TO BE. A vote supressing Republican is not a democracy-supporting mindset…why shouldn’t every US citizen have the rght to vote? Why do you as a right-wing Republican endorse your party’s gerrymandering to influence voting? What is “anti-American” about my NOT supporting donald j. trump as illegitimate president (all lower case intentional)? He will never be Presidential material, are you a science-denier too or just a misogynist racist as he is? Is treason an acceptable route to the White House? Watch the next series of Grand Jury indictments, the tide is rising on your Russian money-laundering white-boy supremacist. Have a nice week impersonating an owl, that’s a little dated, Amigo, Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is next, I’m thankful for the Obamas, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders! Yippee!
Just to jump in … but the vote suppressing facts seem to indicate Hillary and the Dems are the guilty party these days. Donna Brazille testifies the vote fixing, candidate suppressing, illegally funded party is the Democrat Party.
I totally acknowledge that our two leading political parties suck Corrupt Wind. Which sucks worst is always the crappy choice to make. That’s why “Socially Progressive” with Bernie Sanders appeals to me the best currently. The Clintons always drip questions, the Repubs went out of their way with Bush and Cheney to exploit and destroy the US economy…What did Boehner and McConnel do during Obama’s two terms? Obstruct and nothing more. Paul Riley? A paperweight or doorstop does more. Trump? He’s been an ill-prepared child idiot. Good luck in the mire. I’m counting on Robert Mueller to clean clocks. – pb
Paul Ryan, not Riley, that’s a typo…sorry…pb
Peter I do believe you are getting your clocked clean on this run. My advise is to stick to being a Handyman.
“Advice” is the correct NOUN, Bobbo, “advise” is a verb. Your advice is akin to Trump’s denial of science…is that really your take on the planet’s science too?
As you stated Peter we all make errors when typing. I do apologize for that error. You misspelled my name or are you name calling Peter. All losers name call.
You might want to proofread your text regularly, Bob, check your “clocks” and their “cleaning” above…
Professional use of words may help your credibility in the community…Owls are not sightless birds in case you thought they were…you may be confusing them with “flightless” birds.
But Matter, those facts don’t matter because Hillary represented all good, oops, I mean she ran the best campaign, oops, I mean it doesn’t matter because SHE should have won (not counting the fact that she ran quite possibly the worst campaign in modern history). The democrats said in court they do not owe the party a fair election. They owe the party the candidate they think has the best chance of winning. And don’t get me started on the super delegates who were bought and paid for by the Clinton machine.
“They owe the party the candidate they think has the best chance of winning” — Funny, Bernie may actually have beaten Trump had been the candidate (personally I do not think so, but it is arguable).. The people who should be up in arms are at the DNC are the Bernie supporters.
Please elaborate on the proof you have for Super Delegates for sale to Clinton.
Matter – Not to mention it was the DNC that colluded with the Russians on that fake dossier.
Show me where besides Fox News it’s a fake dossier…
LoL. Let’s see: Washington Post, NYT, CNN. Or do you actually believe that Trump paid Russian hookers to urinate for him so he could get off on that? Get serious Peter and don’t embarrass yourself.
You believe a singular PAID source is a real dossier? If so, and if that is your threshold for the truth, the Clintons are murderers and traitors, Obama is a foreign national and Muslim, and Kennedy was murdered by LBJ.
A basic truth is you believe what you want to believe. I have read your posts and you have a blood level blinding hate for Trump.
And I will categorically state that Fox News, in spite of its editorial slant, is still more honest and unbiased than MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS.
Peter you are upset because I called you out. Lower case is an insult to the President of the United States. I will not call you a name. But admitting you are leaning Socialist Progressive proves my point. Good luck with Warren and Bernie.
Robert Livesay:
It’s not yet proven that he’s a “legitimate” President of the US. Sufficient distrust of him has a Special Counsel investigating in case you missed Mr. Robert Mueller’s activity over the past several months, and he’s going up the ladder of authority heading for Trump. A “Gotcha” soon? I’m just mildly disappointed that you think disagreeing with a craphead like Trump is “anti-American.” That shows again the superficiality of your treatment of fellow humans, Mr. Livesay. Your role model of being an “owl” is a partially sightless bird as usual. I suggest you put in a few thousand hours as a volunteer in the community and perhaps earn some credibility. Your quality of writing is pedestrian at best and boring with its overuse of repetition. Suggest you take a Creative Writing or even remedial English at Adult Education somewhere.
Peter has your primary care doctor suggested Anger Management as a cure for your negative out look. It will help you.
The interesting thing Peter you judge others because they do not go along with your political beliefs. Peter I have never claimed to be a writer as you do. The big difference is my writing is to the point by a well informed person. That being Bob {The Owl} Livesay. I do believe Peter over the years you have gotten the point of what I say. Or are you just mad that your beloved Socialist Progressives lost. Yes Peter calling the President of the United States names is UN-AMERICAN. By the way Peter you are still get hammered on this run. You might want to go back and fix a light bulb.