Commonsense and Reason

  Post #10 - Saturday November 1, 2020 Trump or Biden?  The presidential election is two days away and I feel compelled to give my opinion about who I think is the better candidate based on their policies and character. When choosing a candidate in an election, I think most people look at what the candidates have done in the past and at what they say they are going to do after they get elected. Ideally, you would then make a decision based on who you think is better. When I started this blog on January 15th of this year (2020), I stated that I would address current hot button issues that have left this nation deeply polarized. I stated in my introductory post that I would address issues in an honest and objective way. The issue as to whether Trump or Biden would be better for this country is a controversial issue. This post is not meant to be a political statement or an endorsement. I respect the right of every citizen to vote for the candidate of their choice. I will not cond...

   Post #9 - October 8, 2020 POLICE BRUTALITY - AN OBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW YOU HAVEN'T HEARD With the recent protests in Louisville Kentucky, Portland Oregon, Los Angeles California, and other big cities around the country, police brutality is still in the headlines. The recent cases that have garnered the most headlines are the police killings of Breonna Taylor and Rashard Brooks; the deaths of George Floyd, Elijah McCain, and Daniel Prude while in police custody; and the shooting of Jacob Blake that did not result in his death. The death of any individual involving the use of force by police is a tragedy. But it is clear from the mob like mentality of many of those protesting police brutality and the support and encouragement they appear to be receiving from mostly Democratic politicians and the liberal media makes it difficult to resolve this complex problem. The issue of police brutality has been framed around the narrative that police are killing large numbers of unar...

Post #6  (April 07, 2020) This coronavirus pandemic has shown that many Americans have the ability to work together in a crisis. All over America, you see examples of ordinary Americans putting asides their differences in order to fight this common foe, COVID-19. However, many of our leaders at the federal and state level have not been able to work together with the same ease as ordinary  Americans. They have engaged in a game of blame and complain in the media that has been more than willing to give them a platform. What I am referring to is the back and forth between President Trump and many of our nation's Governors. Notable are the public feuds between the President and these Governors: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and to a lesser degree California Governor Gavin Newsom. As has been since his election, the hostility also continues between President Trump and Democrats in Congress led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and their sy...

Post #5 (January 29, 2020) The Democrats continued push for testimony from Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton is a red herring. By now you should have heard about the claim by Bolton in his book manuscript that was leaked to the press that Trump told him the aid to Ukraine was linked to investigations into the Bidens and other Democrats. Democrats and the media are having a field day with this latest development. Here's the problem with this new information. First, it's from a leak by someone in the NSC. I find that to be disturbing. Secondly, just as I explained in my posts on Monday (1/27/20) and Sunday (1/19/20), the articles of impeachment are constitutionally infirm and new witness testimony will not give them credibility. The facts are the facts and they will never change regardless of any new testimony. The facts are that Ukraine got the aid within the time frame designated by Congress. Ukraine did not conduct any investigations into the Bidens or...

Post #4 (January 27, 2020) A little bit of commonsense and reason and a lot less hatred for Donald Trump and unbridled emotions will help you come to a sensible conclusion about this impeachment. The President is being impeached for abusing his power and obstructing Congress. The abuse of power charge by Democrats is that Trump withheld aid to the Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into Hunter and Joe Biden. The charge by Democrats is that Trump pressured President Zelensky of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in order to help Trump and hurt Biden during the 2020 presidential election. Democrats make the claim that Trump's pressuring of Zelensky to investigate Biden was seeking foreign interference into the 2020 election. They charge that Trump obstructed Congress by refusing to turn over documents and by refusing to allow certain current and former Trump officials to testify during the impeachment inquiry in the HOR, even though Trump is claiming executive privilege. T...

Post #3 (January 19, 2020)  With a great deal of pomp and circumstance, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi signed the Articles of Impeachment this past Wednesday (January 15, 2020) and they were delivered to the Senate by the Impeachment Managers for the House of Representatives. In my previous post, also on Wednesday, I gave my assessment of the Democrats' case against the President based on their Articles of Impeachment, Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. I explained that the impeachment case did not meet the constitutional standard of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. I also stated that the Democrats' impeachment case was further undermined by the fact that President Trump never asked President Zelensky of Ukraine to do anything underhanded in his request for an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden during the July 25, 2019 phone call. In that phone call, Trump asked Zelensky to find out what happened with Crowdstrike, and what happened wit...

Post #2 (January 15, 2020)   It seems appropriate that the polarizing impeachment of President Trump is the first topic I address in this blog. The impeachment of President Trump by Democrats is led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. Nadler and Schiff have been selected as two of the impeachment managers for the House of Representatives. The Democrats have made several statements publicly, giving their reasons for initiating an impeachment inquiry into the President. Some are worthy to note: President Trump invited outside interference into the 2020 election by pressuring President Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate Democratic primary candidate Joe Biden during a phone call in July 2019; he violated the Constitution; he withheld military aid to Ukraine in a quid pro quo for an investigation into the Bidens; he betrayed his oath of office; and Trump is not above the law. Th...