Street Smart

We have a front row seat to the greatest reality show ever! Who needs Survivor or The Bachelor when we’ve got The United States Congress for entertainment? I sometimes watch the news now just to see who got (or is soon to be) voted off the island. It would all be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic!

This past few weeks are a perfect example. The “party of tolerance” (you know…the party that believes anyone who disagrees with them on any given issue is a bigot) had to draft and approve an “anti-hate resolution” after one of their own made anti-semitic statements. Wow! Does everyone else see the irony in that? Here we have the Democrats, who are always so quick to label President Trump’s Administration (and any of his supporters) racist, having to do damage control because of their own demonstrated racism. Their response? They came up with a Congressional Resolution to disavow hate. What the heck is that? What exactly is the purpose and impact of a Congressional Resolution? Does it change anyone’s life? Is it law? Or is it simply a statement? I don’t get it. I grew up with the Ten Commandments. I don’t need a statement from a bunch of hypocritical United States Congress members to inform me that hatred toward others is wrong. Apparently the Democrats in Congress do.

So these people took several days to pass a resolution that has absolutely no impact on our daily lives. A reasonable person has to ask, why did they spend all that time on this issue rather than some of the other truly important issues facing our country?

Before this bogus Congressional Resolution, we had the testimony of Michael Cohen before Congress. What a circus act that was! I’ve spent more than half of my life questioning liars. I know one when I see one and I saw a professional at work that day. I think the Republicans handled that all wrong. Only one question should have been asked for the record; “Mr Cohen, do you intend to provide us any information today that has not already been provided to an investigative entity?” If the answer was yes, Cohen should have immediately been referred back to that investigative entity for a supplemental interview (continuity of information to the investigating body is critical in conducting a thorough and complete inquiry) and the hearing terminated. If the answer had been no, the hearing, in my mind, would have been over and I’d have walked out (interesting that Cohen is now quite likely to face new perjury charges). What the Democrats did (and their intent all along) was to lay the ground work for a second investigation in the event they don’t like the outcome of the Mueller inquiry. In essence, dueling investigations. Consider what happened during the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing and you’ll see they have a track record for that sort of thing. What the Democrats actually want is what is called a "results oriented investigation." They want their preconceived opinions supported by some sort of official inquiry. It’s the modern day equivalent of the old west vigilante statement, “let’s make sure we give him a fair trial before we hang him!”

The above two examples highlight the hypocrisy and absolute loathing the Democrats have for President Trump. Their hatred is standing in the way of effective government. Some readers right now are saying, “Yeah but they (Republicans) did the same thing to Obama.” I get it and can’t effectively argue, but that’s not my point. Somewhere in this whole quagmire, someone is going to have to step up and be the adult in the room. Put the past where it belongs and move forward together!

When I first heard the term “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” I laughed and thought to myself, ‘There’s a catchy buzz phrase.’ Turns out that phrase has it’s origin in fact. Two recent events illustrate my point; the Covington High School student confrontation with the Native American in Washington and the Jussie Smollett arrest in Chicago. What is the one thing these two incidents have in common? President Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again (MAGA).” In the first incident, the media immediately focused on the high school kid wearing a red MAGA hat and what they perceived (because of the hat) to be his clearly racist behavior. Turns out their narrative wasn’t true and retractions had to be made by the media. Lawsuits are now pending. In the Smollett case, I knew that guy was lying as soon as he mentioned that the “suspects” who had attacked him used a variety of slurs and stated, “This is MAGA country!” The investigation revealed Smollett had fabricated the story and he is now facing 16 felony charges. Smollett threw in the MAGA reference to illustrate how horrible his attackers had to have been. Turns out he’s a liar too.

I asked one of my more liberal friends, who initially disagreed with the above assessment, if he’d be willing to wear a MAGA hat while walking around in Seattle or Portland and challenge my theory. His immediate response was, “Are you nuts?” I just sat and let my question sink in. He’s a pretty bright guy and soon stated, “Oh…I see what you mean.” I’d ask all the readers the same question. Would you be willing to wear a MAGA hat through downtown Seattle for no reason other than to disprove my theory? If no…why not?

I’d like to see our government (and everyone in this great nation) putting their effort into actually running our country. How much could be accomplished if the politicians (from either party) worked as hard to improve our country as they do attacking one another? Sadly, I think our politicians are so entrenched in their own ideology that they won’t listen to one another. I don’t expect forward progress in the near future.

Blaine Blackstone is a retired Los Angeles Police Sergeant who enjoys the simpler life in Thompson Falls. He can be reached by email at [email protected].