TRAGEDY X 3: A 9/11 ANNIVERSARY, MILLIONS WILL DIE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE, AND HILLARY TELLS US "WHAT HAPPENED"

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     Generally, my column focuses on one topic.  But today, I offer you a..."triple threat."

     Sixteen years ago, the United States of America suffered a monumental catastrophe that must be etched in our minds forever.  On Monday, September 11th, 2017, we remembered the day of September 11th, 2001 with sadness and with anger.  The horror of 9/11 must never be forgotten.  The vivid memory of the hijacked aircraft...United Airlines Flight 175...crashing in to the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m....will haunt me through eternity.  But what was not viewed on live television...was the first attack...the jet plane strike on the North Tower when hijackers forced American Airlines Flight 11 to smash into that structure. Within one-hour and forty-two minutes, both 110-story towers had crumbled and collapsed to the ground.  It was heart-wrenching to watch and it is heartbreaking to remember.  But we must.  

     As we all know...the disasters of 9/11 were orchestrated by Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorist organization.  Bin Laden is dead now - thanks to SEAL Team Six of the United States Navy - who killed him in Pakistan on May 2nd, 2011 on orders by their Commander-In-Chief, President Barack Obama.  But nearly ten years before - in addition to the assault on the World Trade Center towers in New York City - the al-Qaeda terrorists used American Airlines Flight 77, which they had also hijacked, to crash in to The Pentagon - America's military headquarters outside Washington, DC in Arlington, Virginia - which destroyed part of the west side of the world's largest office building.  Bin Laden's suicide henchmen had hijacked a fourth aircraft, which presumably was intended to target The White House, but our presidential mansion and people there were fortunately spared, thanks to some courageous passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who gave their lives in a fight for control of the plane before it went down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. America senselessly lost 2,996 souls on 9/11...and we must honor them forever.  We should also pray that such a tragedy never happens again.

     From the tragedy of death - as we memorialize the nearly three-thousand victims of 9/11 - I now highlight the tragedy of American healthcare and the fact that millions of Americans still cannot afford to purchase health insurance.  If Republicans had their way, they would "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act...and through such ruinous dismantling...30-million Americans - if not many millions more - would likely die from not being able to afford healthcare.  Therefore, the best way to go...that would benefit ALL Americans...is with a national single-payer health insurance program, more commonly known as Medicare For All.  It is what Senator Bernie Sanders wants...it's what former President Obama wanted when he was in Office...and it's what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaigned to support when she ran for President in 2016.

     Under a Medicare For All program, each and every American would receive healthcare coverage for all medically necessary services.  Such coverage would include the costs for doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs, medical supplies, preventive care, long-term care, mental healthcare, reproductive healthcare...and yes...even dental and vision care.

     A Medicare For All program would be funded by the savings received by replacing today’s inefficient, profit-making multiple insurance companies with a single streamlined, nonprofit, public payer...and by modest new taxes based on a person's ability to pay.  Health insurance premiums would go away and 95 percent of all U.S. households would save money.  Americans would no longer struggle with having to meet deductibles and having to come up with money for co-pays.  All patients would be able to choose their own doctors and hospitals, as all healthcare providers and facilities would participate with this system.  I encourage you...I urge you...and I implore you...to advise your United States Senator and the Member of the U.S. House of Representatives who serves your district...that they must support Medicare For All.  Congress has got to pass this law...and you need to tell them today.

     To quote Senator Sanders..."Healthcare must be recognized as a right, not a privilege.  Every man, woman and child in our country should be able to access the healthcare they need regardless of their income.  The only long-term solution to America's healthcare crisis is a single-payer national healthcare program."

     Medicare For All is what America needs...and what Americans must have.  It's up to YOU...to help make it happen.

     The final tragedy in this trifecta is that the person sitting behind The Oval Office desk is Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton.

     Mrs. Clinton's new memoir - WHAT HAPPENED - hit the bookstores on Tuesday, September 12th, 2017...and it promises to be a bestseller.  In recent days, Secretary Clinton has been making the rounds on the television talk show circuit. From NBC's The Today Show to ABC's The View...from CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show...Mrs. Clinton has promoted her book and has made news doing it.  But I'll leave it up to the newspapers and the broadcast and cable news programs to provide you with those headlines and stories.  I, though, will reiterate thoughts that I have expressed over the course of the last year-and-a-half.  And although I support Bernie Sanders' Medicare For All plan...I'm still disappointed...upset...and even angry with him...for being part of the cause...part of the reason...that Hillary Clinton is not President today.

     On March 1st, 2016, I wrote a column for The Controversy titled...SAY GOODBYE, BERNIE.  You can click on the following link to read it. http://www.thecontroversy.net/2016/03/say-goodbye-bernie.html   

     On November 9th - the day after the presidential election - I stated that If Bernie Sanders had dropped out of the race in March...when he and everybody else knew that there was no probable way he could win the Democratic nomination...then that would have given Hillary Clinton more than three additional months to campaign against the Republican nominee, who turned out to be Donald Trump.  But on April 10th, Sanders appeared on NBC's Meet The Press and stated..."In terms of her judgment, something is clearly lacking.”  He should never have made such a derogatory and false statement. In reality, Secretary Clinton was still having to fight for the "Bernie Backers" to support her...nearly two months after the primaries had ended...which was throughout a good part of the summer.  It wasn't until the Democratic Convention in July when Sanders threw his support behind Mrs. Clinton... something that he should have done - with wholehearted enthusiasm - several months before.  After all - in 2008 - Hillary Clinton gave Barack Obama full support once the primaries were over...and as you may remember...Mrs. Clinton had a much better chance of beating the then Senator Obama than Senator Sanders ever did against Secretary Clinton. 

     On November 9th, 2016, the day after the election, I said that if it wasn't for then F.B.I. Director James Comey's letter to Congress on October 28th - which was filled with unsubstantiated accusations that proved to be false - Secretary Clinton would have handily defeated Donald Trump on November 8th.  But, as I noted above, it was also Bernie Sanders' lack of early support for Hillary that harmed her.  Without Comey's letter...and with Sanders' endorsement early on...the 45th President of the United States would be Hillary Clinton.  And then of course, there's Russia...

     Whether there is any definitive proof of collusion between Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump (with or without involvement by his staff)...whether there's been corruption among Trump and his inner circle of advisers and family members, through lying to Congress and federal law enforcement officials, not to mention deceiving the country...and whether Trump's firing of James Comey is ever legally determined and ruled to be obstruction of justice...well...I leave all of this to be sorted out by Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller, by the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.  However, it just may be a press corps of first-rate journalists...from our nation's top print and television news organizations...who - through persistence...tenacity...and relentless hard work - will accomplish what Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and The Washington Post achieved in 1974.  With irrefutable evidence, they convinced an entire nation - including Congress - that a U.S. President had lied...obstructed justice...and participated in a cover-up conspiracy.

     America is moving in a forward direction that will take Donald Trump down the same path of destruction that led Richard Nixon to his resignation.  The only question to ponder now is...when?

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin. 

Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy. 

Copyright 2017 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

NOBODY SHOULD "DREAM" THAT THEY'RE HATED

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     There's an old saying..."Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Although I don't think of Republicans as "enemies"...they do oppose my Democratic... ultra-liberal...and progressive views.

     From time to time, I listen to conservative talk radio or watch that cable news television network that used to label itself "fair and balanced."  Of course I never thought then - nor do I think now - that there's much, if anything, that they report that is "fair" or "balanced."  Apparently Fox News didn't think so either, as they did away with that motto on June 14th, 2017.

     I recently tuned in to Sean Hannity's radio show.  And after doing so...I wonder if Hannity is on Donald Trump's payroll.

     I am sick and tired of people...in and out of the conservative political world... accusing liberals of being "liars" and tagging everything we say as a "crock."  On a program that I happened to catch...those were just a couple of harsh words that were pulled out of - what I call - "The Hannity Hat of Hate."  It disturbs me that by regurgitating fiction, fabrication and falsehoods are how conservative commentators make their living.  But the age of "The Donald" has created a firestorm of off-the-air Hannity copycats and puppets.

     Although Sean Hannity has trained his listening disciples to think with such reprehensible hatred, Donald Trump has led the way with his treacherous behavior and his vicious loathing for liberals. 

     With that in mind, I received a string of e-mails - not too long ago - that was straight out of the Sean Hannity playbook.  The individual who wrote me the following messages expressed vulgar verbiage about liberal Americans.

     "Our Founding Fathers are rolling over in their graves over what people like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren and many more have tried to do to this country."

     "I don't trust Barack, Bill, Hillary, Joe, Bernie, etc.  I don't think they believe in the same America I do, or care about what I believe America is and stands for, or what I think the Constitution means.  They are progressive liberals, which I believe is bad for America and the world."

     "The left has driven this country into the ground and wish to destroy what it means to be America."

     But as bad as the above remarks are...The Controversy reader who wrote them... got even worse and more hateful with the following comment.

     "If we could get rid of the Democrats and the liberal judges, and start standing up for the Constitution, and let the Right and the President do what they want, America would be a better and safer place today."

     To say..."If we could get rid of the Democrats"...is not only disgraceful, but it's evil.  To infer that Democrats don't stand up for the Constitution is sinful and blasphemous.  And for the person writing to me to state that America should "let the Right and the President do what they want, (that) America would be a better and safer place" is dictatorial.

     The reader says he doesn't "trust" progressive liberal Democrats and that we are "bad for America and the world."  This is a person that wants me to think that he respects the U.S. Constitution.  Yet the reader says he doesn't "trust" progressive liberal Democrats and that we are "bad for America and the world."  He obviously does not realize that our Founding Fathers had opposing views.  They weren't called Democrats and Republicans, way back when, but in order to create a country in 1776...and to put a Constitution in force in 1789...historians say it involved monumental debates.  Not everyone was ever going to agree on everything.  There had to be compromise among the differing factions.  But the reader wants to "get rid of the Democrats."  How would he intend to do that?  Is it a threat to three former United States Presidents? Is it a warning to Democrats in Congress?  Is it an attempt to intimidate every Democrat throughout our nation? 

     On Sunday, September 3rd, 2017, there was a posting on Facebook...of a photo-shopped image of Hillary Clinton with The Clinton Foundation logo behind her and with a stack of cash money spread across in front of the former Secretary of State.  The printed caption read:  "WHY ISN'T THE CLINTON FOUNDATION HELPING IN THE TEXAS FLOOD RELIEF?"

     I responded to the irresponsible person who posted the picture and message.  I replied by writing..."The Clinton Foundation happens to be very involved with the Hurricane Harvey victims as the Clintons have set up a special relief fund.  If you go to www.clintonfoundation.org you can read for yourself.  However, figuring that the person would not take the time - because she probably had no interest in learning the truth - I quoted part of what The Clinton Foundation has published on their website...including the headline that reads:  "The Response to Hurricane Harvey by Members of the Clinton Foundation Community, Ways to Support."

     I ended my remarks to my Facebook "friend" by noting that I'm always amazed when Republicans and others who are..."Clinton haters"...want to post despicable messages that are clearly untrue.  I asked her to, next time, check her facts first...because she shouldn't be posting bold-faced lies.  The person immediately deleted my comments...and she unfriended me from Facebook.  I won't be speaking with her ever again.

     Hate may be what buries America.  The Southern Poverty Law Center says there are 917 hate groups that are currently in operation throughout the United States. The list was compiled by the SPLC through research of "hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports.  Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing."  To view a map of hate groups in the U.S.A., click on www.splcenter.org/hate-map.

     Let us remember - that during the presidential campaign - Donald Trump incited violence at various rallies and elsewhere.  

     On November 21st, 2015 at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama...at least six Trump supporters - according to several news organizations - punched, kicked and tackled a protester from Black Lives Matter.  Trump screamed..."Get him the hell out of here. Throw him out."  The next day on Fox News...Trump claimed the man was "so obnoxious and so loud" that "maybe he should have been roughed up."

     On February 1st, 2016 at a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...Trump used cruel language when he told his audience that he was warned about protesters who might throw tomatoes at him.  "So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato...knock the crap out of 'em."  Trump then gave his supporters an incentive to actually do what he suggested.  "I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees."

     And on February 22nd, 2016 - at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada - Trump became verbally abusive towards a man who was disrupting his speech.  Trump's toxic tongue venomously spewed..."I'd like to punch him in the face."  Trump said..."In the old days"...protesters would be "carried out on stretchers."

     Let us also not forget about Trump's offensive remarks about Mexicans and other Latinos...about Muslims...and about Senator John McCain - who is without question, an American war hero - but who Trump insulted by saying McCain was "not a war hero" because he "like(s) people who weren't captured."  McCain, during the Vietnam War, was imprisoned by the North Vietnamese for five years.  Captain John McCain is indeed a hero.

     Yet with all the vulgarities and all of his deplorable comments...including demeaning and detestable obscenities about women...plus much more of the same about many other people...Donald Trump was still able to bamboozle enough voters in to electing him president.

     Oh yes...we can't ever dismiss from our minds this infamous bit of narcissism by Trump...at a January 23rd, 2016 campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa.  "The people...my people are so smart.  And you know what else they say about my people, the polls, they say I have the most loyal people.  Did you ever see that?  Where I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue (in New York City) and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay.  It's like incredible."

     Hatred from The White House...and from some Republicans in Congress...may reach reprehensible heights of bigotry within the next two months.  We all know that Donald Trump has been threatening for more than two years that he wants to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico.  But as I have written in multiple columns since Trump announced his candidacy...it's a wall that will never be constructed.  So instead...Trump may end former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - known as DACA - that protects undocumented immigrants.  As little children, they came to America with their parents.  These kids - many of whom are now adults - rightfully believe that the United States is their homeland.  For now, though...Trump is leaving it up to Congress to write a law so that 800-thousand of these so-called "Dreamers" will not lose their work authorization.  But in six months...if the House of Representatives and the Senate do not come together with an agreeable measure...then nearly one-million people will be deported from the only country they have ever called home. That being said...to trust Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both Republicans, would be like trusting the fox to guard the hen house.  Ryan and McConnell have shamefully been on Trump's bandwagon since the beginning of "The Donald's" occupancy in The Oval Office.  And since Trump has already shown his colors about Latinos, I hope Congress will do what is right for the "Dreamers" and what is right for America...and that is to allow them to stay and to live in the United States with a path to citizenship.  If it was up to me, I'd make each and every one of them citizens today.

     Americans overwhelmingly oppose the deportation of "Dreamers."  A poll by Politico and Morning Consult - released on Tuesday, September 5th - shows that 84 percent of Democrats...74 percent of Independents...and 69 percent of Republicans ...support immigrants being allowed to remain in our country...in their country.  Only 24 percent of Republicans...12 percent of Independents...and 8 percent of Democrats...think that "Dreamers" should be given their national eviction notice.

     "Dreamers" are vital to our country in many ways.  They are an integral part of our economy.  "Dreamers" own companies and they give jobs to other Americans. Numerous "Dreamers" are true heroes.  They serve our nation in branches of our armed forces.  Some "Dreamers" help others as they are first responders.  Recently, many "Dreamers" risked their own lives to rescue victims in Texas and Louisiana following the Hurricane Harvey catastrophe.  And no doubt they will do the same, if needed, should Hurricane Irma be devastatingly tragic when it likely makes landfall, somewhere in Florida, within the next day or so.

     On Wednesday, September 6th...former President Obama spoke out against Donald Trump's attack on the "Dreamers."  "To target these young people is wrong...because they have done nothing wrong.  It is self-defeating...and it is cruel."  And former Vice President Joe Biden stated on September 6th..."Let's be clear...throwing them out is cruel.  It is inhumane.  And it is not America."

     On Tuesday, September 5th...Trump's words didn't match his actions.  "I have great heart for the folks we're talking about...a great love for them."

     Are you serious, Donald?  Do you really expect me to believe you?  You have "great heart" and "a great love" for "Dreamers?"  Why the hell then are you threatening to throw them out?  You are heartless.

     America is a land made up of immigrants.  The rights of all Americans is the bedrock principle of our Constitution and our Founding Fathers "dream" come true. So as with all born and naturalized American citizens...the rights of the "Dreamers" must be protected.  We are a nation that has always opened our doors and our hearts to people of all races, religions and ethnic heritages.  We should not lock up or lock out any law abiding persons...no matter where they come from...and no matter how they got here.  We should not ever be a country that builds border walls. The welcome mat should be at our front door to immigrants from all nations.  Unless you're a descendant of Native Americans...such as people from the Algonquin, Iroquois and Pueblo tribes...among other indigenous groups...then your personal family history is one that originated from countries other than America...and therefore...you are a descendant of immigrants.  "Dreamers" have essentially lived in the United States all of their lives.  America is...their country.  America is...their home.  Just as you and I..."Dreamers" bleed "red, white and blue."  So yes..."Dreamers" are Americans. They should never fear deportation.  Congress must allow all "Dreamers" the right to stay in America forever.  To do anything differently...would be...un-American.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin. 

Now, please express your personal opinions by following the instructions above.  And thank you for reading The Controversy. 

Copyright 2017 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net.  All Rights Reserved.

DONALD TRUMP CARES ABOUT NOBODY BUT HIMSELF

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     There are two mistakes that top Donald Trump's biggest blunders.  First...he made the media his enemy.  And second...well...I'll get to that later in this commentary.

     There should be a neon light flashing above the heads of every politician since Richard Nixon...because it's impossible for them not to know...that Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Ben Bradlee and The Washington Post...opened the door for all journalists who followed...that the press will never back away from a President of the United States...who lies...who is involved in any kind of a cover-up...or who appears to possibly be someone that may have committed a crime.  Of course there is no definitive evidence - at this juncture - that Donald Trump himself...colluded with Russia in order to meddle with the 2016 election.  However...I think that day is coming...and sooner, rather than later.  But as far as allegations that Trump obstructed justice...well, that's a whole other can of worms.  We all heard him tell NBC News chief anchor Lester Holt...in an exclusive interview on May 11th, 2017... that Trump fired F.B.I. Director James Comey because of the Russia investigation.  "I was going to fire Comey.  My decision.  When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said you know...this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election."  Those words are what lawyers and other legal experts have stated is obstruction of justice.  Beyond that... there are "gobs" of proof - I think that describes it perfectly - that Trump has lied. And he has done it - let's use the word again - "gobs" of times.  All that being said... let's go back to Trump's war with the media.

     At his Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017 fiery rally in Phoenix, Arizona...Trump's toxic tongue lashed out at The Washington Post...calling the newspaper "a lobbying tool for Amazon."  Trump insulted and degraded ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos...calling him..."little George."  Trump also ripped apart CNN...tagging the network as "so bad and so pathetic."  And he bashed The New York Times... identifying it as "failing" and "so bad."

     Trump escalated his viciousness at the turbulent rally with the following despicable remarks about our nation's free press.

     "If you wanted to discover the source of the division in our country...look no further than the fake news and the crooked media."

     "So the...and I mean truly dishonest people...in the media and the fake media... they make up stories...they have no sources in many cases.  They say a source says, there is no such thing.  But they don't report the facts."

     "The only people giving a platform to these hate groups is the media itself and the fake news."

     "These are really, really dishonest people and they're bad people.  And I really think they don't like our country, I really believe that."

     "These are sick people."

     For the President of the United States to verbalize with such vile language is beneath the Office that Trump is supposed to represent.  

     We have known for more than two years that Donald Trump has a strong hatred for the press...and that except for Fox News - and perhaps a couple of conservative commentators - he could do without any of us in the media.

     After the Charlottesville, Virginia protest on Saturday, August 12th...Trump painted a clear picture that he doesn't give a damn about people who are violent against African-Americans and Jews.  Remember this?  With malicious intent to do harm...neo-Nazis, white supremacists, white nationalists and Ku Klux Klansmen violently beat up people in Charlottesville and one person was brutally murdered while 19 others were seriously injured.  Yet Trump remarked that there were "very fine people on both sides."  He actually blamed "both sides" for the "violence."

     By pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona on Friday, August 25th...Trump demonstrated that he doesn't care about the abuse of Latinos. Arpaio had been convicted in July of criminal contempt for ignoring a judge's order... not to detain suspected undocumented immigrants.  Arpaio has been tagged "a racist monster" for imprisoning Latinos in his infamous "Tent City" jail.  Arpaio himself labeled the outdoor complex "a concentration camp"...where in the Arizona summertime, temperatures topped 120 degrees.  Prisoners died...and frequently they did so with no explanation.

     Also on August 25th, @SarahThyre tweeted to Ivanka Trump..."Your father pardoned a man who made a woman give birth in shackles."  And on Saturday, August 26th, Michael DiGaetano posted on Facebook..."I slept in this morning.  Did I miss Trump pardoning Hitler?"

     But Donald Trump's pardoning of Arpaio was all about helping himself.  After all...since Trump announced his candidacy for president, he has been adamant about building a wall on the U.S./Mexico border.  And why?  Well let me remind you of Trump's own words on June 16th, 2015...when he demeaned Mexicans - and Latinos overall - for being "criminals," "rapists," "drug (dealers)" and "bad people."  So obviously, with Trump's pardon of Arpaio, he condones what Arpaio did to defenseless Latinos who were being recklessly abused in unthinkable living conditions. That is...if you can call that life.  But in Trump's demented mind...his pardoning of Arpaio...further supports his reasons to build that wall...so that undocumented Latino immigrants don't enter our nation.  At his Phoenix rally, Trump insisted that if "we have to close down our government, we're building that wall."  But on Friday, September 1st, The Washington Post reported that Trump pulled back his threat to shut down the government, in October, if Congress doesn't appropriate funds to build the wall.  I can tell you right now - as I have written in other columns in the past - there will be no wall this year...next year...or ever.  So Trump needs to stop touting that there will be one...because there will never be such a wall.

     After not caring about violence against Jews, African-Americans and Latinos... Donald Trump's latest lack of empathy was towards the victims of Hurricane Harvey. While visiting Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday, August 29th...Trump incited controversy from the media...from Democrats...and yes, from many Republicans too...because of his insensitivity towards the victims of a Category Four hurricane that struck Texas and Louisiana.  Even a destructive hurricane didn't affect Trump's pattern of narcissism that it's all about him...and all about how even a death-storm can benefit him.

     Do you recall the Republican National Convention and Trump's acceptance speech as their party's nominee?  "I am your voice," he roared.  Well...after the hurricane, I didn't see him being anybody's voice in Texas...except his own when he held a press briefing in Corpus Christi.  Trump's focus was only on himself...not the millions of Americans whose state was ravaged by the horrors of a killer storm.  Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain - that's more than one-trillion gallons of water - on "The Lone Star State."  It displaced tens-of-thousands of residents from their homes...and has, so far, claimed the lives of 31 people, including a Houston veteran police officer.  But instead of pouring his heart out for the people of Texas... and for the people of Louisiana...Trump stroked and praised Cabinet members and other government officials.  Not once did he convey any compassion for individuals - many of whom voted for him last year (since Trump won Texas in the presidential election).

     How did the President of the United States go to a state...that was devastated by a hurricane catastrophe...yet he never got his feet wet?  Trump saw no damage close up.  He never went to meet with any homeless victims who are now in shelters because their houses have been flooded out and destroyed...or washed away completely.  Nor did Trump do as President Barack Obama did after Hurricane Sandy...or as President George W. Bush did after Hurricane Katrina...by hugging men and women...boys and girls...to communicate some presidential affection.

     On Wednesday, August 30th, I posted on my Facebook page...photographs of President Obama, President Bush 43 and President Bill Clinton - all of whom were embracing people following tragedies in our country.  Along with the pictures, I wrote..."In times of disaster, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama were caring, compassionate, comforting and consoling Commanders-In-Chief.  Donald Trump was campaigning."

     Trump never - while in Texas - shared his in-person sympathies with victims of Hurricane Harvey.  Nobody, first-hand, was given the opportunity to hear the President's hopes for their healing...or his prayers for peace and tranquility in their lives.  Trump never offered to sit down with people who have been anguished by horrendous hardship...to hear him say...Don't worry, we're going to take care of you. Everything's going to be alright.  Granted, it may never be alright with some people. And with others, it may be someday, but not for a very long time.  But it would have been nice for Donald Trump...for the President of the United States...to personally tell people...I'm here for you.  Democrats - and others who voted for Hillary Clinton or perhaps another candidate in the 2016 election - would have also appreciated hearing those words from Trump.  Instead...after his press briefing...Trump appeared outside a firehouse in Corpus Christi...where supporters had gathered to get a glimpse of the President.  But Trump wasn't being the President.  He was being the candidate...as if he was still running for election...as if it was all about him.  "What a crowd!  What a turnout!"  Trump's narcissism - as I have written in numerous columns over the last two years - was and is...nauseating.

     It wasn't until Vice President Mike Pence visited Texas on Thursday, August 31st when the Number Two man in The White House did what the Number One man should have done...when Trump went to Texas two days earlier.  Pence assured Texans... "We are with you.  The American people are with you.  We are here today.  We will be here tomorrow.  And we will be here everyday until this city and this state and this region rebuild bigger and better than ever before."

     On Friday, August 25th, Trump exhibited his bigotry towards the LGBTQ community when he signed his order to ban military recruits who are transgender. This is one more time that Trump has undone something good that President Obama put in to effect. Trump's directive also orders Pentagon brass from using any resources to provide medical treatment regimens for transgender Americans who are currently enlisted in our armed forces.  In addition, a White House official - who briefed reporters of the new guidelines - said Trump's order instructs the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security "to determine how to address transgender individuals currently serving...based on military effectiveness and lethality, unitary cohesion, budgetary constraints, applicable law, and all factors that may be relevant."  But the official wouldn't confirm whether transgender individuals... who are today vital members of our military, as are all people who serve...will or will not be allowed to stay in the service under Trump's new policy.  Yet The White House spokesperson claims that Trump's directive is in no way discrimination against transgenders or anyone who might identify himself or herself as either lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning.  The official noted that Trump is "going to continue to ensure that the rights of the LGBTQ community, as well as all Americans, is protected."  Well it sure doesn't sound like that to me.  As the old saying goes..."If it looks like a duck... walks like a duck...and quacks like a duck...it must be a duck."  Trump insists the policy is based on national security considerations.  Nope.  It's prejudice, discrimination and bigotry...plain and simple.  A 2016 Rand Corporation study says that of the 1.3 million people serving in the U.S. military...between 1,320 and 6,630 individuals are transgender.  I'm sure each of them would call Trump's order... discrimination.  Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill say they will fight Trump's ban on transgenders...and already, Democrats in the U.S. Senate plan to use a defense bill to put the brakes on Trump's directive.  Some Congressional Republicans have also been highly critical of Trump's order.

     Should anyone be surprised by Donald Trump's offensive actions, cruel behavior and disgusting attitude since first sitting down in the chair behind The Oval Office desk nearly seven-and-a-half months ago?  No, they shouldn't be.  Should anyone be shocked that Trump would speak in hateful, racist and bigoted tones, as he did following the deadly Charlottesville protest?  No, they shouldn't be.  And here's why.

     For five-and-a-half years of President Obama's eight years in The White House... Donald Trump insisted that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States. His so-called "birther movement" was a disgraceful effort in his ugly attempt to prove - with no facts whatsoever - that President Obama was not a U.S. born citizen. Nevertheless, Trump tried to poison the minds of Americans nationwide. Unfortunately, he was able to persuade nearly half of self-identified Republicans...to believe that baby Barack Obama came in to this world...in Kenya...not in Hawaii.  But Honolulu - in our 50th state - is the actual birthplace of our 44th President...and that is what is printed on Mr. Obama's birth certificate.  Despite that truthful document...a poll by The Economist magazine and YouGov - conducted shortly before President Obama left office in January...says 42 percent of Republicans refuse to back down from their moronic view that Barack Obama - who was elected and who served two terms as our President - was not born in the United States.  And if we go back just a little more in time to May 2016...and a survey by Public Policy Polling...59 percent of Republicans - who intended to vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming election - stated without any doubt...that President Obama was not born in our country.  Furthermore, that same poll showed that only 13 percent of so-called "Trumpers" believed Mr. Obama's religious faith is Christian...while two-thirds of Trump supporters were convinced that President Obama is a Muslim.

     Any sane individual - unless you're a racist bigot - has to admit that President Obama is definitely a U.S. born citizen...and that he is indeed a Christian.  That being said, it wasn't until September 16th, 2016 that Trump himself finally acknowledged that "President Barack Obama was born in the United States."  But was that merely a political move just to gain points with Independent voters and even Republicans - or perhaps some Democrats too - who were on the fence for whom they were planning to cast their ballots?  Was Trump's reasons for claiming Mr. Obama was not an American born citizen purely because President Obama is African-American?  It certainly leads one to believe that Barack Obama's black skin color was the reason for Trump's birther conspiracy to continue for about three-quarters of Mr. Obama's presidency.  It was March 23rd, 2011 - on Barbara Walters' ABC daytime television program, The View - when Donald Trump asked..."Why doesn't he show his birth certificate?  There's something on that birth certificate he doesn't like."  And on March 28th, 2011 - to Fox News - Trump said about President Obama..."I'm starting to wonder myself whether or not he was born in this country."

     So of Donald Trump's two biggest mistakes...what is the other one?  It was the firing of F.B.I. Director James Comey.  It will be the demise of Trump's presidency. Dismissing Comey will be the hammer that Bob Mueller uses to nail Trump's presidential coffin closed...metaphorically speaking.  Terminating Comey while he was leading the Russia investigation is going to cook Trump's goose and burn it to a crisp. Getting rid of Comey is what led Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Bob Mueller as Special Prosecutor.  And it will be Mueller - a former F.B.I. Director himself - and ultimately Congress...who will take down Trump either through impeachment by the House of Representatives followed by conviction and removal from office by the Senate...or - as it was with Richard Nixon - resignation.  

     So Donald Trump would have been better off being nice to the press.  He should never have started attacking the media in nefarious frenzies.  But Trump needed to think he could control the likes of The Washington Post...The New York Times...the Associated Press...NBC/MSNBC...CNN...ABC...CBS...and many other reputable news organizations throughout America.  Too bad, Donald...you can't.  And as such...you now deserve every morsel of criticism...that you get.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

     "We'll talk again."

The Controversy is a publication of GBD Productions.  Founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Controversy is Gary B. Duglin. 

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