August 2023
The Smug Mug
26/08/23 10:44
August 26, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 35) - And there he is, angry and arrogant. Most of his fellow Americans see the mugshot of 45th President of the United States as an embarrassment. He sees it as a marketing opportunity. I have no doubt that the Defeated and Indicted Former President, huddled with his synchophantic and seditious advisers strategized his Fulton County Jail photoshoot. He certainly didn't want to look happy. I'm certain he wasn't Nor did he want to look scared, although those who know him claim he is. Instead, the Tangerine Terrorist chose his default position, angry oligarch. And who can blame him? In his world, no one ever challenges the Big Orange. That's what January 6 was all about - how could 81 million American people have possibly voted against him? The election had to be rigged. Because he repeats this Big Lie over and over, many of his followers automatically believe him. They can't let the truth get in the way of a good story. And boy, can this loser lie! In one of his first interviews after he was booked and fingerprinted last Thursday, he told the viewers of one of the ultra-right television networks that he was grateful for the large crowd of supporters outside of the jail. This despite the fact that television cameras on the ground and in the air showed that absolutely no one was there for him at the courthouse. He might have seen a dozen or so flag-waving MAGA maggots on his route between the airport and the jail, but that was it. But who are you going to believe, the Coward-in-Chief or your own lying eyes? This entire episode would be comical if it wasn't for the fact that the consequences of this man-child with 91 criminal indictments getting anywhere near the White House again would prove catastrophic for American democracy. Already, MAGA legislators in Georgia are planning to invoke a new constitutionally questionable state law that would allow them to remove elected District Attorney Fani Willis from office. The House Judiciary Committee under the leadership of pedophile-enabler Jim Jordan - which is beginning to look more like the Nazi courts under Roland Freisler — is also planning to investigate her. And these people have the gaul to suggest that it is the Democrats who are weaponizing government. These are dangerous times. We need to be vigilant. We cannot let this Smug Mug and his Band of Thugs destroy nearly 250 years of American liberty. The only weapon the good guys have to stop this slow-motion coup d' etat is the vote - at least until they take that away. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.Thank you, Harry Dexter White
22/08/23 03:53
August 22, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 34) - I will bet that most reading this blog post have never heard of Harry Dexter White. However, adults living in the late 1940s and early 1950s may recall the brief, but intense, controversy surrounding this career government bureaucrat. White had been employed with the U.S. Treasury Department since 1934 and rose to the rank of assistant secretary after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, he became the first American Director of the International Monetary Fund. However, it would later be learned that he was a communist and had spied for the Russians. As I outlined in a scholarly paper published in American Journalism in 1996, White mysteriously died three days after testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. (I suggest you read the paper - it's a fascinating story!) Dexter was at the center of a public relations controversy during the early days of the Eisenhower administration in 1953. That's what sparked my interest: As an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, my research concentration was crisis communications research. The Harry Dexter White affair was a great case study - and the editors of American Journalism agreed. As a result, the article was published and became one of my first major research publications. By the time I went up for promotion and tenure later that year, I had a total of three "major" publications. During my first four years at KU, I had produced none - but not for trying. Those publications - a key performance metric at a major research university such as KU - helped me gain promotion and tenure. Without them, I would have lost my job. (When someone says "publish or perish," that's what they are talking about.) So, I cannot overstate the importance of this research and the impact it had on my life and that of my wife and daughter. Was Harry Dexter White a spy? Yes, he was. When the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s, Russian NKVD files were recovered that confirmed that White had, in fact, engaged in espionage. So, in the broad scheme of things, Harry Dexter White was not a good guy. But the opportunity to tell his story was life-changing for me. So, dripping with irony, allow me to say "Thank you, Harry Dexter White." And then let me add, "But you shouldn't have spied for the Rooskies, you lying bastard." That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.Indicted. Again. And Again. And Again.
15/08/23 06:23
August 15, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 33) - It seems like a broken record, doesn't it? Donald Trump has been indicted again. For those keeping score, the indictments handed down last night in state of Georgia mark the fourth time this year that the former president has been charged with engaging in criminal activity. In a New York state court in April, he was accused of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to hide an extramarital affair from voters before the 2016 election. Next, in a Florida federal court, he was charged under the Espionage Act with illegally retaining highly classified materials after leaving the presidency. Then the Lyin' King was charged by a Washington, D.C. federal grand jury in connection with the January 6 Capitol Insurrection. Last night, the state of Georgia weighed in with a 41-count indictment involving 19 people in a criminal racketeering conspiracy designed to steal that state's electoral votes from Joe Biden. Trump, himself, faces 13 of those counts. In total, the Defeated Former President now is facing 91 criminal counts in four jurisdictions. (Now that's what I call Making America Great Again!) What makes this latest round of indictments different is its breadth, casting a net over Trump's entire rat's nest of election deniers, including former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and several of his high profile attorneys. (I have to admit that I take particular pleasure in seeing that nut job Sidney Powell called before the bar.) But this is only the beginning. Trump needs to stand trial before American voters choose their next president in 2024. Trump and his cronies want to run out the clock in the hope he will be elected and in a position to pardon himself. That would destroy all semblance of American jurisprudence. As Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is arguing in the January 6 case, the people of the United States have as much a right to a speedy trial as does the defendant. There is also the ongoing threat by Trump and his MAGA mob to threaten and intimidate witnesses and jurors. He's already been warned twice by the judge in the D.C. case, yet he persists in attacking judges, prosecutors, witnesses and anyone else who tries to stand in his way. Trump would have you believe that his First Amendment rights are being violated. However, there is no protected speech when it is part of a criminal enterprise. The time for leniency is over. The time has come to revoke Donnie's bail. Justice demands it. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.A Special Announcement
08/08/23 11:42
August 8, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 32) - It is with great pleasure that I announce that I have signed a contract with Pegasus Publishers of London for the purpose of publishing my second foray into historical fiction, In The Moment: The Journey of the Class of '70. It is set in Talbot County on Maryland's Eastern Shore during the turbulent 1960s. It was a time of race riots, school integration, political assassinations, Vietnam, Beatlemania, George Wallace, Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, the Space Race and "the generation gap." The story focuses on St. Michaels High School's graduating class of 1970, a group of young people who were on the front lines of dramatic social change. While the characters and their actions are purely fictional, the surrounding context has been painstakingly researched to ensure historical accuracy. For me, it's a very personal story as I attended school in St. Michaels through the eighth grade and graduated from nearly Easton High School in 1970. Although I now live in the Midwest, I still consider myself an Eastern Shoreman at heart. As a journalist and historian, I am committed to telling the whole story, both the good and the bad. I am not one to whitewash history to protect fragile sensibilities. Depending on whichever source you believe, the phrase "May you live in interesting times" is either an ancient Chinese curse or was first uttered by American politician Frederic R. Coudert in 1939. Regardless of its origins, In The Moment: The Journey of the Class of '70 describes the coming-of-age adventures of young boys and girls in what was arguably the most interesting post-war decade. It doesn't matter where you grew up. If you are a Baby Boomer or know someone who is, I think you find this to be a fascinating story. I've been thinking about project for a long time, but did not start putting words to paper until April 2022. I am told that the editorial process will take approximately a year. The book will be printed in hard cover and soft cover. A digital edition will eventually follow. I will share more details on this process as they become available. As you can imagine, I am looking forward to the book's publication. I hope that you are, too. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.Indicted. Again. And Again.
01/08/23 19:16
August 1, 2023 (Vol. 17 No. 31) - It's becoming a familiar scene - the Defeated President of the United States being hauled into court for a litany of crimes he has allegedly committed since being run out of office by 81 million Americans. First, he was charged with fraud in a New York State case. (Above - Trump at his first arraignment.) Then, a federal court in Florida indicted the Feckless Leader for possession and reckless mishandling of highly classified material. And now, a third indictment coming out of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's investigation into the Trump-provoked January 6th Insurrection. He is charged with four counts, including conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding - in this case, the official counting of the Electoral Votes and the formal election of Joe Biden as president. Just last week, Smith's grand jury added three more counts against the former commander-in-cheat, including a particularly damning count involving the destruction of evidence. That brings the total number of criminal counts against former President Bone Spur to 78 - and his problems do not end here. Within a few days or weeks, he may face indictment in Georgia for corruptly trying to overturn the 2020 election. And yet, he is still the favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination. The Republican field is weak and the party faithful are more interested in winning than they are in American and democratic values. (It appears as if the moral compass of most Republican voters is spinning.) More frightening: A New York Times poll this week morning shows Trump in a virtual tie with President Biden. In what world can this pathetic frat boy even carry Joe Biden's water? Make no mistake about it: American Democracy - and the very nation, itself - are still in peril. The sooner we dispose of these legal cases - and this wannabe dictator and his sick band of sycophants - the better. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.