A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Photo Credit: Pixabay Hi, there, Constant Reader, and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On, my "random thoughts" corner of A Certain Point of View. It's Monday, October 28, 2019, and my morning is about to make the transition into noon here in my little bit of the Sunshine State. Currently, the weather here is still summery. Outside, it's hot; the temperature is 85℉ (29℃), but a limp easterly breeze and humidity levels at 80% makes it feel like it's 96℉ (35℃). With Halloween only three days away, these high temperatures certainly do not feel seasonal at all, not even for Florida. So, last night Donald Trump and his entourage, including his trophy wife Melania, attended Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. Ordinarily, this would not be newsworthy since most modern Presidents often attend pro sports games if they take place in Washington or adjacent cities. What makes it worth mentioning here, folks, is that Trump rece

Photo Credit: Pixabay On Quora, member Autumn Wintrys asks:  Why are people mad about the Trump video of him shooting news outlets? First, let’s clarify certain points about this story: To begin with, the video mentioned in various reports does not show the  real  Donald Trump shooting at “enemies of the right” (which not only include news media organizations, but also the late Sen. John S. McCain III [R-AZ’]). Rather, it’s a Donald Trump impersonator mimicking the aforementioned shooting spree. Second, while Donald Trump may not have produced or even green-lit the video in question, It was shown at a Trump resort in Miami before an audience of Trump staffers and supporters. Per the non-partisan publication  The Hill’s  Video of fake Trump shooting members of media shown at his Miami resort: report : A fake video of  President Trump  shooting, stabbing and brutally assaulting media personalities and political opponents was played at a conference for his supporters

Why would the Democratic National Committee conspire with the Ukrainians in order to obtain nude photos of President Trump, as Representative Nunes claimed on 9/26/2019? There’s no truth to Devin Nunes’ claims that Democrats have asked the Ukrainians - indeed,  any  foreign power, to help them find nude photos of President Donald Trump. It’s just another sad, desperate ploy to distract attention from the President’s attempt to strong-arm the leader of Ukraine into helping the Trump campaign by giving him any “dirt” on Joe Biden and his son in advance of the 2020 Presidential election. Per NBC News: President Donald Trump and his allies, amid fallout from the  whistleblower complaint alleging he abused the power of his office for political gain , have attempted to turn the tables on Democrats, accusing them of their own Ukraine scandal. Trump, who faces an  impeachment inquiry , floated the claim in a news conference Wednesday, saying that Democrats "threatened&q

On Quora, conservative member Philipp Andern asks: Liberals: Should Trump be impeached for speaking with the Ukrainian President? Why or why not? My reply: First, let me say that disingenuous questions like  “Liberals: Should Trump be impeached for speaking with the Ukrainian President? Why or why not?”  are annoying, dishonest, and meant to deflect from the truth. In other words, they are  insincere. Second, under most circumstances, it is part of any President’s job to speak to foreign leaders. Whether it is to congratulate one - such as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Kelensky - on winning an election or to consult with a major ally on matters of global importance, it is important that a President of the United States reaches out to his foreign counterparts. It’s part of the job and a crucial one at that. What is  impeachable  in the case of the conversation with Ukraine’s President Kelensky is the fact that the current occupant of the White House was leaning on another

Would you consider Donald Trump the toughest US president by far? On the contrary. I consider Donald J. Trump to be the  weakest  President of the United States after James Buchanan, the Chief Executive who sat on his hands and did nothing to prevent the secession crisis of 1860 before the outbreak of the Civil War. Trump, of course, loves to talk tough. That’s been one of his personality traits since he became a public figure in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He has always been an abrasive, bombastic man who is fond of attacking other people verbally and invading their personal space to unnerve them. That’s been his  shtick  for as long as I remember; I remember being appalled when he called for the return of the death penalty in New York State during the media circus that sprung up during 1989’s “Central Park jogger rape” incident. To me, Trump’s bellicosity, especially now that he is in the White House, is not toughness. It’s a weakness, especially when it concerns the

© 2019 Scribner and The Washington Post On Quora, Trump supporter Jeff Blake asks this insincere question:  When will the left finally realize who really colluded with foreign countries to influence the 2016 presidential election? My reply:  News flash, sweet summer child: The “left,” the “center,” and the sane, honest members of the “right” are painfully aware that it was the Republican Party and - especially - the Trump campaign team who colluded with the Russians to influence the 2016 general election. It’s only most of the “right,” particularly the die-hard core of Trump supporters and the craven leadership of the GOP, that constantly bangs on the “No collusion, no obstruction” drum. The Red Cap Brigade uses several tactics to gaslight the public and hide the modern-day Republican Party’s cozy relations with the Russians. They range from outright denial (“Russia did not intervene in the 2016 election at all.”) to clever deflection (“Russia  did  intervene, but

Photo Credit: Pixabay Why do some people say Mr. Trump instead of President Trump? In everyday usage, or in journalistic reporting/editorial writing? Since I studied journalism and mass communications in high school  and  college, I’ll start with how mass media refers to presidents and foreign leaders. Although newspaper and news magazines’ stylebooks allow for local variations when dealing with honorifics and titles (the  New York Times  usually places honorifics such as Mr., Mrs., or Ms. before a person’s last name upon second reference), the general style rule is: Use a government official’s title and complete name on first reference, e.g. “President Donald Trump.” After that, use the person’s last name only, e.g. “When Trump was asked about the issue, he said, ‘Fake news!’” In print media, page space is like real estate: a valuable commodity that is measured in column inches. Newspapers especially have only so much space on a page, and there is a limit on how many

On the questions-and-answers site Quora, conservative member James Dowry asks: Why is patriotism now deemed offensive, and how can we stop it? My reply: It’s not patriotism  per se  that is deemed offensive. It’s the nearly-hysterical, exaggerated, almost cult-like jingoism and hyper-nationalism that is extremely offensive. Speaking as a first-generation U.S.-born citizen whose parents legally immigrated from Colombia in 1961, I am not ashamed to say that I’m an American. I’ve never self-identified as a “hyphenated American,” i.e. Colombian-American, and I’ve never considered claiming dual citizenship, even though it’s perfectly legal to do so. As far as I’m concerned, I was born in the U.S., so I’m American,  not  Colombian. I’ve also owned two U.S. flag kits, which enabled me to proudly display the American flag on national holidays and other days in which calendars (mostly those sent every year by veterans’ groups to which either my late mom or I had donated to)

Is Donald Trump a bad president or does the media exaggerate his faults? Donald Trump is  not  a good President. Never has been, and based on his performance so far, never will be. I was born eight months before John F. Kennedy was assassinated, so I was in no position to contemporaneously judge the performances of his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson or the guy who came after him, Richard M. Nixon. When I grew older, though, and had studied American history enough to understand the tragedies of the Vietnam War and Watergate, I considered LBJ and Nixon to be, tragically, the worst Presidents in my lifetime. LBJ…for escalating a war that his generals knew they could not win; Nixon…for his role in keeping that war going for his own political purposes and, of course, for the many cases of abuse of Presidential power that culminated with the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency in shame and dishonor. I also don’t think highly of George W. Bush, who got us involved in an unneces

On the question-and-answer site Quora, Trump supporter Lauren Davis asks: Why do Democrats hate when people support our president? Don’t they know they make our country look bad? My reply:  Before I give you a proper answer, let me ask you this: Do Trump supporters see the hypocrisy in asking questions such as  Why do Democrats hate when people support our president? Don’t they know they make our country look bad ,  when many of them not only disrespected the previous President between 2008 and 2017 but depict Democratic Party politicians and voters as traitors, “socialists,” and overall evil destroyers of the United States? See, one of the great tragedies about our representative style of democracy is that it has gradually devolved into a vitriolic team sport. A sport, dare I say, where it is a zero-sum game of “my team is better, so yours is for losers.” Partisan rivalry in America, of course, is nothing new. George Washington did not like the party system and