MEDIA MONDAY / F0X NEWS POLL SHOWS USA IS ‘EXHAUSTED’ & WANTS TRUMP GONE.

Trump has sucked the life out of America

GUEST BLOG / By / Sean Colarussi, Politicususa.com--Donald Trump hasn’t even been in the White House for three years, but a new poll shows that America is already tired of his presidency.

According to a Fox News survey, the Trump administration has left 52 percent of the country feeling exhausted. Only 37 percent say this president has made them feel energized about politics.

The finding tracks with Trump’s alarmingly high disapproval rating, which stands at 54 percent. Just 45 percent of those surveyed approve of his job performance.

That’s not the only finding in the poll that should worry Trump’s reelection campaign.

Fox News also found that the American people are starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable about the nation’s economic situation. Nearly half of respondents say the current economy makes them feel “nervous,” while 37 percent feel “confident” about it.

The economy that Donald Trump inherited from Barack Obama and Joe Biden is the only thing keeping his numbers from completely falling through the floor.

But as his trade war continues to push the U.S. toward an economic slowdown – already costing the country 300,000 jobs – Trump is on the verge of losing the only thing that has kept his reelection campaign afloat up to this point.

In 2016, there was a lot of energy surrounding Trump’s candidacy. It was largely negative energy, but it was energy nonetheless.

But now that Trump has had time to show the country what type of president he is – a corrupt, petty, unstable, incompetent and unfit one – the American people are tired.

Voters are sick of having a president who – day in and day out – throws toddler tantrums on Twitter, spreads hatred at his MAGA rallies and devotes so much of his schedule to golfing and cable news watching.

Having Trump in the political arena may have been entertaining and laughable in the beginning, but it’s gradually taken its toll on the country over the past three years.

The American people are ready to replace the morally and intellectually bankrupt game show host in the White House with a stable adult.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.

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SUNDAY REVIEW / TEA WITH GRACE & THE JABBERWOCKY

Curiouser and curiouser not long ago pillartopost.org’s travel team fell down the rabbit hole only to resurface in a park inside Madrid, where we shared tea and soap bubbles with the Mad Hatter.

GUEST BLOG / By Guilliermo Sans-Tete--To escape today’s maelstrom of political havoc I immersed myself into film director Tim Burton’s 2010 “Alice in Wonderland” as if it were steaming bathtub (the kind that sits outside a Cuyamaca Mountain cabin).

That did the trick.

        

Down the rabbit hole.

Of course, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter stole the show along with the costume design and the early real life and animation pairings (ala Roger Rabbit).

I also have a new appreciation for the tortured Lewis Carroll, a mathematical genius totally out of place in his era, a soul who should be sharing tea at some New York hotel lobby with Burton, Depp, Lewis Carroll and Grace Slick.

What a tea party that would be.

While in my hot tub, I played 60s rock n’ roll, the kind recorded with a real organ on my small travel fm radio.

Soon Pandora delivered “White Rabbit” by Slick and her Jefferson Airplane and later found on YouTube.  Perfect.

White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplane

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small

And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall

Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

And call Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up & tell you where to go

And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice, I think she'll know

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead

And the white knight is talking backwards

And the red queen's off with her head

Remember what the dormouse said

Feed your head, feed your head

Songwriter: Grace Wing Slick

White Rabbit lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Next, I stared up at the afternoon clouds that try too hard to soar over the Laguna Mountains only to spill into the Borrego desert beyond and dissipate like the steam rising from my ancient tub.

There I held one sheet of paper aloft trying to memorize Lewis Carroll’s poem of two centuries ago:

The Jabberwocky

Lewis Carroll

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

      Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

      And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

      The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

      The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;

      Long time the manxome foe he sought—

So rested he by the Tumtum tree

      And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

      The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

      And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

      The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

      He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

      Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

      He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

      Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

      And the mome raths outgrabe.

ABOUT CHARLES LUTWIDGE DODGSON.  Click here.

AMERICANA / TEXT OF THE 7 ANGRY FROSH HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Rep. Elissa Slotkin

Annapolis to Congress

It's a new day

This remarkable opinion essay first appeared in the Washington Post, one of the nation’s leading voices.

GUEST BLOG / By Gil Cisneros [California], Jason Crow[Coloroado], Chrissy Houlahan[Pennsylvania], Elaine Luria[Virginia], Mikie Sherrill [New Jersey], Elissa Slotkin[Michigan] and Abigail Spanberger [Virginia]--Our lives have been defined by national service. We are not career politicians. We are veterans of the military and of the nation’s defense and intelligence agencies. Our service is rooted in the defense of our country on the front lines of national security.

Congressman Gil Cisneros

We have devoted our lives to the service and security of our country, and throughout our careers, we have sworn oaths to defend the Constitution of the United States many times over. Now, we join as a unified group to uphold that oath as we enter uncharted waters and face unprecedented allegations against President Trump.

The president of the United States may have used his position to pressure a foreign country into investigating a political opponent, and he sought to use U.S. taxpayer dollars as leverage to do it.

He allegedly sought to use the very security assistance dollars appropriated by Congress to create stability in the world, to help root out corruption and to protect our national security interests, for his own personal gain.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger (above) and
Rep. Slotkin were in the CIA
before being elected to Congress

These allegations are stunning, both in the national security threat they pose and the potential corruption they represent. We also know that on Sept. 9, the inspector general for the intelligence community notified Congress of a “credible” and “urgent” whistleblower complaint related to national security and potentially involving these allegations. Despite federal law requiring the disclosure of this complaint to Congress, the administration has blocked its release to Congress.

Chrissy Houlahan, exUSAF

[This essay appeared before the Whistleblower complaint was made public and before the transcript of the Ukraine telephone call.]

This flagrant disregard for the law cannot stand. To uphold and defend our Constitution, Congress must determine whether the president was indeed willing to use his power and withhold security assistance funds to persuade a foreign country to assist him in an upcoming election.

If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense. We do not arrive at this conclusion lightly, and we call on our colleagues in Congress to consider the use of all congressional authorities available to us, including the power of “inherent contempt” and impeachment hearings, to address these new allegations, find the truth and protect our national security.

Rep. Elaine Luria, Commander, U.S. Navy

As members of Congress, we have prioritized delivering for our constituents — remaining steadfast in our focus on health care, infrastructure, economic policy and our communities’ priorities. Yet everything we do harks back to our oaths to defend the country. These new allegations are a threat to all we have sworn to protect.

We must preserve the checks and balances envisioned by the Founders and restore the trust of the American people in our government.

And that is what we intend to do.

U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger attached to the 82nd Airborne division participated in a D-Day remembrance "jump" in Normandy last June. What's easier: jumping into politics or jumping from a plane?  "Jumping from a plane..."

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / NATIONAL COFFEE DAY AHEAD

Stand up place for Milanese coffee—Milan is where International Coffee Day was launched.  Here’s a staff favorite: Camparino Bar in Galleria. This small bar in Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II beside Piazza Duomo is famous for its aperitivo drinks. It also serves a mean caffeè macchiato. Make sure you drink standing up at the bar inside like the locals to ensure to avoid tourist charges.

Piazza Duomo 21, 20121, Milan, Tel. +39 (0) 2 8646 4435, www.camparino.it  Your table in front is free—grab it.

GUEST BLOG / By Cath Feeney--Holy Guacamole, we missed the annual avocado dip day on September 16, but blimey we're not going to let International Coffee Day go by without a mention.

Yes, yes, it’s a made-up day not quite achieving the made-up day status of Mother/Father’s Days but it is an occasion that is used to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage, with events now occurring in places across the world. The first official date was 1 October 2015, as agreed by the International Coffee Organization and was launched in Milan.

This year Coffee Day events worldwide will be held on Sunday, September 29. THAT'S TOMORROW!  Check your local coffee communities for spiels of coffee deals. Free cups of coffee has to be a good idea.

Oddly, Starbucks is ignoring International Coffee Day, but it reminds folks of Starbucks Happy Hour(s) on Thursdays.

While not free, Starbucks offers a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Between 3 p.m. and closing Thursday, September 27 buy any grande or larger handcrafted espresso beverage or Frappuccino and get one free. The offer is available at participating Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Dunkin' Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Peet's, McCafe, Caribou Coffee—are just a smattering of the countless cafes offering a steaming cup of joe almost anywhere in the USA. Many cafes even offer free coffee on National Coffee Day!

Remember coffee is good for you.

Coffee isn't just a beverage that perks us up. It actually helps our brains produce dopamine and adrenaline, thereby improving our capacity to remember things. Studies show that regular coffee consumption can reduce the likelihood of developing dementia by as much as 65%!

Coffee Beans & Beings column appears every Saturday at www.pillartopost.org daily online magazine. 

UP TO THE MINUTE POLL RESULTS

CHEEP SHOTS / GETTING A BEAD ON WHAT’S HIS NAME

 

PillartoPost.org online daily magazine spent an incredible amount of time to obtain a composite sketch of the Ukraine whistleblower only to discover it was a bird native to Eastern Europe.  So, we made up something.  Thanks, Al.

Mixed Kettle of Fish

Judging from today's article in Poynter.com we now know the Ukrainian phone call whistleblower works for the CIA (no surprise) and he is a he and undoubtedly the media will trip all over ourselves to give us the name (like a puppy fetching a ball). Publishing the name will put the man in danger.  Who cares? Don't we all like to jam the freeway to gawk at a fatal traffic accident.  Shame. The man is a hero and he'll get little respect for helping bring down America's first elected dictator.

Years ago, when the earth was cooling (grandson’s reference of my career in journalism), I posed a question to a long time city columnist about publishing names in a sensitive investigation.  His retort was “...Pollyanna, if I don’t do it someone else will, we might as well get the scoop because that’s what and why we’re in business...”

Poynter.com article. Click here.

 

Ukrainian Whistleblower, a delicate bird native to the steppes of Eastern Europe, is loving the attention.