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Megan Rapinoe is one hell of a soccer player. Congratulations to her and her amazing teammates on their World Cup victory. Now please STFU.

Yes, women should be paid equal pay for equal work. But the sports and entertainment business do not care about gender or color. In professional sports you get payed what the market will bare.

I believe the right to protest is one of the things that make this country great. But once again here is a message to athletes and entertainers: People pay to watch you kick and dribble the ball, they could otherwise care less about your political agenda.

Rapinoe talks as if she is the spokesperson for every woman on the team when it comes to her disdain for the President. The young lady needs to go to school and learn about like words like, grace, humility, and respect. Great champions usually get an A in these categories. I give Rapinoe an F in each one.

Rapinoe could have used her platform in a constructive way. How about go to the White House and ask the President to have a conversation about your agenda? Nope, she only talks with people who bow to her philosophies.

Jeffrey Epstein recruited children to be his sexual playmates. Who enabled this clown to get away with this for so long? An investigation should be begin starting with recently resigned Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta.

The evidence seems to indicate that former President Bill Clinton was on Epstein’s private plane 6 times? 24 times? 26 times? I would argue any of those numbers are relatively incriminating. Just saying.

“Where there is smoke there is fire.” I would agree that many times that is true. The Mueller Investigation is an exception. Tons of smoke and not a flame to be found.

In the case of Epstein’s relationship with Clinton there is plenty of smoke. I doubt you will be seeing much of Bill on the Democratic candidates campaign trail next fall. lol.

Let’s do a common sense poll. We complete a census in this country every ten years, shouldn’t the first question be ‘are you a citizen of the the United States?’ I mean it is a census. It makes perfect sense to me. That question seems reasonable enough.

Bob Mueller will come to answer questions in regards to his 438 page written report Wednesday. On the record, I can promise you this will only be damaging to the Democrats.

I have it from reliable sources that James Comey, James Clapper, and John Brennan are pleading with Mueller to stay home. Also, his friend Bob Barr is advising the same.

A man named Barrack Obama, remember him, would prefer Mueller went away quietly too. What will his worshipers say went “Mr. squeaky clean” turns out to a very dirty player.

Obama knew that his legacy was at stake if Trump was elected. That is why he helped to elevate and support the coup. It is that simple.

You must have your head in the sand if you didn’t notice the distance Obama has created between himself, Biden, and Hillary Clinton. Three people, who in the end history will say did nothing for their constituents.

The Democrats have one chance to beat Trump. I am positive it is not one of the current Democratic candidates.

I don’t know the person yet, but they can not be a politician. Like Trump, the person who could take him out cannot be a politician.

According to my google research, lol. Laura Ingraham’s ratings at 10pm on Fox are twice as good as Don La Mon on CNN in the same time slot . It says two things 1. Fox is a more unbiased look at the news. 2. Don Lemon should have been gone a long time ago.

Those jobs are based on ratings, everybody knows that. So why does “sour Don” remain. I added up my math , now you do yours.

By accident I became aware the men’s final at Wimbledon was epic. Am I the only one in America who noticed?

Here are the five big issues in the upcoming Presidential election? 1. Immigration 2.Health Care 3.Jobs and manufacturing in America 4.Foreign policy. 5.Taxes. Trump wins handily four out of five, the exception is health care.

Immigration is number one. Wait till they start running the ads with Nadler, Schumer, and Ortiz screaming “Trump manufactured a crisis at the border.” Game over.

AOC called Nancy Pelosi a racist. Isn’t there some sort of penalty for that? I forget, AOC can say anything she wants with impunity.

Biden has been a full time Washington lackey politician since 1972. So, after 50 years on the job, now he decides he’s going to cure cancer.

Sunday, ICE agents rounded up illegal immigrants who have ignored their court dates on numerous occasions. People are calling this inhumane?

It is a fact that FOX has double the viewership of CNN and MSNBC? If you’re a candidate running for President wouldn’t you want to get some FOX air time? I’d love to “get after it” with Chris Cuomo. I understand why he won’t have me on.

You want evidence that it is upside down day? Michael Eric Dyson was on CNN screaming, “it is important for people to prove they are not racist.” Great, they can scream racist at you and it is your job to prove otherwise. lol.

“Trump is stupid, crazy and unfit to be the President of the United States,” has been the consistent drum beat of the left pundits on CNN since he was elected. “Trump is a political genius, who manipulates congress, the media, and 50% of the country. ” Same pundits, “he’s unfit”, “he’s a genius”.

I thought the Democrats had learned how to fight Trump. I was wrong. He throws out the bait and they coming flying out of the water. He says stupid and hurtful things and they go into full moral judgement. Then their skeletons come rattling out.

Is Robert Mueller talking to Congress today or tomorrow? He has all the evidence now proving Trump is a racist, a traitor, and sleeps with Putin? Not one mention of the hearing on left winged media? Talk about a debacle.

 

A voice came over the intercom in Mrs. Carter’s third grade classroom announcing our dismissal into the summer of 1969. My second full year in the New Paltz Campus School was officially complete. Like most kids, I was excited with anticipation of the summertime fun that lay ahead for me. A full ten weeks of sleeping and staying up late, neighborhood barbecues, perfecting my crossover dribble, and keeping an eye on my beloved New York Mets. As a hard throwing pitcher for the New Paltz Minor League Senators I was convinced I was going to grow up to be a replica of the Mets emerging pitching sensation, Tom Seaver. I can remember running to the school bus that June day with very little perspective beyond the happenings of my home town.

When the school bus turned into Caanon Road to let off the love of my life, Kristen B., I stuttered these profound words, “Have a good summer Kristen.” She smiled timidly responded “You too Richie.” After our romantic goodbye I did not see Kristen again until the same school bus was picking her up to bring us to the first day of the fourth grade. We are exactly fifty years removed from what arguably turned out to be recent history’s most memorable summer. My fondness reflections are about watching my boyhood idol, Tom Seaver, help the Mets make a run from being the worst team in baseball to the best. In June no body forecasted that  The Miracle Mets were going to make history that magical summer. It was as a summer that would change the way I saw the world forever. Five decades later, Tom Seaver is 74 and suffering from dementia. The hero of my youth couldn’t tell you the difference between Bob Gibson or Jimmy Hendrix. Sitting behind my computer in the July heat I am searching to remind myself of how I came to believe in magic. In the summer of 1969 I was an innocent nine year old convinced it was possible for my dreams to turn into reality.

My memory is bipolar. I have trouble locating where I left my car keys, but certain incidents from decades ago are crystal clear to me. As a kid, my identity was about being an athlete. My focus had to do with becoming a glory boy jock who got the girl. Yet, at the same time, I was like most school boys struggling with my own sexuality. My mother watched the 11pm news on ABC every night before retiring for bed. When school let out for the summer I would watch along with her before I went to dreamland. On June 29th, 1969 there was a headline story about a violent riot that erupted in Greenwich Village at a gay night club called the Stonewall Inn.

New York City police had raided the bar in the early morning hours beating up and arresting several members of the LGBTQ community simply because of their sexual orientation. This incident became a driving force behind for the Gay Rights Movement and the Gay Pride Parade. I remember thinking that this is the angst my life may be filled with if I decided to act on any attraction I felt towards boys. The riot on Christopher Street started me on a ten year introspective journey in regards to my most personal sexual feelings. I am not sure that riot of 1969 convinced me of a direction, but it gave a pubescent boy plenty to think about. I never acted on any of those school boy yearnings. To this day I wonder how much that altercation in the streets of New York effected my future choices in relationship to my sexual orientation.

It was approximately a month later that my family was on a history lesson vacation through Gettysburg Pennsylvania when I watched on television the most spectacular event of my lifetime. Along with my father, mother, and brother we laid on the beds of our hotel room and witnessed Neil Armstrong take man’s first step onto the moon’s surface. I was never much for science, or exploring new worlds for that matter, but I can still feel the sense of awe between the four of us that went unspoken. As future summers came and went I would periodically look to at a full moon and gaze in wonderment. Three men had entered a lunar modular, darted to the moon, got out of that spaceship and took a walk. After viewing the moon walk I was sure anything was possible.

On that historic night of July 21 I dreamed it would possible to be living in space by the time I was 30. That did not turn out to be the case, but the Apollo 11 mission was the fore-bearer of modern technology. Looking back it seemed to be a sure thing that space was man’s next frontier. Technology and saving the earth have become more of a priority than exploring the possibilities of other planets. In those early morning magical hours in the summer of 69 an American flag was planted on the moon’s surface and a nine year old boy from New Paltz N.Y. thought American was the greatest country in all of the Universe.

The summer of 1969 has often been describe as the summer of love but I recall there was plenty of hate also. The Vietnam War was in full bloom and our new President Richard M. Nixon promised to get us out on his watch. There were organized protests against the war in most major U.S. cities. Militant groups like the Weathermen, and the Black Panthers were making violent statements about America’s intervention in Vietnam and the racial injustices in this country.

Senator Ted Kennedy, the last of the shining golden boys from Camelot drove a car off the bridge early one morning and left his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, for dead at the bottom of the bay. But it was the screams from the hills of California that brought terror into a place in my mind that previously had been unvisited. Charles Manson and his family of hypnotized strays committed a series of crimes that would touch the darkest parts of our nation’s soul. Somewhere out of the drug infested, delusional fantasy of a wannabe songwriter the most chilling murders of the century took place. I lived on the other side of the country, but for the remainder of the summer I slept with the lights on. America was mortified, and petrified, to a level that I would not see again until the 9/11 terror attacks. On the nights of August eighth and ninth, members of Manson’s family invaded the homes of famed director Roman Polanski and supermarket moguls Leno and Rosemary LaBianca and committed nine gruesome murders including cutting out of the womb actress Sharon Tate’s eight month old fetus. With the blood of the victims they wrote “death to pigs” on the wall of the houses. In the summer of 69 I was introduced to an evil that scares me in the present.

Only a week after the shock waves delivered by the Manson murders,the biggest rock concert in the history of the earth was kicking off in Bethel New York. Over 400,000 young people marched into a weekend of song, sex, and drugs. The festival became known as “Woodstock” to culminate what would later be known as the “summer of love”. Hendrix, Joplin, Jefferson Starship, Crosby, Stills and Nash were dropped from helicopters onto a stage at Max Yasgur’s farm and turned the “Woodstock” weekend to an event of legend.

While the Vietnam War raged on, and the violence from California still fresh in the country’s psyche, the concert turned into three days of rocking, drugging and loving. Barely 30 miles from my childhood home friends thought they could hear the amplifier’s sounds and smell the scent of love.

Watching the clips on T.V. of the naked people dancing wildly in the mud taught me early that our country was divided but attempting to find a way to come together. Having heard about my next door neighbor, Hank Schulte, dying in the bushes of Vietnam (at the age of 20) in the winter of 69 and then seeing people his same age seemingly overindulging in partying that summer was confusing to me. Looking back “Woodstock” served as a symbol of the anti-war movement in a nonpolitical way. As left out as I might have felt that I wasn’t of age to attend “Woodstock”, I understood that my age also exempted me from possibly losing all of my dreams in Southeast Asia.

My best memory of that summer actually occurred a few days after school had started up again. It was September 10, 1969, and the New York Mets were playing a doubleheader against the Montreal Expos. The Mets were an expansion baseball team at the time, who since their inception in 1962 had not finished better than ninth place. In the magical twilight of late summer my dad and I were in the ballpark as the 69 Miracle Mets swept a doubleheader and moved onto the top of the National League East Division for the first time in franchise history. As I chanted “we’re number one”, along with the euphoric Shea crowd, I knew anything was possible. All you had to do was want it bad enough.

In that summer of 1969 I wanted to grow up to be like Tom Seaver and pitch for the Mets. I wanted to marry Kristen B. and raise a beautiful family together. I wanted my immediate family to be together forever. I believed the impossible was possible. Of course, if you live long enough time gives you the all of the answers . I never came close to pitching in the major leagues, Kristen moved to Colorado when I was 13. My beloved Mets went on to win the World Championship in 1969 but fifty years of misery was to follow. My mom past away 10 years ago, my own family is all grown up and moving far away. Tom Seaver is still with us but can’t recall anything from that summer of mayhem and magic. “Oh when I look back now I wish it could have last forever.” ……. it was the summer of 69.

It is easy to understand why 45% of the people hate The President of The United States and 45% love him. It is the middle 10% who will decide who our next President is.

NAYSAYERS AND NEGATIVES

1. Describing any country as a “shit hole” is not appropriate for the President of the United States. It can legitimately be called out as a racist comment.

2. The President’s imitation of a disabled reporter during his campaign was unacceptable. In my opinion it is the most egregious offense he has committed.

3. The inability to get the wall built in his first two years as President when the Republicans had control of both houses was a huge faux pas. He who hesitates is lost, and Trump usually doesn’t miss opportunity .

4. Shutting down the gov’t in December should have been avoided. I believe gov’t employees are too abundant, complacent, and entitled, but that should not be the reason for them not to be paid over the holidays.

5. At the ceremonies in Normandy to commensurate the 75th anniversary of the D day invasion Trump called the speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi an idiot. We need to protect each other in every way on foreign soil.

6. The media calls him a big liar, I think it is more about embellishment. He needs to expand his vocabulary beyond the words; huge, best, greatest and amazing. His semantics are beyond boorish.

7. Inciting crowds into chanting “CNN sucks” is not funny. A free press is what makes a limited Democracy work. It is irrefutable that most of the press is extremely biased , but they are not the enemy.

8. Telling George Stephanopoulos that he would accept dirt on an opponent from a foreign country sounds corrupt on principle. I understand his distrust of the FBI, but he needs to work with them.

9. His stance on abortion (Pro Life) concerns me. If he is re-elected I can see him pushing to reverse Roe vs. Wade.

10. I don’t appreciate him joking about being President for life. I am a big believer in term limits for all politicians.

11. Trump should stop heeping praise on despot murderers such as Putin and Kim. He internally will justify it as part of a sales strategy, but he has taken it too far.

12. Even though it was several years ago, his comment, “I just grab them by the pussy” speaks to his narcissism. The fact that there is not proof he actually did that is some consolation.

13. Trump has made mistakes in the people he surrounds himself with. Paul Mannaford, Stephen Miller, and John Bolton come to mind immediately.

14. The President does understand the art of deal. However, gov’t and private business are two very different animals.

15. I think Trump should work harder at clarifying his record and stances on all policy positions. I do not think he is a racist, misogynist or xenophobic, but at times he sure sounds like all of them.

POLICIES and POSITIVES

1. Trump is a Washington outsider, and for many people that is enough for him to garnish their support. Under Trump’s watch it has become crystal clear that our gov’t has been inefficient for far too long.

2. The stock market has enjoyed record highs and the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in 50 years. It is obviously disingenuous for Democrats to not give him credit for that.

3. The United States has become the biggest energy producer in the world. This sets the United States up to be in a position to win the “Cold War II” with Russia.

4. The president has done solid work on NAFTA, Iran, and working for a more balance trade deal with China. These efforts have meant increased revenue and more manufacturing jobs for Americans.

5. With Obama ISIS was considered America’s greatest threat. In the last two years you barely hear the word ISIS mentioned.

6. Trump has made 146 judicial appointments and had the opportunity to have two Supreme Court Justices confirmed. This bodes well for the future of our country.

7. The fact that the rest the world loves Obama and hates Trump tells me plenty. America is no longer a patsy and a sucker. You can thank Donald Trump for that fact.

8. I believe in relationship to this latest incident with Iran Trump was set up to look like a war monger. The left should be calling his restraint “Presidential”.

9. I think Trump has been right on in regards to his immigration policies. We must continually protect our borders and the citizens of America. Taxpaying citizens should be our priority over illegal immigrants.

10. The President is a thick skinned street fighter extraordinaire. What other human being could stand up to an arrogant and corrupt media, FBI, CIA, and DOJ and survive. To me this is his most admirable quality.

11. Trump is not a politician, yet he is very good at doing what should be the very first rule of politics. When he says he is going to do something he does his best to follow through.

12. The President has delivered on prison reform. Under Clinton, Bush and Obama too many African Americans were incarcerated on inflated drug charges. Obama never did a thing to correct these injustices.

13. Under previous administrations we kissed China’s ass while they have put together a plan of world dominance. I am confident Trump is not allowing them to push us around. We can only hope it is not too late.

14. Trump’s economic policies are built around strong free markets and rugged Capitalism. The GNP is up 3%, the stock market continues to thrive and businesses in America are growing as hampering compliances has been tempered.

15. We all want an improved infrastructure, health care reform , peace through strength, and more money in our own pockets. I see no indication of any creepy, lying, corrupt career politician who can get things done more effectively than Donald Trump.

Presidents of the United States are removed by elections, resignations, and death. I have said from the beginning that attempts to impeach, and then remove, is a huge waste of time and money. I wrote that a year and a half ago. I am keeping track.

Trump made a deal with Mexico that is a victory for our immigration policies and proves again how weak our past administrations were in dealing with foreign countries. Still, the haters of Trump concede nothing.

You may not like all of Trump’s moves, but at least he makes them. When you stick your neck out, you win some, and you lose some. A great guy like Obama got run over by other countries and was an ineffective leader.

Canadians chanting “MVP” at Obama while he attended the Raptors basketball game speaks volumes. He laid down for other countries, but pretty much ignored his own. Nice guy, though. lol.

Former Secretary of Defense under Obama said on CNN that Donald Trump is more successful in dealing with world leaders than Obama. He said that in front of Obama lackey David Axelrod.

Disbarred and once jailed attorney for Richard Nixon, John Dean, is now testifying in front of congress as some sort of expert witness. He joins Nadler’s misfit nitwits, otherwise known as CNN’s pathetic pundits: Cohen, Avenatti, Daniels, Comey, and now Deane.

Robert Mueller had two years to write his report. He wrote it so poorly that he needs more time to explain what it said? If I were the teacher, that last question would require me to give him a D.

If Mueller had found one shred of evidence that Trump conspired with the Russians it would have been in the report’s first sentence. It wasn’t, so why is the media continuing to grasp for straws?

Mueller: “I found the President not exonerated.” Mueller is so brilliant he has changed the entire premise of our judicial systems. To remind everyone: “You are innocent until PROVEN guilty. Even Donald Trump.

The winner-take-all mentality we have started now in American politics is hurting our Democracy. Let’s keep it real. Trump is somewhere between Lucifer and and Mother Theresa, not either one.

Mueller appeared to be a credible person, but he is slipping out of public life on a banana peel. His buddy James Comey bamboozled him into believing he could be a hero.

To all the crazies out there (Trumpsters and Trump haters alike): In life arguments rarely line up 100% on your side. It is usually closer to 55-45.

I read some written common sense from well respected liberal columnist Peggy Noonan. “Impeachment is a terrible idea. Congress should consider censoring Trump instead.”

In a recent CNN poll Bill de Blasio and Kirsten Gillibrand have a combined 0% support amongst Democrats. Is that mathematically possible?

I primarily watch MSNBC and CNN. Why are the ratings for FOX so much higher?

Don “I am a sour” Lemon and “Mad” Rachael Maddow still have jobs. For years they have been wrong 95% of the time yet they remain on the air every night hyperventilating and pushing their false narratives about Russian collusion.

CNN’s Susan Hennessey is still off her medications. She sounds like a jilted lover who can’t understand why she was rejected.

For the 44th month in a row the same four CNN pundits have been named the most one sided moronic idiots on television: Carl Bernstein, John Deane, Max Boot, and Anna Navarro.

President Trump went across the pond to practice being a King. For the most part he was very regal, with the exception of the Mayor of London, who Tump described as “a stone-cold loser.”

Speaking of Mayors…… Pete Buittieg was a fast out of the gate but appears to have ran out of steam before arriving at the first turn.

When they are coming down the stretch Trump will be waiting a long period of time to shake Joe Biden’s hand. Imagine, at the end, Biden is the Democrats answer to Trump. The truth is the Democrats are empty of solutions and answers.

HBO’s mini series “Chernobyl” should win some Emmy’s for its portrayal of the truth about Russia’s nuclear accident that occurred in April of 1986. In my opinion the event was one of the main causes of the end of the Soviet Union.

Joe Biden has a long running history of being a plagiarist. Trump is going to paint a picture of a weary politician who accomplished nothing, copied others writings, is creepy to women, and as Vice-President dealt dirty with the Ukraine to get his son millions. And you think Trump has issues.

Again, I want to be on record that in the time of Trump I predicted the future near flawlessly. Donald Trump will win 40 states and the popular vote by 5,000,000.

The people who hate Trump have plenty of villains to point fingers at for the forthcoming landslide victory: Donna Brazile, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, Don Lemon, Rachael Maddox and Jerrold Nadler to name a few. I refer to these smug assholes as the Trump fixers. They open their mouths and Trump gets more powerful.

I would consider voting for a democratic candidate (not in the next election) who says we need less government, not more. When you hear one say that please reach out to me.

Trump has demonstrated to me we need more business people in politics and much less life long politicians with zero acumen pertaining to practical experience of working for a living. Can you say Clinton, McConnell, Obama, Biden?

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors has stated that the word “owner” is a racist word that correlates with slavery. Hey Draymond, Stfu! I am very fatigued with being told of what I can and cannot say.

Joe Biden is an old white man. Someone needs to tell him, and all the Democrats who think he is their savior, that moderate elderly white men are an endangered species.

Are Barbra Streisand and Robert DeNiro still living in the United States? Both have tiny brains and huge mouths.

The hand glider appeared like a stealth bomber emerging from a sea of the most spectacular green. It is the third week of May in upstate New York and for the first time of 2019 I could feel summer creeping in. Myself, along with two companions were cruising along Rt. 17 East which runs along side the Beaverkill River. We were on our way to Ithaca College to watch my youngest daughter Mary Kate walk across the stage that connected adolescence to adulthood. As I observed the the profusion of fly fishermen casting their lines into fast running waters my mind slowed to a quiet reflection. How had this moment in time come so quickly? A moment I secretly had thirsted for. My older daughter, Laura, graduated last year from Florida State and was visiting from Atlanta where she has started her career in advertising. Both of my daughters would soon be four year college graduates empty of debt. In one way I was euphoric, thinking that this day would never became a reality. In another way I was saddened that the occasion arrived so quickly. Yesterday I was carrying my baby girls in car seats and today was the start to a celebration that had all to do about them not being dependent of their mom and dad anymore. I battled my nostalgia in order to fully focus on giving Mary Kate’s graduation the joyous attention it deserved.

The day of my second daughter’s graduation that I had had kept in the recesses of my mind for 20 years was less than 24 hours away. We pulled up in front of the house in Ithaca Mary Kate had lived in for the past two years. Both my girls were independent well educated adults taking on life with a vigor that my wife and I were very proud of. The girls have learned so many of life’s lessons from Donna. They understand how important it is to have their own career, to be ambitious, to be hard working , to have passion, and not to put all their eggs in a man’s basket. Mary Kate and Laura have observed their mother not settling for anything less than chasing and achieving her own dreams. They were brought up by a woman who had never been satisfied with being Mrs. Donna Siegel cheerleader for her husband. As we got out of our vehicle at 22 Hudson Street Mary Kate was lounging on a chair with some variance of an alcoholic beverage in her hand. We had barely gotten close enough to give her an embrace before my baby girl was barking out orders. “It is about time you got here. Stay in the car we have lots of parties to go to.” Mary Kate hopped in the back where her and Laura exchanged a bunch of hugs and giggles. Before 30 seconds had past we were driving off into the western New York sunshine.

Two sets of Mary Kate’s roomies parents rented a house for the week-end to make the commencement festivities more comfortable. It was the day before the commencement and the Vallees and Ryans had their week-end getaway place ready for a feast of food and drink. The parents of the five girls Mary Kate shared a house with in her time at Ithaca, and all the graduates siblings gathered for a private celebration. Between laughs and conversation I thought back to my own college graduation some 37 years ago. The year was 1982, the place was Muhlenberg College in Allentown Pennsylvania. It was a rainy day which brought the convocation inside to Memorial Hall, the place I had spent much of my time at Muhlenberg running around the basketball court. I remember it as a very melancholy day with minimal fanfare.

I sat next to Debbie Shirk who was one of the first girls I had met when I arrived (after blowing off freshman orientation) on campus in the fall of 1978. The celebration for my graduation was much simpler than the one I was currently experiencing in Ithaca. After listening to some world renowned economist give a speech that I would not remember a word of, my parents, myself and my second mom Sue Dorado drove off to a quiet dinner on our way back to New York. I recall thinking on that ride back to my hometown that I was leaving Allentown a different person than the scared insecure 18 year who timidly arrived at Muhlenberg four years prior.. Once I had received my degree in history I felt more relieved than celebratory. I had no job, not a real plan, but somewhere on that drive home I understood I had completed a step that brought me to the true beginning of my life.

Back to the present, the alarm was going off in the downtown Ithaca Marriot. It was a sound that I correlated with late night ping pong, beer pong, and eventually closing the downstairs bar. The college had moved the graduation up to 8:30 am and I was now a victim of the college’s lack of respect for a hung over old men. The actual wake-up call was tougher than I anticipated. But like every meaningful event of my life, a long night was not going to prevent me from heeding the call. On an unusually beautiful but warm Ithaca day, myself, Donna, and Laura marched into a sea of 20,000 to witness Mary Kate’s goal of obtaining a four year degree come to attrition. Of course, not to imply we ever had any doubts. High atop a hill overlooking the gridiron and Lake Cayuga I was ready to take in the moment.

Surrounded by proud parents and relatives I observed the diversity that was the pointed direction of America in the year 2019. I thought about how far America had come as women of color sang the national anthem and delivered the key note address. This was followed by Shirley Collado, the president of the college, handing the undergraduates a piece of paper whose meaning and substance will continue to evolve. The message was ringing through to me as I stood in the shade without a soul behind me. The road to all things in life starts with education. A formal education is truly the great equalizer in our society. Standing as high I could in the Ithaca Stadium my thoughts seemed to make more sense. Education is the best gift a parent can give their child, and sometimes for parents coming out of poverty it is the only gift.

Following the pomp and circumstance came hugs, pictures, and sharing of conquests with students and parents alike. With the television showing Brooks Kopkea hanging on to win his fourth major we were all back in the woods amongst old acquaintances, who were now new friends. I looked out from the deck that rose above the city of Ithaca. I was surrounded by Mary Kate’s housemates, their families, and the silent peace of great accomplishment. All of these girls are beautiful, they are women of letters, and the whole world is ahead of them. I have been cynical of recognizing achievement in academia, yet tonight I knew this had been the best celebratory occasion I had ever been a part of by a mile. Somewhere deep down I knew this party was as much about me and Donna as it was about Mary Kate. We had done something that transcends any judgement anyone could ever make about us as people, as a couple, or as parents. My body was getting tired from over consumption of too much wine and too much song. As the the sun was setting and graduates were getting ready to head into the city for one last night of partying together in the town of their Alma Mater, the parents had spontaneously come together on the back porch. Somebody raised a glass ” To our graduates, to the graduates parents, to the new opportunities ahead for all of us.”

Laura was asleep in the back of the car and Donna eyes were closed in the passenger seat. We were cruising along Rt. 79, which was a brand new path for me. The road was moving west to east across the state of New York to get Laura back to Albany International Airport. Mary Kate had stayed back in Ithaca to start getting prepared for her first move in the real world. Even though I have traveled extensively across the empire state I remained in awe of the expansiveness and beauty that surrounded me. It was nearly 40 years ago that I left Allentown Pa. and came home to an unknown future. I stared out into the a similar amazing sea of green I had seen on Rt.17 on our way to Ithaca. For the first time in all these years I thought about all that went before in my life to get me to this moment. I fought, to no avail, to hold back the well of tears that was pushing to gush out. I thought, just maybe, I had done alright. I thought about the heartaches along the way, I thought about my blessings, and as always I thought about how much time I had wasted and how much more I wanted to accomplish with my time left. After all these years I was heading home for once, not sure what was ahead for me. I scanned the blue skies for some sort of sign, another hand glider coming off the mountain range, a song on the radio, anything. But as I worked hard to disguise my tears I knew that is not how life deals out the cards. You don’t wait for life to happen to you. Life is for the taking. It rarely turns out the way you initially planned, but you need to keep planning, keep attacking. If you don’t life will attack you. Laura was heading back to the path she has started on in Atlanta.

Donna was heading back to Kingston to continue to save the world. Mary Kate is ready to go after all her dreams. As for me, I felt like I had graduating to a place way beyond my capabilities. I looked at the deserted highway ahead of me and was ready a new beginning.

 

Now that we appear to be done investigating our President, let’s talk about the issues. Remember them: Abortion, Immigration, Climate change, Globalization, Foreign Policy, Infrastructure, Prison Reform, Term Limits, China… ect…..

I am pro choice. The issue is fragile and complicated. In my opinion the conversation starts and ends with the idea of the individual controlling their own body.

What happened in Alabama is cause for concern. Still, we are a long way from overturning Roe vs. Wade.

The state of New York made a dramatic step (some say too dramatic) on the side of a woman’s right to choose. The Yellowhammer State made a bold step in the other direction. Right now this is how the United States of America works.

In political thinking the Supreme Court now leans towards Pro Life. Despite their personal views this current court is not even close to messing around with Roe vs. Wade.

The Democrats would be prudent to highlight abortion as a big issue in the 2020 presidential election. This is usually a losing category for Republicans.

I said if the Mueller report implicated Trump in conspiring with the Russian gov’t I would turn on him. I would also make a turn if Trump started advocating a reversal of Roe vs. Wade.

CNN is reporting we have a CRISIS at the boarder. Come on man, this Fake News shit sure gets confusing.

Trump has presented a solid immigration proposal. Three main points: Securing the border (wall), making the legal process to citizenship efficient, and closing the legal gaps that allow for the smuggling of women and children.

His immigration proposal is another sign that Trump is fully committed to his campaign promises. He stumped on securing our borders an issue many other Presidents merely danced around.

According to the polls Joe Biden has a huge lead over everybody including Trump. Possibly the National Democratic Committee will not try to fix the election for Hilary this time around.

Joe Biden claims “I know what to do”. Hey sleepy Joe you had 50 years in gov’t and you did shit. Get after that fact Chris “I suck on a lemon” Cuomo.

There is no question Pennsylvania is going to be a key state in the upcoming Presidential election. Besides living there until he was 11 Biden did very little for the Keystone state in his 50 years on the taxpayers tit.

Attention to all morons in Congress (one more time): The unredacted Mueller Report is available to view for any member of Congress at anytime.

The Democrats are never going to be accused of using their time wisely. They read out loud the 438 pages of Bob Mueller’s empty report.

You know I am not big on giving advice, but I’m starting to think the Democrats need help. Nadler, Schiff, and Waters should permanently stay under the rocks they are currently hiding under.

Is it possible the FBI would concede they they got run over in the 2016 elections? I mean, don’t you think they should explain?

The media constantly reminds me how small and incapable my brain is. I was kind of hoping Comey, Clapper, and Brennan could “dumb things down” for us “little people.”

The same people who despise Trump will tell you how much they trust Comey, Brennan, and Clapper. Sorry, it just doesn’t add up for me.

I have heard Comey, Brennan, and Clapper have officially obtained high power counsel. Threes pillars of integrity and Patriotism need lawyers?

Beto O’Dork had another Town Hall on CNN. This “has been that never was” is still out there flailing his arms around. Please go back to El Paso Beto.

O’Dork looked like the local weatherman scaring the listeners about the impending doom. I believe in climate change, but I hate to tell you it is only one issue, and not on the top of my list.

Kirsten Gillibrand certainly is stubborn. Earth to KG: You have no business on the national stage. You have been asked several times to exit. Hello!!??

New York City Mayor Bill Deblasio is the most recent Democrat to join the chase to knock off Trump. I am from New York and I will confirm he might be the weakest runner in the race.

“To impeach or not to impeach?” Trump has Pelosi boxed in the corner, she cannot win either way.

CNN is still pounding impeachment and the Mueller Report. Who besides me is watching?

We are 18 months ahead of the next Presidential election and it is time for me to put a firm prediction in writing. Trump wins 40 states and beats Biden by 5,000,000 in the popular vote.

I wonder if the far lefties will finally understand that America is speaking loud and clear. The American political system needs to be dramatically adjusted if not overturned.

The HBO series Game of Thrones has ended. There is no more throne and the realm has abandoned the story of the 1,000 swords of Aegon’s fallen enemies. The survivors settled on a socialistic democracy with Bernie Sanders as King.

I spent the last week-end in Ithaca New York with my immediate family to commemorate my daughter Mary Kate’s graduation from Ithaca College. Her friends and their families helped make it the best celebration I have ever been a part of.

James Comey continued his “Treason Defense Tour” during a CNN Town Hall last Thursday night. What I saw was a perfect example of a self proclaimed Eagle Scout, who in reality is the dirtiest rat of them all.

Anderson Cooper pitched in the lobs to the corrupt fired former director of the FBI. Comey looked right past lefty lackey Cooper as if to say “good luck trying to question the master inquisitor.” May Comey rot in hell.

The FBI is suppose to be an impartial in regards to political party. On CNN Comey sounded like he had been fired from the bench. Imagine the the former FBI Director pretending to be some all knowing arrogant Judge. Mr. Comey you are the one who is going to be judged officially in short time.

Comey said “we went with the data , and I would do it again.” Evidence that this FBI geek gives the computer final say over the human heart and mind.

Translation: Comey will claim the algorithms determined there was enough connecting dots to justify running a full FBI, CIA, and DOJ espionage operation on Trump and all the people in his orbit.

The data in the computer screamed out that Trump was a Russian agent. That is going to be Obama’s, Comey’s, Brennan’s, and Clapper’s defense as to why they organized the coup.

I understand some hypocrites on the left are going to say this kind of spying on our own President is OK. Who am I going to believe, Comey and his data or what my eyes were telling me all along. I could never work for the FBI because I always bet on my eye sight over data.

It has now been proven that the Mueller Investigation was initiated based on fabricated information. The “Deep State” launched an espionage operation on the Trump campaign with made up evidence. For me, this validates Mueller’s motivations and findings were a witch hunt wrapped around a hoax.

How did the investigations attempting to tie Trump with Russia get started? Find that answer and the traitors will fall like dominoes.

Again, what I am interested in is discovering where was the genesis of the Mueller Investigation. Who is the person, or persons, who said we need to investigate Trump’s relationship with Russia. That person is the leader of the coup.

In this case I will continue to name the individual “Deep State” conspirators: James Comey, Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, James Clapper, and John Brennan. Names are important to give a clear face to the “Deep State.”

James Comey, who has totally disgraced the once proud FBI is a pompous, self righteous blowhard. Still CNN gives the terminated lawman a town hall to explain away the coup he led. lol.lol.lol.

“We need people to stand up and tell the truth,” says Comey. Hilarious, coming from a guy won’t know the truth even after he gets run over by it.

Let’s see James ” I am tall and full of shit” Comey go on a FOX Town Hall. Captain Comey doesn’t have the balls.

I could care less if Robert Mueller ever testifies in front of Congress. He is old news. Who is interested in hearing this windbag voice his opinions on his own 438 page empty report?

Holding the honorable Attorney General William Barr in contempt is a real bad look for the Democrats. I am aware it is a political strategy but it is embarrassing even to a seemingly unembarrassed Congress.

In life there have been occasions when things did not go the way I expected and I threw a bit of a hissy fit. Hey lefties, it is called being a sore loser.

When politicians like Jerrold Nadler use their power as a political cudgel, they corrode the public’s trust. If Nadler had to earn a living he would be homeless.

Who would you rather have making deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping? Trump or “Mayor Pete?”? In this day and age we need people with business acumen more involved. Academia, and entitled polls are far too soft.

Joe Biden said last week: “We’re worried about China? Come on man. China isn’t our competition, they’re a bunch of good folks.” And the left rants that Mr. Trump is unfit to be the President?

Don Lemon, a gay man of color, has called the President of the United States a homophobic racist 2,444 times. This is the best evidence I can give you that we still have a very free country and a free press. That is the good news.

Looking at Chris Cuomo’s pale face makes me think he is repeating the words he recites to himself in his daily nightmares. “I have made a fool of myself on world wide television for the last two years. My legacy is sealed, as a big representative of FAKE NEWS, and a weasel panderer to Lemon.

Trump’s tax returns show his companies lost a billion dollars in a ten year period. The tax laws allow the loser to write that off of income. Have any of the Trump haters ever owned a business?

It is beyond comical watching these young pundits on CNN commenting on Donald Trump’s business practices. What do you call people who have zero private sector experience posing on National T.V. as financial gurus?

They can be called one of four things: A media correspondent, a school teacher, a lawyer, or a gov’t employee. I could not resist answering my own question. My apologies.

Congratulations to Tiger Woods for receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is well earned for a great champion who is still climbing the ladder.

Tiger changed the face of golf, a game known for elitism and exclusion. His dominance of his sport has been unprecedented. His dramatic win in the 2019 Masters completed a truly remarkable inspiring comeback from physical and emotional ruin.

“Can you imagine Socrates wife asking him ‘have you been home to feed the cat.’ I know hun, the joke is on me.

Peggy Noonan wrote an excellent column in New York Post Sunday about the political divide in America. The message was simply about coming together and learning to live with our differences.

http://www.peggynoonan.com/

Great songs take on different meaning to individuals as the years move on. On May 14, 2019 Don Henley’s words get right to the heart of the matter for me.

Let’s hope President Trump is a little more humility in him than the Mother of Dragons.

Treat life as if you are viewing a commercial. And do your best to never watch a commercial.