A Reflection on the Impact on We Have on Others

by Nomad

On Saturday, 8 January 2011, at ten minutes past ten in the morning, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others were shot in the parking of a supermarket in Tucson.

Six innocent people were murdered. The list of victims included including federal District Court Chief Judge John Roll, a nine-year-old girl, Christina-Taylor Green and three people all past the age of 75.

Another person who died that day was 30-year-old Gabe Zimmerman, the director of Community Outreach for Giffords. As his obituary noted:

He was outgoing, interested in other people and had a knack for connecting with folks, according to his friends and colleagues. He died doing his job.

Over seven years have passed since his senseless murder and yet the impact he had on the people who knew him, who worked with him and who loved him endures to this day.

The Seth Rich Case: A Conspiracy Theory Inside a Conspiracy Theory

by Nomad

Most of us have at least heard of the Seth Rich story even if we are not too familiar with the details. I never really looked into it too much.
There were too many other stories that served as examples about just how low Trump and the right-wing news outlets were prepared to go to slander Hillary Clinton.
Yet, in the wake of what we have learned in the last year, it is worth a second look.

Murder on the Street 

On Sunday, July 10, 2016, at 4:20 a.m., a young man named Seth Rich was shot in the back by two assailants. As he made his way back home from having a night out, Seth Conrad Rich was chatting with his girlfriend. He was nearly home when gunshots rang out.
He was found lying on the ground only a block from his apartment.

Sanity Sunday -Weekly Review (Aug 20- 26) and Nomadic Playlist

by Nomad

Things moved fast and furious this week. In terms of entertainment, the news of the week offered Nomads a lot of pulse-pounding excitement and stunning plot twists. It was the worst week of his presidency. We said that many times and every time it was true.

The lawyer to Stormy Daniels, (and Leadfoot's love interest) Michael Avenetti summed up the week's tumultuous events like this:

"The criminal enterprise that Donald Trump managed for so many years and was at the center of is quickly unraveling and I anticipate that it is going to pick up considerable momentum in the coming days and weeks ahead."

We can only pray he is correct.

Why Michael Cohen's Plea Arrangement Likely Also Implicates Donald Trump Jr.

by Nomad

It's hard not to view yesterday as a turning point in the Trump debacle.
At the trial of Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight felony charges, five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts and two counts of bank fraud. He faces a maximum of 80 years in prison.

Meanwhile, in a Manhattan court, Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen yesterday pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws. He told the District Court judge that the payments to the women were made “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”
And that candidate was not Hillary "Lock 'er up!" Clinton.
Altogether, it was a terrible day for Donald J. Trump and a terribly good day for the rule of law in America.

Paula White, the Prosperity Gospel and the Evangelical's Faustian Bargain

by Nomad

Since somebody had to do it, I have been reading- ok, skimming- through Omarosa's book, Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House. I won't go through a full review of the book but there was one scene from the transition period that caught my eye.

Sanity Sunday - Weekly Review (Aug 13- 19)

by Nomad

Hillary Clinton famously described Donald Trump as "a man you can bait with a tweet" and this week, Trump seemed to go out of his way to prove her remark was an understatement. In what seemed like a desperate attempt to hold onto control, the president spent most of the last seven days attacking his critics or trying to silence them.

Revenge Served Cold

The news this week was pretty much dominated by Omarosa Manigault Newman. The fired aide to the president- nobody was ever quite sure what her job actually was- revealed that she had secretly taped conversations during her stint at the White House. 

Why the Anti-Abortion Dream of Evangelicals Will Be a Nightmare for Young Women

by Nomad

With the confirmation of arch-conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, one of the long prayed-for dreams of the evangelical movement will very likely be attained: the overturning of 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Sanity Sunday - Weekly Review (August 6-12) and Nomadic Playlist 5

by Nomad

Paleobiologist, J. William Schopf, once pointed out that "for four-fifths of our history, our planet was populated by pond scum." Looking back over the last week, it's hard to see much sign that things- at least in the noxious world of politics-  have evolved all that much. Despite Trump's campaign promise to drain the swamp, the week proved that the levels of scum are not receding in the slightest. 
So it's time to put on our hip waders and take our weekly march into the muck. 


Trump Tweets about Secret Meeting
On Monday, President Trump admitted in a tweet something which will, legal experts said, be extraordinarily problematic for his defense against the charge of Russian collusion.

Why Social Media Platforms Are Finally Saying Adios to Alex Jones

by Nomad

Why A Court Victory for DACA Dreamers Won't Stop Trump's Zero Tolerance Policy

by Nomad

Although federal judges have ordered the administration to re-instate DACA in recent decisions, there is still plenty of dread and distrust amongst the Dreamers for this administration. 
And for good reason.


You might not have noticed what with all the usual insanity going on in the Trump administration but, on Friday, a federal judge delivered another serious blow to one of the president's most controversial decrees. This marks- perhaps- the death blow to Trump's fondest anti-immigration dreams.

Sanity Sunday - Week in Review (July 30 - August 5) and Nomadic Playlist 4

by Nomad

This edition of Weekly Review covers a lot of ground. While the last seven days weren't particularly dramatic, there were quite a few noteworthy events.  

Russia Brags About Infiltration

The week started off with a mysterious remark from Russia's top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov,  On Monday, Lavrov claimed  Russia now has access to insider information about U.S. military plans. Addressing the Terra Scientia on Klyazma River National Educational Youth Forum, he explained that Moscow would be

"provided with information about the schemes harbored by the militaries of both the U.S. and other Western countries against the Russian Federation."

The State Department declined to comment on Lavrov's remarks. However, the Defense Secretary, James Mattis put his own spin on the Russian admission, saying that it was "most important that we talk with those countries we have the largest disagreements with."
This is the man in charge of overseeing the defense of our nation.

King of Fake News: How Trump Made a Tragic Crash that Killed 3 Executives All About Him

by Nomad

King of the Tabloids

Anyone who has bothered to track the career of property developer Trump can't help but be a little stunned to hear President Trump's hysterical outrage over "fake news."  In-the-know New Yorkers who were around during his rise are well-acquainted with Trump's casual manipulation of the press.