Gravitas of a Grifter: Why Trump's Art of the Deal is all about the Art of Butt-Kissing and Betrayal

by Nomad

In a recent deposition, Republican Presidential candidate Trump  allowed us a peek at his true nature. It wasn't pretty and reveals a man very different than his supporters see onstage. 

The Two Faces of Trump

As we have come to know, Republican front-runner Donald Trump likes to portray himself as a politically-incorrect kind of guy who says the first thing to comes to his mind. 
If it is childish, irresponsible or just plain racist, then that's who he really is. He's not been groomed and manicured and cultivated like a hot-house orchid. Trump is Trump, and he doesn't give a damn who likes it and who doesn't.

For that, his supporters love him.

His appeal is based primarily on the premise that he may be rough around the edges but he is, at least, honest. If he goes too far sometimes, it is, if nothing else, a step in the right direction, they'll tell you. 
Sure, he may rub a lot of people the wrong way, his supporters say, but he makes good points and gives a voice for angry people who feel forgotten. Trump may be a joke but he isn't a phony, they'll tell you.
If nothing else, Trump's a breath of fresh air and not part of the political game-playing that has made Washington such a despised place. 

However, the problem for Mr. Trump is that this particular persona is really a new innovative, more based on his reality-TV character. The real story, his actual history is radically different.

"God Told Me So": The Dangerous Delusions of the Religious Republican

by Nomad

It's strange that the typical conservative voter would reject in a courtroom the very thing they openly support in their presidential candidates.

Last week, as reported by local media,  the courts in Cobbs County, Georgia  heard defense of an 18-year-old woman Olivia Nicole Smith. She is accused of the horrific stabbing murder her step-cousin, 17-year-old high school Abbey Hebert. 

According to her testimony, Smith claimed to neighbors, right after the murder, that God had made her do it after she and her cousin smoked marijuana together. She explained that she had "an overwhelming feeling of God coming to her: and that God had disapproved of her behavior.
In response to this imagined judgment, the young woman had an argument with her relative. That argument somehow ended in a butcher knife of murder in the victim's front yard. Prior to this, both victim and accused murderer had been close friends.

The public was justifiably outraged by the sensational crime.   

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time that God (or Satan) has been the alleged accomplice/mastermind of some otherwise inexplicable crime. In fact, it's a pretty common thing.

Astoundingly, in the very same county in Georgia, back in 2008, then 36-year-old Donna Marie Redding told the police that her husband, Gary Dean Parnell, taken the Lord’s name in vain once too many times. 

(For those of you keeping score, that's Commandment Number 3 - taking God's name in vain- while the prohibition on murder is Commandment Number 6.)

Redding's religious sensibilities were utterly offended by all this loose talk, she claimed, and for this reason, Jesus commanded her to shoot her man with a 12-gauge shotgun in the stomach.

Did Texas Gov. Rick Perry Help Scuttle in a Medical Licence Revocation Case in Oklahoma?

by Nomad

Another allegation of abuse of power against former Texas governor Rick Perry has emerged.

Get Rid of This

Medical authorities in Oklahoma spent more than 3 years and $600,000 in an attempt to revoke the license of a doctor accused of performing operations that left patients paralyzed, in perpetual pain – or dead. Many of the charges against the surgeon were serious and deserved careful consideration. 

Yet all these efforts abruptly came to nothing after a call from Texas Governor Rick Perry to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin. if one report is correct,. 

According to one investigative organization, a memo recently found suggests that Perry called Fallin, a fellow Republican, on Dr. Steven Anagnost’s behalf as a favor to a generous campaign donor.

When Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, met with key staff members at the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision in March 2013, Perry’s intervention was part of the discussion.

“He (Mullins) told us that he wasn’t here to interfere with the work of the board but Gov. Fallin didn’t want any more calls from Rick Perry about this, that Gov. Perry said it was a travesty and what would it take to make it go away,” Dr. Eric Frische, the medical board’s medical advisor, later wrote in a memo.

Why the Moment of Truth is Coming for Red States that Rejected Obamacare

by Nomad

As more and more reports come in about the benefits of Obamacare, governors of Red States, some analysts predict, are soon going to feel the heat from the miffed voters.

Few could call Forbes a flagship of the liberal press so when it posts a negative article against conservative policy, it must send a few night-terrors into the sleep of Republicans.

Good News and Bad Tidings
Last week, for conservatives, Forbes was the bearer of bad tidings. Obamacare isn't so bad after all. and as the article says, for the governors of red states who had once been so quick to reject the Medicare expansion, things are going to get a little worrisome.

A new report showing the continued pileup of unpaid medical bills in states that didn’t expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is escalating criticism on these Republican-led areas of the country to expand the health insurance program for the poor.

True, the report did come from the Obama administration who- conservatives would say- would have every reason to paint a rosy picture. Yet, sooner or later, the facts will spill out one way or the other. And the Obama administration's figures were bound to come under close scrutiny. 

Moreover, the figures from other sources are all pointing in the same direction. In spite of its rocky kickoff, Obamacare hasn't been the predicted disaster. The fears of socialized medicine, promoted by the likes of Sarah Palin, Louie Gohmert, Michele Bachmann, Betsey McCaughey, and last and not least, Rush Limbaugh were unfounded, especially when compared to the benefits to Americans. (They are still peddling their malicious nonsense, unchallenged by the media.)

The fear-mongering of "death panels" was well-financed, well-promoted poppycock for the low-information, hate-driven voter or the perpetually gullible.

Nomadic Politics Exclusive: Governor Rick Perry To Release CD of Greatest Hits

by Nomad

 

In order to help cover his legal expenses following grand jury indictments, Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced plans to release a double CD of country hits. 

"What a great idea!" said Texas Republican strategist (who wished not be identified). "It's time the governor gave the people of Texas something pleasant to listen to."

Outside his close friends, most people are unaware of that Perry has been an amateur country singer and guitarist for decades. Some have even suggested this side of Perry could be the start of a whole new career. 
"I think he's going to do as well as a singer as he did as a governor" said an unnamed loyal supporter. 

According to Jackson Jihl, executive producer for GoodHare Music out of Austin, the playlist will include a mix of cover versions  of such country standards as:

• "Release Me"
• "Hello Walls"
• "You Don't Even Know Who I Am"
• "Folsom Prison Blues"
• "You Won't Ever Be Lonely"
• "It's Just a Matter of Time"
• "Suspicious Minds"
• "I Fall To Pieces"

In addition, Governor Perry plans to offer some his personal takes on familiar Country hits like

• "I Was Corrupt When Corrupt Wasn't Cool"
• (Feels like)"I've Got A Tiger On My Tail"
• "(For Two Cigs and some Hooch) I'd Love To Lay You Down"
• "Four Walls (and a few Steel Bars)"
• "You're the Reason God Made Prisons"
•  "(I'm Gonna Miss) Wide Open Spaces" 
• "My Woman, My Woman, My Cell Mate, Pablo"
• "Loathsome On'ry and Mean" 
• "If You've Got The Proof, I'll Do The Time"
• "Sleeping Double in a Single Bed"

How Texas Gov. Rick Perry is Recruiting for Armed and Unregulated Militias

by Nomad

After an close call at the Texas border between Border Patrol guards and armed militias, isn't time we should start asking who is in charge? When it comes to leadership, Governor Rick Perry has been an excellent recruiter for armed and dangerous vigilante groups.

The Brownsville Incident
"Land's sakes, that's a good way to get your head blown off!" That's what somebody should have warned one lucky militia member with more bullets than brain matter.

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a US Border Patrol agent near Brownsville Texas mistook a member of an armed militia for an illegal intruder on Friday.

It was apparently a close call.    

Omar Zamora, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday that the agent was chasing several suspects through an area of thick brush near the Rio Grande on Friday afternoon when he came upon a militia member holding a shotgun or rifle.

After the patrol agent fired several rounds, the militia member, reportedly, threw down his weapon immediately (no doubt wetting himself about that time). Fortunately nobody on either side was injured. 

Somebody nearly learned the limits of his Second Amendment rights the hard way.

The identity of the man was not released to the public and it isn't clear whether the Cameron County Sheriff will press criminal charges.  

Zamora did not identify the patrol agent and said it was not clear what organization the militia member belonged to. He was standing on private property at the time of the incident.

Clearly  it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. And the next time state and federal border patrol encounter armed groups, things could easily be tragic.

Border Vigilantes On Call

Indeed, there were unheeded warnings.

Last July, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  declared that the agency does not "endorse or support any private group or organization from taking matters into their own hands as it could have disastrous personal and public safety consequences."

According to a Houston Chronicle article, armed militia groups along the Texas border have grown to more than 10 active "teams" from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley,

These groups which included Oathkeepers, Three Percenters and Patriots, began organizing and recruiting as the hysteria began over the influx of immigrant children crossing the border.

Other groups may include

• Bolinas Border Patrol, 
• Central Valley Militia,
• Independent Citizens Militia, 
• Alpha Team, 
• Bravo Team, 
• FOB Harmony, 
• Operation Secure Our Border: 
• Laredo Sector, 
• O'Shanessy's Team, 
• the 77's and 
• Camp Geronimo

Clearly this is a problem Governor Rick Perry has not addressed. (Perhaps he is afraid to cross them?)

Barbie Rogers is the founder of the Patriots Information Hotline which has been instrumental in organizing  and finding new members for the militias. According to Rogers, many of the groups are stationed on ranch land with permission from the owners.  

She has called upon the Governor to send even more Texas National guard personnel to defend the border. She also says to Rick Perry that "if cost is an issue" to "call the militia. They will come if you call them."

As one militia leader said:

“We have patriots all across this country who are willing to sacrifice their time, money even quit their jobs to come down and fight for freedom, liberty and national sovereignty.”

Whether Perry knows it or not, he has already called up the armed gangs.

Arkansas, the Ebola Virus, and the License to Lie

by Nomad

When the town of Harrison, Arkansas decided to cancel a planned visit by a delegation from Ghana, was it just ignorance about Ebola or old-fashioned racism?

Lately a lot of people from the Far Right have been making some pretty irresponsible and ignorant remarks about Ebola. It's not just hysteria. Actually, it's a symptom of something worse- an outright betrayal of the public trust. 

Africa and Ebola in Perspective
Sarah Palin might not realize it but Africa is not a country. It is a continent and a mighty large one at that. Africa covers a full six percent of the Earth's total surface area and over 20  percent of the total land area. But then geography - along with any other subject you wish to name- isn't really Palin's forte.  

As the second most populated continent, Africa has a population of around 1 billion people. Depending on who you ask, there are 47 countries on the African continent, (53 if you count some of the islands off the coast.)  Of those 47 nations, only five of them have had reports of the much-discussed, much-feared disease known as Ebola.

As scary as it is, the deaths and the infection rates from the Ebola virus are not very impressive. The disease has up to now claimed more than 1,400 lives and infected over a thousand more across West Africa. 

Dreadful, terrible. And yes, it is better to do something before the situation gets any worse. Now is the time to act.

Are Gov Rick Perry's Indictments Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

by Nomad

Texas Governor Perry's indictments may be the tip of the iceberg if one investigative writer's theory is correct.

A New York Times bestselling author and Emmy winning former TV news correspondent, James Moore, offers a some important background to the Rick Perry indictments in a recent blog post.
Moore suggests there's a lot more to this story than meets the eye.

The narrative widely promoted by the mainstream media runs something like this: The Texas governor has been indicted for using some high pressure tactics to force Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg to resign. 

That move came, so the story goes, after Lehmberg was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The police report shows blood alcohol content at three times the legal limits.
However, as Moore observes in his article, drunk driving - for which there is absolutely no excuse- is not something that Rick Perry cared too much about in the past.

Two other Texas D.A.s were arrested for DUI during Perry’s tenure in office and he spoke not a discouraging word about their indiscretions.

When it came to Lehmberg, it was a completely different story  According to Perry, the governor eliminated the $7.5 million dollar budget that Lehmberg managed for the Public Integrity Unit (PIU) because “the person charged with ultimate responsibility of that unit has lost the public’s confidence.”  

Moore thinks it's important to look at the details a little closer.

Prohibited Person: What Happens If Texas Governor Rick Perry Becomes a Convicted Felon

by Nomad

Here's a quick peek into what Governor Perry's life might be like if he is convicted on felony charges.

It's a post title I never thought I'd write, that's for sure.

By now most people have heard the news that Texas governor Rick Perry has been indicted for abuse of power after carrying out a threat to veto funding for state public corruption prosecutors. Of course the most serious result of any conviction would be hard time in prison. A conviction on those charges carries with it a maximum punishment on the first charge is five to 99 years in prison. The second is two to 10 years.

While the charge and the possible punishments are not something about would dismiss lightly, nobody should be foolish enough to think that a conviction is a sure thing, of course.

This is, after all, Texas.

The possibility that Perry will ever walk down "Broadway" in an orange one-piece and state-issued bo-bos is fairly remote. However, supposing the judicial system can withstand the enormous political pressure that will doubtless be exerted, and Perry is actually convicted of these felonies, he might find life a little less lovely.

Even without any time in the Big House.

There are other legal limits imposed on a convicted felon For example he will no longer be allowed to serve on a federal grand or petit jury jury, according to Texas and federal laws.

Big Whoop, right? But that's the least important restriction. Let's take a look some others.

Gov. Rick Perry, Obamacare and The Morality of Rejecting Medicaid Expansion

by Nomad

Texas Governor Rick Perry's decision not to expand Medicaid, a provision of Obamacare that each state can accept or reject, will have serious consequences for the uninsured and the poor of that state. 

Here's a moral question for you:

Suppose you found that you possessed the power to save the lives of three thousand strangers, without doing anything except changing your mind, would you do it? Would you do it even if it required you to reverse a strong personal viewpoint or a core philosophy? Could any one of your personal beliefs really be so strong that you would allow the deaths of thousands and the suffering of many more? 

Those are the questions that the citizens of Texas should be asking their governor, Rick Perry.

The Cost of Perry's Resistance

In a recent article for the Dallas Observer, Eric Nicholson points out:

Governor Rick Perry's decision to opt out of Obamacare's Medicaid expansion has been well-documented. Billions in federal funds are off the table. More than a million poor adults won't have access to health coverage. Texas businesses will wind up paying an estimated $400 million in tax penalties.

Useful numbers, but none really captures the human toll of Perry's decision. A better figure for that purpose is 3,035, as in the number of people who will die as a result of Texas' refusal to expand Medicaid.

Nicholson cites a study by researchers at Harvard Medical School and CUNY School of Public Health. Admittedly this is a worst case scenario but even the best case scenario puts the number of people who will die at 1,840. That's not all.

Even for those who don't die, the outcome won't be good. The researchers predict that 184,192 Texans suffering from depression will go undiagnosed, 109,307 diabetics won't get medication, 40,562 women won't get mammograms and 62,610 uninsured individuals will have catastrophic medical expenditures.

Critics of the study say the study cannot be taken to prove a causal relationship between Medicaid expansion and lower mortality rates.

When the ACA was passed back in 2010, a requirement in the law required states to expand Medicaid for all households whose incomes fell below a certain level. A fairly generous level too. However in June 2012, the Supreme Court decided that states should be given an option to decide whether they wish to expand the Medicaid rolls. It could not be forced on the states by the federal government.

The Lone Star legislators in their wisdom then decided that expanding Medicaid was in the the great state of Texas was simply not going to happen. No way, Jose.

West, Texas Explosion: The Price of Poor Regulation and Rick Perry's Budget Cuts?

Even though the first responders are even now searching through the devastation left after the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion yesterday, some factors that led to the disaster are beginning to become clear.

The plant had already been investigated by The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for its failure to obtain an air quality permit as a fertilizer mixing and storage facility. The company had, in fact, earlier been fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to have a risk management plan that met federal standards. That $2,300 penalty was issued on August 14, 2006, according to EPA records.

In November, West Fertilizer Co. vowed to meet all standards expected for anhydrous ammonia storage tanks. The odorless gas would be stored in two 12,000 gallon permanent storage tanks.

In addition the company would conduct daily in-house inspections during normal business hours to ensure there are no" leaks of ammonia.

Despite previous complaints from neighbors of ammonia smells from the plant, West Fertilizer Company officials assured the TCEQ that “emissions from the tanks would not pose a danger.” However:

That assertion was based on expected routine emissions, not the possibility of a catastrophic failure.

As a permit condition, the TCEQ required the company to build a wall between the tanks and a public road to prevent passing vehicles from striking the tanks. The company complied and on Dec. 12, 2006, the agency’s executive director issued an operating permit for the tanks, which already existed.

Scandal in Lock Down Mode: Rick Perry and the Texas Youth Commission 3/3

by Nomad
To view  PART ONE and PART TWO

Severe Consequences for Bad Behavior

George Bush

The origins of the Texas Youth Commission problems actually began as a result of fear-mongering campaign tactics about the rise of violent juvenile crime during George Bush’s 1994 run for governor. In one of his campaign ads, Bush told voters,

"The bottom line is young people need to understand there will be severe consequences for bad behavior."

(This tough talk about crime and punishment is somewhat ironic given the later events.) Some may argue that playing upon the fears of the public was to be merely a dress rehearsal for the anti-terrorism campaign following the hysteria caused by the 9-11 attacks. 

But then you don't mess with success. After all,  the “tough on crime” position had also worked for his father in his own the presidential campaign. The “revolving door” advertisement, produced by political consultant Roger Ailes, had been considered a major factor in Bush’s defeat of Michael Dukakis in 1988. Following those ads, the percentage of poll respondents who felt George Bush, Sr. was "tough enough" on crime rose from 23 percent in July 1988 to 61 percent in late October 1988. 
 Being tough on anything always plays well with Texas voters.

Scandal in Lock Down Mode: Rick Perry and the Texas Youth Commission 2/3

(this series first appeared earlier this year at Politicalgates) 

by Nomad

To view  PART ONE . In the second part of this series, I will continue the story of the Texas Youth Commission scandal, how the investigation was handled (or mishandled),  and the excuses that were made .

Doing Whatever He Wanted

It took years for the Texas Youth Commission scandal to get much attention by the authorities and it took still longer to bring the accused to trial. The case had begun in February of 2005 when Texas Ranger Burzynski began looking into the allegations of sexual misconduct of juvenile inmates at a facility. The accused were the West Texas State School principal John Paul Hernandez and the West Texas State School assistant superintendent, Ray Edward Brookins. 

For two years, while Burzynski repeatedly tried to alert law enforcement and justice officials, all action was delayed. Clearly nobody in the governor’s administration wanted to touch the issue, especially not with Rick Perry’s 2006 re-election taking shape. Anybody could see this was dynamite and few people in the governor’s office wanted anything to do with it. Political plutonium, in other words.

An internal investigation by The Texas Youth Commission, the agency responsible for oversight of the youth incarceration facilities, was conducted. 

That report was, however, not released until after the Perry’s successful re-election on February of 2007. 

Scandal in Lock Down Mode: Rick Perry and the Texas Youth Commission 1/3

(this series first appeared earlier this year at Politicalgates)
by Nomad

Sergeant Brian Burzynski

The Easiest of Prey

If children, as a group, make ideal targets for predatory abusers and exploiters, then incarcerated juveniles undoubtedly make the easiest of that targeted prey. 

Subject to manipulation and intimidation, with limited access to legal recourse or independent monitoring and underrepresented in the political system, these children are easily forgotten by the public. The pleas from juvenile inmates generally go unheard. The very real threat of retribution by the authorities is sufficient to prevent any victims from coming forward.

So, when incidents are reported- and followed up on by authorities- it is generally an exceptional case. 

In February of 2005, Texas Ranger Brian Burzynski received reports from a volunteer instructor at the West Texas School, maximum security, all-male correctional facility in Pyote, Texas.
 One of many facilities scattered across the state, The West Texas school was built to house boys who had been in trouble with the law. The teacher who had contacted the Texas Ranger had had a crisis of conscience when several of his students had come forward with stories of sexual misconduct by the assistant superintendent. According to sources:

[The teacher] knew it would be futile to go to school authorities—his parents, also volunteers, had previously told the superintendent of their own suspicions, and were "brow beat" for making allegations without proof —so the next morning he called the Texas Rangers. A sergeant named Brian Burzynski made the ninety-minute drive from his office in Fort Stockton that afternoon. "I saw kids with fear in their eyes," he testified later, "kids who knew they were trapped in an institution where the system would not respond to their cries for help."

Mr. and Mrs. Gramm: The Dark and Disturbing Friends of Rick Perry 4/4

by Nomad

A Close look at Wendy Gramm
In this the final part of my investigation into the Gramms, I’d like to deal with Wendy’s relationship with Rick Perry and another influential power broker.

The Mercatus Center

As if Wendy Gramm’s role in the Enron scandal wasn’t enough to qualify her as one of the notable villians in a saga filled with some pretty odious characters, she’d really only just begun. After her jaunt through the world of academia and through the infested jungle of the private sector, Wendy now found herself stepping back into academia (or something very much like it).

If Phil Gramm represents one side of corruption, then some might claim his wife to be an example of a newer but far more insidious indirect kind.

Koch Industries- along with other corporations have developed a long term strategy to use think-tanks, paired with prestigious universities, to give support - with studies and surveys and expert opinions- to their agenda. In exchange, the universities benefit from large-dollar corporate support.

The Mercatus Center of George Mason University, where Wendy Gramm is a director of the “regulatory studies program”, is a case in point.

Mr. and Mrs. Gramm: The Dark and Disturbing Friends of Rick Perry: 3/4

by Nomad

In this the third in the series, I want to take a moment to examine the life and deeds of the wife of Phil Gramm, Wendy Lee Gramm. I think you will find it- for want of a better word- breathtaking, but not in a good way.

Getting Started

Under normal circumstances, the wife of a senator would hardly be worth a second glance. However, Dr. Wendy Lee Gramm is no ordinary wife of no ordinary senator. As a study of modern politics, in all its corruption and ambition, perky Wendy Gramm is a fair enough study in her own right.

First, let’s cover the early history, collected from various sources.

Wendy Gramm’s Korean grandfather immigrated to Hawaii as a sugar plantation laborer. Like her grandfather, Wendy’s father had originally started out as a laborer in the sugar fields. According to the story, he selected his bride from a series of photos of Korean women and sent her money to join him in Hawaii. He married in 1939 at age 25.

During the Depression, he left Hawaii for a university in Indiana where he earned an engineering degree. He later returned to Hawaii and found a job at a sugar processing plant where he eventually worked his way to the top of the company, later becoming a vice-president of a sugar company.

Mr. and Mrs. Gramm: The Dark and Disturbing Friends of Rick Perry 2/4

  by Nomad

To Return to Part One

In part two of this four-part series, we will continue to look at Phil Gramm, mentor to Rick Perry, presidential candidate. At this point, we shall continue with Gramm's career following his retirement from the Senate.

Gramm at UBS

When Phil Gramm announced on September 4 2001 that he would retire at the end of his term in 2003, his retirement speech was filled with self-congratulatory flatulence.

Remarkably, the things I came to Washington to do are done. Now, I know that no victory is ever final...I will leave the Senate in 15 months, being very proud that I came, and extraordinarily proud in what I've done while I've been here... But I feel comfortable with this decision. I believe I'm making the right decision for me, for the 20 million people I represent, and for the things I believe in.

Despite the fact that he spoke to reporters with “his voice cracking and his tears filling red-rimmed eye,” he had no intention of spending his autumnal years, tending his garden and painting landscapes. In fact, he was about to begin a new career, one that would surpass all his other accomplishments from the past.

Mr. and Mrs. Gramm- The Dark and Disturbing Friends of Rick Perry: 1/4

 by Nomad

The four-part saga of power couple Phil and Wendy Gramm requires both a seat belt and an airbag. Their careers span both the political and business world, generally working in tandem to maximized their personal wealth.

Bad Company

George Washington once said, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” 

While this might have been true in Washington’s day, as advice for the modern politician, it is hardly practical. In Texas politics, a rising star has to associate with a lot of unsavory types, with a lot of money and political clout, the right connections etc. 

Yet, Governor Rick Perry’s association with Mr. and Mrs. Gramm is much more than a casual acquaintance. If Perry’s close relationship is anything to go by, Rick must not esteem his reputation at all.