On A Fox Hunt

I often watch Sean Hannity on Fox Network to get my blood boiling but mainly so I can see what alternative reality looks like. He repeats a regular pattern of lambasting the "deranged, destroy Trump media", assuring his viewers that only he tells "you, the American people " the real news in a fair and balanced manner.
He is addicted to the use of bullet points and checklists by which he purports to demonstrate that Trump has a host of accomplishments ignored by the left-wing, fascist press. Of course, many of these so-called achievements are, in reality, earmarks of Trump's assault on good government, ethnic minorities, and a healthy environment.
Thus, the leading entries on this hit parade invariably include jeopardizing the global climate (withdrawing from the Paris Accords),promoting financial recklessness (weakening Dodd-Frank), gender bashing (banning transgender soldiers), immigration "reform " (travel bans and wall building) and so on.
Then he parades his Amen chorus consisting of Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Simeon Gorka
and Pat Buchanan to corroborate the correctness of his conclusions.
His other itemizations often include the many reasons Robert Mueller is biased and must be fired and the panoply of sins committed by Hillary Clinton which have gone unpunished and warrant her incarceration.
His former compatriots in this offensive, notably Bill O'Reilly, have either left in disgrace or moved on to new positions and new philosophies. More recently, he has been abetted by Tucker Carlson, who makes known his disbelief of views expressed by his left-leaning guests by sneering, smirking, laughing or widening his eyes before talking over or cutting them off.
One can confidently predict that, when it is indisputably proven that Trump collaborated with Russian interference in the recent election, Hannity will, instead, be reporting on the misuse of her email server by Hillary Clinton.

Slogan

In just over six months the Trump administration has seriously eroded 250 years of American traditions including regard for the truth, respect for our countrymen, honor, and common decency. Our fundamental shibboleths of equality, justice, rule of law and common good have been supplanted by "America First" and, even more insidiously, "Me First". These xenophobic and selfish credos must be rejected before they destroy the foundation of our democracy.
The proposed motto for Democrats, "A Better Deal", smacks too much of self-interest. Besides, we've had our fill of "deal" makers. Democrats should , instead, rally behind the slogan "Restore America's Values".

Pre-Trial Release Without Bail

Legislation proposed by Senators Kamala Harris and Rand Paul (To Shrink Our Jails, Let's Reform Bail, NYT 7/21/17, p.21) is a laudable attempt to humanize and make more effective and equitable this country's flawed system of imprisoning persons pre-trial simply because they or their families are too poor to post bail. What is remarkable is that the remedies they propose were proven effective more than half a century ago yet are still underutilized.
In 1961 the Vera Foundation's Manhattan Bail Project, conducted in New York City jails, demonstrated that persons accused of crimes and released on their own recognizance were more likely to return to court than those who posted bail. Factors such as community ties, supportive families, and having jobs were better predictors of low risk of flight than monetary deposits.
The real problem is that too many judges, fearful of public rebuke, fail to exercise their authority to release defendants without bail pending trial. The horror of prolonged , unnecessary incarceration will not be overcome until judges are better informed and act more courageously.

"Russia, Russia, Russia" So What?

Almost every day more proof emerges of collusion between the Trump campaign and Putin's Government, to affect the election and deliver the presidency to Donald Trump. Republican politicians counter, with a fair degree of accuracy, that American's are not interested in the "Russia connection" and seem to care less about the implications of that unholy alliance. Think about that. Our country has been, and will continue to be, attacked in the cybersphere  by a hostile foreign power whose actions threaten to undermine the conduct of our elections and destroy the foundation of our democracy and our fellow citizens are tired of hearing about it.
Does this make it, as Republican's insist,  an unimportant, non-issue unworthy of further investigation? On the contrary, this apparent lack of public interest is an indictment of today's politicians who fail to sound the alarm, put country before party and mount a defense to this existential challenge.

Which President was a Russian Agent?

So now the cat is out of the bag. As explained by President Trump and his Fox Cable echo chamber, it is former President Obama who is guilty of colluding with the Russians to rig the last election. How could we have missed it. As the intelligence community disclosed, Putin and the Russians were attempting to aid the Trump campaign and this fact was made known to President Obama.
Apparently concerned that Hillary Clinton was likely to win the election and preserve his legacy, President Obama said nothing and took no action, thus furthering the Russian scheme to make Trump president and enable him to dismantle all that President Obama had put in place. Get it? Sad!

Putin's Continuing Intervention in American Politics

There can no longer be any doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to protect Donald Trump's presidency, for whatever reason. His attack on the credibility of former FBI Director James Comey, by sarcastically offering him "asylum", equating him with the leaker Eric Snowden and labeling him a "civil activist", is but his latest effort to meddle in American politics. This most recent intrusion apparently has flown under the radar, failing to evoke the outrage it warrants.
It is an obvious attempt to blunt or deflect the just disclosed probability that Special Counsel Mueller's investigation may be examining whether President Trump has obstructed justice. Trump defenders are trying to block that inquiry at its outset by questioning Mueller's impartiality and accusing Comey of criminal misconduct. Putin seems to have joined forces with Sean Hannity and the Trump defense team, fueling the suspicion already surrounding the strange relationship between the two leaders.

President Trump's Tweets; Gospel or Gossip?

President Trump and his spokespersons have often touted his frequent use of Twitter as an effective means of communicating important issues directly to the American people free of the biased filter of a hostile media. Yet, when his messages provoke criticism and even outrage, those same spokespersons chide the critics, accuse them of paying too much attention and caution that this President is merely resorting to social media. His postings, they advise, are not to be taken seriously or accepted as statements of policy or conviction.
The reason for these irreconcilable explanations is apparent. Trump's tweets are intended as dog whistles meant to gratify his dedicated base. Everyone else, including the targets of his reckless barbs, the leaders of our allies, the majority of the American public and, in particular, the too inquisitive Press should pay no heed to these middle of the night rants and stop trying to hold the President accountable for their plain and ugly meaning.