By DAVID NORLIN
Salina Resident
The Lyin’ kIng is on his throne. Loyal subjects spin yarns night and day to cover his naked untruths. The web of lies and Day One dictator decrees spin out faster than a truckload of spiders. Who can keep track?
Our Kansas representatives, given their oath to protect the Constitution, should erect a barrier wall against this destruction of the Republic. But these Republicans haven’t.
If you are not yet ‘woke,’ it is long past time.
Resistance is imperative. Your life just got unimaginably harder than need be. It is getting far worse, daily. No single writing, podcast, or news report can presently capture all attacks on the body politic.
Here are two examples:
First, the J6 criminal pardons.
“In his first 24 hours as President, Donald Trump [took] actions large and small that dramatically compromise the justice system and ……. the Department of Justice.
“Some, like his pardoning of 1,500 defendants ….. convicted and sentenced for their roles in attacking the Capitol on January 6th, including convictions of horrible acts of violence against law enforcement, are high profile. They are a betrayal; a slap in the face to those officers and their families who suffered physical and emotional scars, ongoing trauma, or death. They undermine the hundreds of prosecutors and FBI agents who, regardless of party or politics, worked tirelessly on these cases, as well as bipartisan federal judges who sentenced them….
“[Now] individuals who (not without encouragement) used violence to achieve their ends are back out into our communities, who will [live in fear of] the consequences. The pardons encourage others to use similar means of political protest, without fear of long-term accountability.
“[Even more insidious]: the appointment of Ed Martin, a prominent backer of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, as interim U.S. attorney in Washington, DC. What does that tell you?
Here’s what it tells us: People loyal to Trump cannot be reached by career federal prosecutors and agents; it is the ultimate politicization of the justice system and Department of Justice.”
Remember the Retrumplican rhetoric about the DOJ being ‘weaponized’? It wasn’t before. It is now.
Secondly, there are the hopelessly incompetent Trump-loyalist cabinet nominees.
This pardon/appointment dirty work bulldozed a path for Attorney General nominees, to head an invaded Department of (In)justice. Sexual predator Matt Gaetz has withdrawn. Now comes Pam Bondi.
“Bondi, a well-known figure in Trump’s circle, chaired the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers. She’s been a vocal critic of the criminal cases against Trump. [Recently], she called Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and other prosecutors [charging]Trump “horrible” people, trying to make names for themselves by “going after Donald Trump and weaponizing our legal system.”
Fair and just? No. And Bondi is just one tip of the iceberg. It is no exaggeration to say that all Trump’s Niagara Falls loyalist-incompetents flood are almost entirely opposed to their respective departments’ purposes.
As such, Individually and collectively, they are a threat to US Security.
Our Congress Critters are sworn to protect us from domestic terrorists. Instead, they are not watchdogs, but lapdogs brought to heel.
Jerry Moran had one good moment. Regarding Trump’s J6 pardons, he said: “It is wrong to pardon individuals convicted of violent crime...." Kansas common sense, right?
But then he votes for Pete Hegseth to head the Defense Department. A moral reprobate with a history of drunken out-of-control behavior, accused of abuse by previous wives and of gross mismanagement of non-profits, surely would not pass Jerry’s muster--but it did.
Jerry’s been an outspoken advocate for Veterans and our armed forces. But now, his vote for Hegseth spits in the face of our armed servicemen and women—and his own aforementioned common sense.
I called previous to that vote. Happily, I avoided the usual default message-recorder. Jerry’s real, live DC aide noted that he had met with the Hedger and asked about items the aide ticked off, clearly from a script. But did was Hegseth’s fitness for the position once mentioned? Nope.
Sadly, Jerry is only one such (insert adjectives here) Kansas Republican Congressperson. The rest are serving us equally shamefully.
As illustration, I’ll close with the post-election, widely-published column from Tracey Mann, our illustrious 1st-District Congressman. His role as inheritor of the Marshall/Huelskamp reign of fools (Example: their claims that Barack Obama was not a citizen), was starkly evident throughout.
But this line has to rank as Tracey’s most Orwellian, truth-free distortion of reality thus far:
“America has spoken and made it clear that we do not want four more years of chaos. I look forward to working with President Trump to deliver on this mandate in the 119th Congress.”
Chaos, Tracey? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. And here’s a reality-based statement: You are part of the problem, not the solution.
Wake. Up.
The views and opinions expressed in this editorial article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Salina Post or Eagle Media. The editorial is intended to stimulate critical thinking and debate on issues of public interest and should be read with an open mind. Readers are encouraged to consider multiple sources of information and to form their own informed opinions.