In Case You Missed It (v40)

It's a brisk morning here in Central New York, but last week's posts might warm things up a bit.

Here's your week in review, best taken with a sense of curiosity, a sense of humor, and maybe a tiny dose of outrage. What is it Fox News used to say, "we report, you decide?"

I spent Sunday School with two former diplomats, Condoleezza Rice and Gen. Colin Powell, both good classroom discussions. Here's a bit from Powell's talk with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union.

...Tapper started by asking him what he thought about all of the people speaking out against president Trump last week. Powell said he was "very happy" with what they were saying; we have a Constitution, he said, and "we have to follow that Constitution." 

And the president has drifted away from it. I'm so proud of what these generals and admirals have done and others have done. 

And, for those wondering why there was no Powell letter to go along with the others, he said he "made (his) point with respect to Trump's performance" back when he was running for office. Some of the stuff Trump said then "made it clear that I could not possibly vote for this individual."

And yes, he gives us few examples of what he's talking about.

The Extra Credit lectures were also interesting, with classrooms full of highly respected former military folks, talking about what they heard and saw during the DC protests. Among them? Gen. Martin Dempsey (Ret.), a former Joint Chiefs chair, who talked with Martha Raddatz on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

He said he tries to be "thoughtful about the way things evolve," and it was "in the moment" that he thought it would be appropriate to point out the risks.

...obviously, Martha, the president... he’s given a lot of authority by our Constitution and the laws that interpret it. And it’s -- it -- for me it was a 'can' and 'should' dichotomy. And I thought that given the state of the -- of the unrest and the risk that we would put the active duty military in a position where its relationship with the American people would be adversely affected, that I -- that should say something.

Yes - we all wish more people would say something, or wouldn't have waited so long to say something, or would at least recognize the potential need for ordering a backbone through Amazon Prime to allow them to maybe think about maybe saying something..  Or something.

After waiting for and finally getting the transcript of the president's alleged 'Remarks on the Jobs Report' Rose Garden appearance, I was move to format his words as verse.  Here's an excerpt from the first of three -- yes, three - OrangeVerse poetic episodes this week. 

I said his remarks were allegedly about the jobs report; here's just one reason why it was oh, so much more than that. 

Sir, It's Carly Rae Jepsen on Line One 

And you have to remember one other thing

very importantly: I think it's extremely

 important for you to remember that

many of our states are closed or al-

most closed. Some of the big ones

- New York, New Jersey - they'll 

start; they're starting now 

to get open I hope. And

I hope they also use

our National
Guard. 

Call 

me. 

And, here's an excerpt from the second OrangeVerse entry, in which he's either talking about the coronavirus pandemic, Obamacare, or the economy... 

Opening the Patient

But it's a tremendous thing

that happened. And the reason

 it happened is because we had 

a really strong patient.

We had a patient that 

was so powerful,

so strong, 

that we could 

close it and open.

And then it was time for Wondering on Wednesday, and the discussion about taking down statues that recognize Confederate military types. You know, the Confederacy that wanted to be their own country and fought against the United States? That's a discussion again, what with all of the protests happening around the country.  But there's more this time.

Same with naming military bases after generals and soldiers from the losing side? What's up with that, I wonder? I mean, I just asked my husband, who was stationed at both Fts. Bragg and Benning after he was drafted, and he says he didn't learn anything about the names of the bases or anything else -- he learned how to shoot and how to jump out of planes and live to tell about it. It's not like people were sitting around talking about the dead guys the bases were named after.  

Now, while some are willing to have a discussion on the base names, the 'tennis playing with bone spur deferments' Commander in Chief won't have any of that. 

We swung back to the military folks for a note from The Update Desk, as current Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Mike Milley apologized for taking part in the presidents Biblica photo op. Milley's remarks came in a taped commencement address to grads of the National Defense University (as opposed to the president who made West Point cadets return to their closed campus so he could talk to them in person).

And while many were complimentary of Milley's apology, some were less so, suggesting that his apology only goes so far. It

covered only his appearance beside Trump, not his own troubling role in the violence and terror carried out in Washington by uniformed, oath-swearing American citizen-soldiers during a dark week that three Times defense reporters—among them an Afghanistan War veteran—called “a debacle for the National Guard.” 

I guess it might be one of those half empty - half full things. 

Back to poetry, and our final OrangeVerse of the week - and this might be my favorite part of all. 

Nobody Puts Melania In A Trailer

When you look at the ridership in the airlines, 

what they've gone - they went from 2% to a number

that if it's correct, I'd be surprised actually but it's a very

high number. It's great. People are traveling. And you know what?

They're traveling in the United States. And they're also driving. And they're

building the trailers. They're building a lot of things. The're driving. 

People are  - people are driving. I may have to buy one of 

those things, drive around town. Maybe I'll drive back 

to New York with our First Lady in a trailer.

What do they call that? 

Comically, Larry Kudlow thought it was a double-wide... Good thing we had Our Great Vice President Mike (Where's Mike?) Pence to correct him and let us know those are RVs... 

Technical difficulties prevented us from having our regular TGIF feature - sometimes there's just no 'saving' grace with the blog - but on Saturday, I offered a Quick Takes post on what people in my neck of the woods are saying about those street murals honoring Black Lives Matter. Here's just a sampling...

Well, until black lives matter, then all lives do not matter, unless you don't count black people as people.

Great choice, Syracuse! Absolutely the symbol of unity should be painted instead of BLM.

How equal is that pray tell as I see it it's one sided.

The media is taking all of this for a ride!!! 

How is this painting 'unity.' If it was unity it would be ALL lives matter. We all matter. One race. The human race! 

There were many that were more, shall we say, "the reason for the season," if you will. It's sad, it's frustrating, it's disheartening, especially when you consider the possibility that the comments are 100% sincere and actually reflective of the people making them. 

So there it is - the full veritable pastiche from what was a busy week. 

I'll be back later with today's Sunday School. 

In Case You Missed It (v24)

A busy week here at the pastiche.  If you missed anything, I've got you covered.

We started out the week with Sunday School classrooms jam packed with presidential candidates.  Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and Pete Buttigieg were making the rounds this morning, with Klobuchar hitting four classrooms and Steyer two.  Papa Joe hadn't been around in a few weeks, it seemed, but he was happy to open up with Chuck Todd. 

On his campaign and whether he's got the urgency, the fire that people want to see, he said maybe being so polite and positive wasn't the best approach after all, but he supported his moderate proposals by saying if he gets elected he'll be "one of the most progressive administrations" in the country's history.

We moved into back-to-back poetry readings. That's right: we had an OrangeVerse entry that was all about presidential pride, including a tip of the hat to his own dreadful remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. But before that part, we had this.

Transcribe This...

Fortunately for all of us

here today and for our country

we had transcripts.

We had transcribers

professional transcribers. 

Then they said Oh, well, maybe

the transcription is not correct.

But Lt Colonel Vindman and his twin

brother - right? - we had some people 

that - really amazing.

In the second OrangeVerse,

we're well into his remarks in this part, and finally he starts talking about people other than himself - and that got me thinking about that old childhood game. You know the one, where you call out for people to come on over?

Red Rover, Red Rover...

But we have some of

the folks that are going to be leaving

right after this, and they work hard - 

and they did work hard. 

Well, we got Grassley, and Nadler, and Lee, and Romney (or maybe it was Trump himself) and more. And he's still talking...

Then it was Wednesday, and time for our weekly Wondering. Among other things, we learned that

...since January 20, 2017, the day Trump officially declared his intent to run for re-election, his campaign has put $1.9 million of donor money into the president’s private business.

After an itemization of most of that nearly $2,000,000, I had some wondering, for sure:

I don't know about you, but I have to wonder a couple of things: first of all, is there NO non-Trump-enriching space available? And second, is there any wondering why the FEC isn't up to full strength?

And one more - do the folks who are spending all of their money on Trump properties (the same as they did back in 2015 and 2016) do this on their own, or because they know if they didn't, they'd be out of a job?

After Wednesday's debate, I had to do what the real pundit do and declare some winners and losers. I agreed with some of the experts on some things, but not with all of them and definitely not on everything.  And, because I can, I updated how I did with my chosen keywords for the obligatory debate drinking game.

Finally, here are the keywords (from yesterday's post) for my debate drinking game that scored me a beverage: delegates; Super Tuesday; South Carolina; people of color; Nevada Culinary Union; stop and frisk; Elizabeth Warren. (I admit I took some liberties with that last one, scoring three times when other candidates at least said her first name. Which, as noted above, is more than some pollsters bothered to do.)

The debate post (honestly, the post, not the drinking game) slowed my progress on our candidate Email of the Week.

Rather than leaving you hanging, here's how things shook up, with an extra day for them to get their points across. Mayor Pete continues to lead the pack in sheer volume - that's been a trend for quite a while.

And then, almost as if by magic, it was TGIF time. I talked a little about whiny people, and billionaires (and one who is both whiny and a billionaire).

And speaking of that other whiner, and speaking of doing it better, you can say lots of things about Mike Bloomberg and his campaign to beat the whiner, but be sure to say he's got the best darned ads. 

Honestly, you need to see the ads...

And earlier today, I shared some of the history I found on endorsements given - or not given - by the Nevada Culinary Workers Union.  Here's a hint: they didn't make an endorsement in 2016, either.  Which means, one union worker said, that people are on their own.

Caucus results are coming in, and with a mere 3% of the vote counted, Sanders is leading the pack. In the end, we may never know why people are voting the way they are.

The best we might hope for is that the results will be known, with confidence, before midnight.

And now, a couple of hours later, it looks like my hope about getting the results will be realized. The race has been called already, and it's not close.

So, there you have it: this week's veritable pastiche. Don't forget, you can drop your email in the Instant Gratification box on the right sidebar and never miss a thing.

See you tomorrow for Sunday School.

OrangeVerse LXI: A Week of Spam

For some time, I've subscribed to Trump emails on a secondary email account. All of the emails - and there are a LOT of them - go to my spam folder, and every now and then I nose around to see what's on his mind. 

The emails come from a variety of addresses. In this latest barrage of requests for money, President Trump, Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., DonaldJTrump.com, Team Trump, and Trump Dinner Alert all sent at least one email.

Today, I realized there's a certain odd poetry to the subject lines of these emails.  And so, we have today's OrangeVerse: a Week of Spam. 

Apr 12

15 Patriots 

 

Apr 13

My father chose YOU

 

 Apr 14

This has NEVER. HAPPENED. BEFORE.

Do you want to be a Trump MVP? Offer valid for 1 hour

 Invitation for YOU 

Here's your winner...

 

Apr 15

Pending

 You're on the list

I want you to know how important you are to me

 I endorsed Sarah Palin

Sad

Offer: available

 

Apr 16

Chicken or steak?

We EXTENDED your 7X-IMPACT

I have something special for you

3000% MORE

 

Apr 17

You're 1 out of 100

Dinner?

I've unlocked an exclusive DOUBLE ENTRY

LIMITED EDITION

 

Apr 18

Join NOW

I have a TOP SECRET video message for you

My father is about to release a never-bef0re-seen video message

Your wallet needs this

NEVER. HAPPENED. BEFORE.

Contribution status: PENDING

My contribution status will remain 'PENDING' - as will my membership status. I received more than two dozen emails on that, including nine telling me it was my last chance to renew my expired membership. They are relentless, I tell you.

Relentless - and effective. Politico reports that

Trump's Save America PAC crossed $110 million in the bank at the end of February, after taking in $3.5 million during the month and spending just $1.2 million.

That is more money than both national political parties - the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee - have combined in their main bank account...

And, to no one's surprise I'm sure,

Trump has done little to spend his largesse around the party. The committee did not report any new donations or independent expenditures backing Trump-endorsed candidates. 

What poetry are you finding these days? Drop a comment, if you like. 

In Case You Missed It (v118)

Four posts made it out last week - three were regular features, while the fourth was a revival of one of my favorite themes. Here's a recap of the week, which started with my Sunday School classroom visits. 

I took one for the team and paid attention to all of the GOP folks who stopped by for interviews, including Margaret Brennan's chat on Face the Nation with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, notable mostly for her time as Donald Trump's many press secretaries. 

She's currently governor of Arkansas, a job her dad also held. She and Brennan talked about abortion exceptions, maternal care, and things like that before the conversation inevitably turned to Sanders's former boss. 

When asked about Trump and Biden both being too old to be part of a new generation of leaders, Sanders talked about the candidates' records, not their ages, and to no one's surprise, thinks Trump is the better choice. As to whether Trump can unite us, she said

You know, one of the things that I think is so often left out of Donald Trump's story is the patriotism and the love of country that he brought back. We haven't seen that in this president... In fact, we've seen the total opposite. 

Brennan disagreed with several things Sanders touted as Trump's successes, including immigration, the Middle East, and Ukraine, to which Sanders responded,

Well, that's why we need him to come back for four years because he didn't get to finish, but he certainly made significant progress...

 I give her credit - at least she admitted that some of Trump's most highly-touted 'accomplishments' weren't accomplished. 

Here's an excerpt from Sen. Scott's conversation with Dana Bash (CNN's State of the Union), which was featured in your Extra Credit, which was the second post of the week. As I noted, this was considered a hugely important endorsement, ostensibly because Scott chose not to endorse Nikki Haley, the person who made him a Senator. 

Or, at least equally likely, even if no one's saying much about it, it's because he's the only Black GOP senator. Anyway, here's an excerpt for you. The colorful comment is mine.

Bash talked about Scott's "very positive, very hopeful campaign." She played a video clip of Scott asking a crowd, "Victimhood or victory? Grievance or greatness?" and said it sounded like he was talking about Trump.

No, listen, I -- we absolutely, positively, unequivocally need an America that's not filled with victims.

Trump is the victim-in-chief, for Pete's sake. So, if not Trump, who was Scott talking about? 

I'm actually talking about how Joe Biden has destroyed our economy and made victims out of people waiting for the government to show up. I'm talking about having a president who's weaponizing the DOJ against political adversaries. We need Lady Justice wearing a blindfold. I want America, every single American in every corridor of this nation to have confidence in their DOJ, not a Biden-led DOJ.

 I had quite a few colorful comments in response to his endorsement, as you might imagine. 

Next up? I was Wondering on Wednesday this week about what makes a stock market record high 'good' and what makes one 'bad," and about the damage from the Citizen's United  Supreme Court decision, which had its fourteenth anniversary last week. 

And, I wondered this about Floria Man Ron DeSantis, who suspended his very expensive presidential campaign.

I'm not surprised he dropped out of the race; many folks think he was really prepping for 2028 and a run against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). The two debated last November, which is when Newsom famously said, "Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024." 

After DeSantis gave his half-hearted endorsement to Trump, we were told that the 'Ron DeSanctimonious' nickname was officially retired. 

I'm half-heartedly wondering if no longer having to hear the name is why DeSantis suspended his campaign - and if his donors, and their wallets, wish he had done it sooner.

I closed the week with an OrangeVerse post. Started as a more general political poetry theme during the Obama years, it grew by leaps and bounds when Trump took office in 2016, because he's constantly talking, and because his patter lends itself to free verse quite nicely. You can find previous poems by searching the keyword 'OrangeVerse' in the 'At Your Fingertips' box at the right sidebar.

Here's an excerpt from the 62nd chapter, titled Brief but Derogatory, in which the Former Guy had choice words for Nikki Haley and her financial backers.  

I can't help noticing that, as is often the case when he accuses someone of something, it's usually done by exhibiting the same behavior he's complaining about. 

No Camp for YOU!
Nikki 'Birdbrain' Haley 
is very bad
for the Republican Party
and indeed,
our 
Country.
 
Her False Statements,
Derogatory Comments, 
and Humiliating Public Loss, 
is demeaning to
True 
American 
Patriots.

As is often the case, his poetry gets stronger the longer he talks. 

And now, you're up to date. On tap this week? Our usual three (Sunday School, Extra Credit, and WoW), a Quick Take or two, and if all goes well, a report on what's happening in Albany. 

I hope you stick around.

In Case You Missed It (v74)

Here's your recap of last week's posts, in case you missed anything.

We started a new feature last week: EmpireVerse, which brings you the poetry of my Sonofa Gov, Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). I sort of kicked myself for missing out on years of opportunity to capture his rhetoric as verse. Cuomo's always struggled a bit with this stuff, trying to reach the soaring heights of his father Mario, and at the same time trying to suppress his inner street fighter from Queens. 

...I'm starting fresh with this one section of his 2021 State of the State address. Taken from his closing argument, if you will, it speaks to the pressures New York faced in 2020 and how we'll handle whatever 2021 has in store.

A Chain of Diamonds

But pressure also forges 

strength and that's

how diamonds are formed.

Intrigued? Check the post and see how this one ends.

I dove right in with a few of the House impeachment managers for your Sunday School, including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD); I think he was much better than Adam Schiff in the first impeachment (and I think Schiff would probably agree with me). Raskin was on MTP with Chuck Todd, and was asked if dereliction of duty would have been a better charge than incitement of insurrection.

He said no matter which way they had done it, the Rs would have looked for and found a reason to fault the decision, as they did with the insurrection charge.

I mean, you know, you can always come up with a lawyer's argument to get to where you want to go. And they did not honestly confront the reality of what happened to America, which was Donald Trump incited a violent mob to attack the Congress of the United States...we have no regrets at all. 

You have to read how Raskin closed the interview - it's priceless.

New CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky was racing up and down the Sunday School hallways, appearing in several classrooms to talk about the new school reopening guidelines. I caught up with three of her interviews, including the one with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union. Truth be told (and we always tell the truth here at veritable pastiche), I don't think she did well in any of her appearances. 

Tapper talked of the negative impact on kids when they're not in school, and how the experts tell us we have to get the schools open, and Walensky basically said we're not doing what we need to do in order to get the schools open.

In the studies that have shown masking, distancing, and de-densification work, 92% of students wore masks - and we're at around 60% who do so reliably. 

And, she said,"... until we can ensure that we have all those measures happening, that there was -- schools wouldn't be safe."

I would have asked how kids are supposed to learn to reliably mask when they never leave their homes. Tapper, though, was more professional.

...I'm just really confused. It seems to me like you're saying, the schools are safe to open as long as everybody takes these steps, but not everybody is taking these steps; therefore, we're not going to open the schools? Do I have that right?

It took 181 words to not say the one word that would have answered the question: yes.  

The 45th president issued a statement after Republicans in the Senate proved once again they're more interested in staying in office than in the Constitution, even after seeing and hearing overwhelming evidence that they 45th president is a danger to us - and to them. That statement became the 5ith entry in the book of OrangeVerse.

My guess is that only a couple of sentences - three, I think - were written by him. The rest of them? Maybe he went to Jared, or Ivanka. They're not crazy enough to have been written by either of the Millers, or Scavino.

...See if you can figure out which words are Trump's and which came from the professionals. 

Only the Best Lawyers

I want to first thank my team of
dedicated lawyers and others for their
 tireless work upholding justice and defending truth.

His team of dedicated lawyers who were found in the city of brotherly love, Phileeedelphia, and who presented a horrible defense, they really did. I wouldn't pay them if I were him...

Mid-week, I was Wondering on Wednesday not about the aptitude of the 46th president, but about his fortitude. He's going to be in for a fight, I'm thinking, with the real and fake progressive Dems. Like me, President Biden doesn't believe in cancelling $50,000 in student loan debt across the board.

...doing that would wipe out the debt of around 80% of all borrowers, and nearly 70% of all federally-held debt. "I will not make that happen," he said, adding he thinks there's better ways to spend a trillion bucks on education. 

AOC, of course, chimed in. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren also entered the fray, saying in a joint statement that Biden had the power to do it, and adding

Cancelling $50,000 in federal student loan debt will help close the racial wealth gap, benefit the 40% of borrowers who don't have a college degree, and help stimulate the economy. It's time to act...

Again, one-size-fits-all, don't-do-the-hard-work and don't-fix-the-problem take precedence over doing the thoughtful, considered right thing. I really want Biden to stand firm on this, I do. It's going to be tough, for sure. 

I nosed around a bit on Thursday, looking for a #tbt I could share, and found a year-old OrangeVerse, number XLIX, from happier times for 45. You know, when he attacked everyone and their brother, especially their twin brother, after his first impeachment. Here's a bit of that.

Transcribe This...

Fortunately for all of us

here today and for our country

we had transcripts.

We had transcribers

professional transcribers. 

Then they said Oh, well, maybe

the transcription is not correct.

But Lt Colonel Vindman and his twin

brother - right? - we had some people 

that - really amazing.

"Really amazing," indeed. 

For your TGIF, I talked about the bad week that #FlyinTedCruz had, which was epic and "really amazing," I think, don't you agree? There were also good weeks to be had including by 46.

On the good week side of the ledger? Well, President Biden told the G7 that 

I am sending a clear message to the world, America is back. The transatlantic alliance is back and we are not looking backward we are looking forward together.

His message was well-received, at least by British PM Boris Johnson, who said "As you've seen and heard earlier, America is unreservedly back as the leader of the free world, and that is a fantastic thing." I'd agree with that.  

Also a fantastic thing? Putting last week in the books. 

See you later for Sunday School. 

OrangeVerse LIII: Bad to Worse to Horrid

Continuing our stroll through the president's personal rose garden - the one where word salad is the special of the day, every day, and 'me' is the first and last letter of the alphabet.

In yesterday's edition of OrangeVerse, which didn't even include all of his remarks, he started out talking about vaccines, and ended drawing letters in the air. In between, there was the floating plague from China, and trade deals, a recitation of the months of the year, and more. 

And we'll open today's edition with the subject of opening.

Nearer, Coronavirus, to Thee

You've got to open it up.

And you do social distancing

and you wear masks if you want

and you do things - you can do a lot of things.

You're getting closer together. Even you, I noticed

you're starting to get much closer together. 

It looks much better, I must say.

You're not all the way there yet but you'll be there soon.*

Opening the Patient

But it's a tremendous thing

that happened. And the reason

 it happened is because we had 

a really strong patient.

We had a patient that 

was so powerful,

so strong, 

that we could 

close it and open.

Analogous to Nothing

And I give you this analogy -

somebody told me yesterday 

- it was Larry - Larry Kudlow. 

He said, Sir, this is like a hurricane.

And we were worried; we didn't know:

Is this going to be a hurricane or a major,

major recession? A major recession that's not

artificially caused because we - artificially - this was

artificially closed. We just said, "Boom, closed." And

everything just stopped. And also, you know what else

stopped? Big numbers on death, by doing it. 

And that's why I had to do it.

We've made every decision

correctly. But it was like

we stopped. So it was an

artificial closing.

A lot of people

got it right. They

had confidence

in me, they had

confidence in this

team and they got

it right. I think that's

the only thing they could

based it on because we were

in unchartered territory.

Focusing on 'Them'

It's - I'd like to just say that

renewal restoration or recovery

of the most vulnerable areas of 

America is going to be my focus.

It's going to be a big focus, because

it's taking care of itself but we have

to help that very vulnerable area.

They're vulnerable. It's not right.

And we're helping them, and we

have helped them in the past. 

There were also Opportunity 

Zones, criminal justice reform.

It's Time to Get Back on Script (for 19 Words, Anyway)

It's now time for us to work together as we rebuild,

renew, and recover the great promise of America.

And that's true. We're going to work together. 
It'll all work out. It will all work out. 

Some of the governors may need

 a little help yet, but I think, 
for the most part, they're

in good shape. 
We have fantastic military; 
we have fantastic National Guard.

The National Guard was barely used.
And these people have done an unbelievable

job. They helped the Secret Service in Washington. 

Secret Service, by the way, are unbelievable. The job they did

in the White House is unbelievable. There was never any form

of, like, "Oh, gee, this sounds dangerous." All I could see was what

was on television. But they were outside, and the Secret Service was 

incredible, but we were also helped by the DC police and we were helped

by - the National Guard was unbelievable. 
They came in and they - 
this was like a piece of cake.

Send in The Guard

And I really am suggesting - 

because if you look at Minnesota

and the great success we had there 

and other places, I'm suggesting to

some of these governors that are 

too proud in New York - I mean

you see what's going on there.

Don't be proud. Get the job done.

You'll end up looking much better

in the end. Call in the National

Guard. Call me. We'll have so

many people - more people than -

 you have to dominate the streets.

You can't let what's happening

happen. It's called "dominate

the streets." You can't let that

happen in New York, where 

they're breaking into stores

and all of those things. And

by the way hurting many

small businesses.  

You can't let it happen.

26 Words From the Script, Some Babble, and 
63 Words From Hell

Equal justice under the law must mean that

every American receives equal treatment in every

encounter with law enforcement, regardless of race,

color, gender, or creed. They have to receive fair treatment

from law enforcement. They have to receive it. We all saw what

happened last week. We can't let that happen.

Hopefully, George is looking down right now and saying,

"This is a great thing that's happening for our country."

This is a great day for him.

It's a great day for everybody.

This is a great day for everybody.

This is a great, great day in terms

of equality. It's really what our

Constitution requires, and it's

what our country is all about.

One more set still to come. 

*The White House press corps was surprised to see that their chairs, originally set up for social distancing, had been pushed closer together before the start of the poetry reading.

Sidebar: OrangeVerse (LXV)

As I mentioned in Friday's OrangeVerse, the president spent time during his July 4th speech recognizing some American heroes and honoring different American flags with relevance to the heroic acts or the times during which the acts occured. Here are his comments.

The Civil War

Few heroes remind us of these truths more than William Carney, who escaped slavery to become a Union soldier in the Civil War, which was a very big, big deal at the time.

On the front lines of battle he saw a comrade struck down by enemy fire while carrying the Stars and Stripes. And Sergeant Carney dove to the ground to keep the flag from touching the mud. He didn't want to have it touch the ground. He didn't want to have it touch the mud. He wanted it to be perfect.

He raised it high above the field and was shot four times. They thought he was gone, but he kept moving forward. He loved our country. He loved our flag before he returned to camp and announced, "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground."

And he became the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. He got the Congressional Medal of Honor, and he was the first African American, and he was some man. They've written stories about him. He was something special.

The Vietnam War

With us tonight to celebrate this forward march of freedom is another Medal of Honor recipient, Colonel Paris Davis, whose courage won eternal glory in Vietnam. He helped lead a surprise attack on 100 enemy combatants. They said he was finished. His whole group was finished, and despite multiple life-threatening wounds saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.

And this evening he stands to salute the only flag of its kind, the one that was draped over the casket of President Abraham Lincoln in Independence Hall. Thank you very much, Greg.

He looks better than I do. He looks great, and he's brave. Because of heroes like these, our flag will always be a symbol of liberty and justice for all. Colonel Davis, thank you very much. Great man. Great man. Thank you.

The Wild Wild West

American grit, boldness and daring forged heroes like Davy Crockett, Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Teddy Roosevelt and the legend of the Wild West, Buffalo Bill Cody.

These were great, powerful people whose incredible grandchildren happen to be with us tonight, and they stand alongside one of the first American flags ever to fly over our expanding nation. It was carried West just as Lewis and Clark began their journey in 1803.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Great to have you. Great to have you to honor this audacious and indomitable soul of America.

Historic American Flags

We also have the first flag ever to fly over one of the greatest architectural feats of all time, a thing called the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the most beautiful bridges anywhere in the world built a long time ago.

To its right, the banner that flew atop our flagship after America's Navy sank the Spanish fleet to the bottom of the Manila Bay, one of the greatest naval victories in history. Much like our recent victory by sinking the entire Iranian Navy, 159 ships to the bottom of the sea, all done in just a moment's time. Happened very quickly. We have the greatest military anywhere in the world.

And next to it, we also have the flag that was given to that immortable, just a fantastic immortal Rough Rider, the one and only, and I was at the museum the other day at its opening, Theodore Roosevelt, when he returned triumphant from Cuba, printed with the words, "Welcome home, Colonel Roosevelt." It was a victory of San Juan Hill. He was a great gentleman.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor 

Ken Schubring was 19 years old when he survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After enemy planes sank ships like the USS Arizona, he resolved that he would help America strike back and win. He wanted them to strike back and win.

Flying B-29s in the Pacific, Ken fought from the first day to the very last. He was in the war right from the first day, and he went to the last day, and all the way to the enemy's... And he went to the last day and all the way to the enemy's unconditional surrender. We got an unconditional surrender. He was there at 104 years old and looking really good. Captain Schubring is here tonight and he is saluting the flag that went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, but was raised back up with the help of some unbelievable American patriots. It's a symbol of American defiance, please. Thank you Captain. Thank you, Captain.

Great job. Thank you very much. You have very good genes. That's his son. His son's going to be around a long time. Thank you very much, Captain. 

World War II 

On D-Day in World War II, Navy Lieutenant Arthur Rose commanded 36 landing craft as part of the largest naval armada in history. Recalling that site he wrote home to his parents. What a country we are at 107 years old. Lieutenant Rose is here to salute one of our nation's most prized possessions. The flag that flew aboard the first landing craft on D-Day and led the first Americans onto the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe and defeat Nazi fascism forever. Lieutenant Rose, you are an inspiration to this beautiful crowd and we thank you very much. Amazing man. 107. It's 107. 

On Iwo Jima in the Pacific, the Marines faced some of the most brutal combat in the history of warfare. They shed their blood for every inch of mountain that they reached. And when they reached the summit and raised the Stars and Stripes for all to see, it was so special to everybody there. Everybody there and everybody watching. They couldn't believe it. It wasn't supposed to happen. With us today is one of the last survivors of that battle, 101-year-old Marine Corporal Don Graves.

And he's here to salute that famous flag he saw rise in the glory of Iwo Jima 81 years ago and you've all seen that flag many times.

The War on Communism 

Tonight, we proudly thank veterans of the war on communism, including Marine Corporal Pat Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meekins, who fought at the famed Battle of Chosen Reservoir in Korea. That was a rough one. Thank you. Pat fought in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.

He had five against him and he was one. And as you can see, he's around to talk about it. And Rudy was wounded four times but never stopped shooting and he never stopped moving forward. And also with us is veteran Sonny Ray, who fought heroically against an enemy force 10 times his unit's size and earned a tremendously deserved Silver Star. 

Tonight, they salute one of the very first 50-star flags to fly above the field of battle. This was about the beginning of the 50. And right next to it is one of the last flags from Checkpoint Charlie, very famous place on the Berlin Wall, where American freedom finally brought communism crashing down to an end. Thank you so much. You are really very special.

Thank you. Thank you very much. The Stars and Stripes cast the hammer and sickle into oblivion before and we will do it again if necessary. I don't think it's going to be necessary. I think people have learned. They've learned what to do and how to handle it and we are going to handle it very well. So, gentlemen, I want to thank you very much. Amazing people. Amazing men. Thank you. How about that, huh? Isn't that great? What an honor it is to be with them. Think of it, 107. That's up there, but hopefully, he's got 20 good years left. Through the generations, Americans have never stopped striving to lift humanity to new heights.

Flight and Space 

In 1903, the Wright Brothers from Ohio fulfilled the age-old dream of mankind to fly. That's right. They're from Ohio. Great state. And within 66 years of inventing the airplane, Americans planted our flag on the moon. Just three months ago, we sent American astronauts back to the far side of the moon, and this time, they flew further from Earth than anyone has ever flown before. And here they are. So, tonight we're joined by that crew of NASA, Artemis. You know the crew, everybody. Artemis II and everybody watched. Isn't that amazing? They became very famous. Everybody watched. I was watching, I don't know what it was, that one got the attention of everybody.

And along with the last man to walk on the moon, Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmidt. Thank you, Jack. You look like you could be with them, Jack. You look very good. You look very good, Jack. Thank you very much. What a job. Everybody was watching. I was with a group of people that normally wouldn't be watching and we're having a big dinner and they all said, "We want to turn on. We want to watch Artemis II." A lot of people said, "What is that?" By the end of the evening they knew it was amazing. And along with Jared, where is Jared? He's so great. He's running NASA. What a job he's done. So, I want to thank you all. Thank you very much. Great job.

So, these champions of flight stand this evening beside the flag flown on the Wright Brothers' airplane piloted by Orville Wright. It's the exact flag. Very historic. And they are honored to be here. They told me today they were really amazed to be here with that flag. That's a very special flag if you're in the world of flying aircraft. So, congratulations to everybody. Fantastic job. Very proud of you. And I have a special gift for these patriots this morning on America's 250th birthday. A new flag was flown above the United States Capitol. And tonight I presented to you to soon be planted by American astronauts on their upcoming return to the moon.

And in addition to that, I gave them and all of the great heroes that you saw up on stage tonight and a few others that couldn't quite make the stage. I gave them a very special medal from the White House. So, it's an honor.

Families of the Fallen 

We are honored to be joined by 11 Gold Star family members, the Gold Star Family. That is one of the great tributes. It's one of the great honors.

A tough honor. There's nothing tougher than that, but these are amazing people. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Come on up. They went through a lot. Thank you very much. And that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom and dad, husband, wife, but they're looking down with great pride. You know that. You know that. And we want to thank you for being here. Thank you very much. And we have medals for you backstage. I brought them. I thought I'd be handing them out about two hours ago, three hours ago, but we're going to be backstage and we have beautiful medals for you, for your family from the White House. Thank you very much everybody. We love you.

The Star-Spangled Banner 

In 1944, a mother and her daughter huddled in their house in Nazi-occupied Belgium and prayed desperately for their country to be freed. They wanted freed. As they waited, they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade American flag. It's beautiful, but homemade. On the day they were finally liberated, and that's what the word is, liberated. They gave it to an American soldier as a gift. 

Little did they know that that soldier's great-grandfather was none other than the author of our Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key. And tonight, the next generation of the Key family is with us. Thank you very much, please. Thank you. Major Kyle Key has spent 23 years in the US Army, highly respected. And this evening he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the Belgian woman so beautifully and who knew that America means hope and freedom.

What do you think of his team's approach to his America at 250 speech, to have the historic flags on display and to attach them to specific people or teams of people?  I think it's one of the better things they've put together, in part because it kept his rambling and the famous 'weave' to a minimuim on a night when it was importatn to do that. 

Oh sure, it's possible that the bobbing and weaving was limited by the lateness of the hour, the size of the crowd after the weather delay, and the fact that almost everyone there was more interested in the fireworks than the speech, but that he and his handlers rose to the occasion is a good thing.