Jason Chaffetz

Trump’s ‘Disconnection From The Truth’ Prompts Bill To Mandate A White House Psychiatrist

Posted by on February 9, 2017 at 2:18 pm. 2 Comments :

In the three long weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, his erratic and impulsive behavior has caused broad based concern. He has continued his bromance with Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin, while alienating longtime allies. His attacks on the media border on obsession and appear aimed at delegitimizing any criticism. He has a perverse fixation on polling and crowd counts at his poorly attended public events. And he repeatedly makes statements that are easily debunked as lies. His Twitter feed is a scrolling document of mental instability.

Donald Trump

The accumulating evidence of Trump’s “malignant narcissism” has now produced draft legislation that would create the position of a White House psychiatrist. The bill by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) could be introduced as soon as next week. It’s purpose is to provide the same assurances of a president’s mental health as that of his physical health. The law requiring a White House physician was passed in 1928, but didn’t specify a role for a psychiatrist due to the stigma associated with mental illness.

Lieu’s bill would correct that oversight. The general objective is to provide a safeguard for both the President and the nation. He told the Huffington Post that it would be “the best way to get the president treatment” if there were questions about his or her mental health. However, he also expressed concerns relating specifically to the current occupant of the White House:

“It is not normal for the president of the United States, within 24 hours, to write about death and destruction and fake news and evil,” he said. “The most troubling aspect of this is it is very clear he has a disconnection from the truth. … The very first press conference he had in this administration, they could have talked about jobs or health care. They talked about crowd size. And then lied about it. It’s one of the most bizarre events I’ve witnessed in politics.” […]

“When you add on top of that his stifling of dissent, his attacks on the free press and his attacks on the legitimacy of judiciary, that then takes us down the road toward authoritarianism. That’s why I’ve concluded he is a danger to the republic.”

This isn’t a strictly partisan concern either. HuffPo noted that the GOP chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is also considering legislation. His bill would require future presidents to undergo mental health exams. Chaffetz told the Washington Post that “If you’re going to have your hands on the nuclear codes, you should probably know what kind of mental state you’re in.”

Donald Trump is the poster child (with an emphasis on “child”)for mental health awareness. He believes the world revolves around him and that he is superior to the other pathetic creatures that inhabit it. Once, when asked who he consults with, he replied that “My primary consultant is myself” because “I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” That attitude, along with an array of other symptoms of mental impairment, are reason enough to worry.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The fact that members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, have chosen to raise these issues now reflects the mood of a nation trembling with fear. And it isn’t over the terrorist threats that Trump is so feverishly and cynically exploiting. America recognizes the signs of a warped personality that is dangerously unstable. And if we, as a nation, don’t take steps to protect ourselves now, we may soon come to regret it.

Trump’s ‘Disconnection From The Truth’ Prompts Bill To Mandate A White House Psychiatrist

Posted by on February 9, 2017 at 12:34 pm. 4 Comments :

[Editor’s Note: This page experienced an unidentified glitch with Facebook. Consequently it was re-posted here. Please use the new post for sharing and commenting. Thanks]

In the three long weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, his erratic and impulsive behavior has caused broad based concern. He has continued his bromance with Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin, while alienating longtime allies. His attacks on the media border on obsession and appear aimed at delegitimizing any criticism. He has a perverse fixation on polling and crowd counts at his poorly attended public events. And he repeatedly makes statements that are easily debunked as lies. His Twitter feed is a scrolling document of mental instability.

Donald Trump Lizard

The accumulating evidence of Trump’s “malignant narcissism” has now produced draft legislation that would create the position of a White House psychiatrist. The bill by Rep. Ted Leiu (D-CA) could be introduced as soon as next week. It’s purpose is to provide the same assurances of a president’s mental health as that of his physical health. The law requiring a White House physician was passed in 1928, but didn’t specify a role for a psychiatrist due to the stigma associated with mental illness.

Leui’s bill would correct that oversight. The general objective is to provide a safeguard for both the President and the nation. He told the Huffington Post that it would be “the best way to get the president treatment” if there were questions about his or her mental health. However, he also expressed concerns relating specifically to the current occupant of the White House:

“It is not normal for the president of the United States, within 24 hours, to write about death and destruction and fake news and evil,” he said. “The most troubling aspect of this is it is very clear he has a disconnection from the truth. … The very first press conference he had in this administration, they could have talked about jobs or health care. They talked about crowd size. And then lied about it. It’s one of the most bizarre events I’ve witnessed in politics.” […]

“When you add on top of that his stifling of dissent, his attacks on the free press and his attacks on the legitimacy of judiciary, that then takes us down the road toward authoritarianism. That’s why I’ve concluded he is a danger to the republic.”

This isn’t a strictly partisan concern either. HuffPo noted that the GOP chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is also considering legislation. His bill would require future presidents to undergo mental health exams. Chaffetz told the Washington Post that “If you’re going to have your hands on the nuclear codes, you should probably know what kind of mental state you’re in.”

Donald Trump is the poster child (with an emphasis on “child”)for mental health awareness. He believes the world revolves around him and that he is superior to the other pathetic creatures that inhabit it. Once, when asked who he consults with, he replied that “My primary consultant is myself” because “I have a very good brain and I’ve said a lot of things.” That attitude, along with an array of other symptoms of mental impairment, are reason enough to worry.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The fact that members of Congress, from both sides of the aisle, have chosen to raise these issues now reflects the mood of a nation trembling with fear. And it isn’t over the terrorist threats that Trump is so feverishly and cynically exploiting. America recognizes the signs of a warped personality that is dangerously unstable. And if we, as a nation, don’t take steps to protect ourselves now, we may soon come to regret it.

WTF? Republicans Are Already Clamoring To Impeach Hillary Clinton

Posted by on October 27, 2016 at 2:58 pm. 4 Comments :

The Republican Party has just affirmed that they have given up on electing Donald Trump. There is no better sign of this than what they are now concentrating on as their next political priority. With election day still a couple of weeks away, Republicans are setting their sights on impeaching President Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton

Never mind that there are no grounds for impeachment, or that Clinton has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing. And set aside the fact that the legal standard for impeachment may require that any “crimes” be committed while in office. The crackpot pundits and politicians on the right are determined to satisfy their fetish for removing Clintons from office. NBC News recently reported that:

“In the last few weeks alone, dozens of House Republicans have demanded that a special prosecutor investigate the Clinton Foundation for possible conflicts of interest. Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz has called for a ‘serious criminal investigation’ into a Democratic operative featured in a sting video by conservative activist James O’Keefe. And Speaker Paul Ryan has promised ‘aggressive oversight work in the House’ of an alleged ‘quid pro quo’ deal between the FBI and the State Department over reclassifying an email on Clinton’s private server.

“Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who would likely serve as the chief antagonist of a second Clinton White House as chair the House Oversight Committee, told Fox News last week the ‘quid pro quo’ claim alone was worth at least ‘four new hearings,’ claiming it was a ‘flashing red light of potential criminality.'”

Clearly this Republican Praetorian Guard is establishing the battle lines for a prolonged war on American progress. They are reinforcing their reputation as obstructionists who couldn’t care less about doing their jobs for the American people. Their intention is to tie up the Congress and the White House with sham inquisitions. But their ultimate goal is even more absurd.

At least two GOP congressman have called explicitly for Clinton’s impeachment. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), asserts that “If all the things we’ve seen are true and they come out the way I think they will, then we should impeach her.” Mo Brooks (R-AL), agrees saying “With respect to Hillary Clinton, she will be a unique president if she is elected by the public next November, because the day she’s sworn in is the day that she’s subject to impeachment because she has committed high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Along with these confused congressmen, many of the right’s top pundits are lobbying hard for Hillary’s ouster. Rush Limbaugh rants that “Hillary Clinton is the most prepared to be impeached in advance of any presidential candidate this country has ever had. Hillary Clinton will be elected to be impeached,” Fellow radio yakker Mark Levin whines that Clinton “has attempted to cover-up and obstruct her Espionage Act violations … she must be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors in what is and will be continuing revelations about her criminality.” Judicial Watch President, and longtime Clinton basher, Tom Fitton says that there should be a “serious criminal investigation of Mrs. Clinton’s conduct” and that “impeachment is something that’s relevant.”

For her part, Clinton responded to some of this nonsense way back in October of 2015 (yes, they were doing it then too), when she was asked about it by Rachel Maddow. Clinton laughed and said “Isn’t that pathetic? It’s just laughable, it’s so totally ridiculous.”

Indeed. It’s so ridiculous that News Corpse wrote a satirical article in 2013 predicting that Republicans would attempt to pre-impeach Hillary. But with today’s Republican Party, satire cannot compete with their twisted reality. And while it is obviously ridiculous, it may not be all that laughable.

What Republicans are doing is ensuring that the nation will remain mired in gridlock for the indefinite future. With innumerable urgent matters requiring attention, the GOP would rather play political games and conduct smear campaigns. They would rather act out their petty political vengeance than lift up the economy. Or, for that matter, improve health care, mitigate climate change, enhance education, or even defeat ISIS. And make no mistake, the investigations that Republicans are threatening would severely hamper every other critical function of governing.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

For that reason alone it is more important than ever to rid Washington of the Republican obstructionists. If Democrats can secure majorities in the Senate and the House, the chairmanship of every committee would be held by a Democrat. The Republicans would be unable to carry out the vendetta against America that they are promising. So be sure to vote (early, if possible) and get every Democrat you know to do so as well. It really does matter.

Republicans Launch Proxy Impeachment Proceedings Against Obama

Posted by on October 29, 2015 at 8:03 am. 30 Comments :

There is a nasty streak of vengeance that runs through the Republican Party. They have been lusting for an opportunity to impeach President Obama since the day that he was inaugurated. It didn’t matter what excuse they drummed up, it could have been over anything from Fast and Furious, to the IRS, to ObamaCare, to immigration, to executive orders, to his birthplace. They even alleged that – and this is all too real – Obama was actually trying to impeach himself.

Impeach Obama

Having been denied their heart’s deepest desire, an actual reason to impeach Obama, the GOP went after administration stand-ins for the President. One of those was Lois Lerner, who was running the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit during a period when it was alleged that they were improperly targeting conservative applicants. There was never any evidence to prove the allegations, and last week the Justice Department announced that they had closed the investigation and would not be bringing any charges. They said that “We found no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution.”

In response to the DOJ’s determination, Republicans sought to lash out any convenient victim who might be available. Someone had to suffer their wrath if it wasn’t Lerner. So Jason Chaffetz (R-Wacko), chairman of the House Oversight (Overreach?) Committee, and his Republican Retributionists, have introduced a resolution to begin impeachment proceedings of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The resolution accuses Koskinen of making false statements under oath and failing to comply with a subpoena.

This a curious persecution considering that Koskinen had nothing to do with the alleged targeting. He didn’t became IRS Commissioner until December of 2013, three years after the Tea Party’s whining about being scrutinized for improper political activity, of which they were clearly guilty. And back in the 2010 time frame, the IRS Commissioner was Douglas Shulman, an appointee of George W. Bush. Nevertheless, Koskinen is the target of opportunity, so the GOP is spewing their venom at him. They have determined that they need a scalp and they aren’t going home without trying at least once more.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

This is just the latest in a string of partisan, expensive, and futile legislature abuse. The Republicans have already proven that they have no aptitude for governing, so they have adopted an agenda of hostility that relies on ludicrous hearings on Benghazi, Planned Parenthood, and now the impeachment of an IRS Commissioner. But make no mistake, all of these actions are thinly disguised swipes at President Obama. It is he that they wish they were impeaching, but they have even less justification for it than the phony scams they have already run. Even uber-conservative Fox News Yoda, Charles Krauthammer, is less than enthused with the GOP’s latest proxy attack on the President:

“This is not going to end well. Republicans in the Congress have shown that they have no ability to conduct successful investigations of this administration. Everything they have touched has failed or backfired, even Benghazi.”

If the Republicans go through with impeachment proceedings against Koskinen they will only embarrass themselves further. There is no case to be made against him, and their transparent animosity will reveal them for the partisan hate mongers that they are. Their visceral disgust for Obama has driven them to extremes that only make them more repugnant to the average American voter. And as much as it would be in their best interests to try to at least pretend to be sane, expect more craziness to come. They obviously can’t help themselves.