By Michael DePaoli
It’s like a coup d’etat inside-job….
1. TRUMP POLICIES TAKING SHAPE
With Donald Trump flip-flopping on just about every issue during the campaign, it has been difficult to know what he would really do as President, but finally his policies are being revealed:
DRAIN THE SWAMP: Yeah, right!
ETHICS: None.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: There will be no conflict with a country in which Trump has business interests.
ISIS: Trump’s plan is to allow Russia to solve this problem, because he wants to allow Russia to spread its influence.
MIDDLE EAST PEACE: There will be no peace until Trump’s crusade against the Muslims can run its course.
JOBS: You will be fired from your job at the Justice Department if you might be honest and want to obey the law.
HEALTH CARE: Trump does not care.
PACIFIC TRADE: Trump wants to allow China to control the entire Pacific region.
EUROPEAN UNION: Trump is opposed to something that works well, and therefore he must destroy the Union that has created the longest reign of peace on the European Continent.
CROWD SIZE: Trump is willing to lie about something completely insignificant, like crowd size. This means that he is more than willing to lie about anything, anytime, anywhere.
GOVERNMENT DEBT: Add it up, keep spending,
LOWERING TAXES TO FULFILL HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISES: Not really a top priority right now, especially since we now know that Mexico is not going to pay for that stupid wall.
THE CONSTITUTION: Trump never read it.
MEGALOMANIA: Yes. (Ed. Note: Melaniamania: No.)
UNITING THE COUNTRY: No.
2. ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE
It’s as if Trump and Bannon are on a crusade
The United States Supreme Court in the 1947 Everson case explained the prohibitions of our government on the issue of religion:
“The ‘establishment of religion’ clause of the First Amendment means at least this: neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups, and vice versa. In the words of Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect “a wall of separation between church and State.”
Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, citing, Reynolds v. United States, supra, at 98 U.S. 164. (You can read the entire opinion on the Justia website.)
The Executive Order on Immigration violated the Establishment Clause in many ways, but the two most important violations are these: (1) There was a clear intent (Trump admitted as such) to prefer and benefit the minority Christians in the Muslim nations; (2) It punishes people for being Muslim in a Muslim country, which is another way of saying that the Executive Order intentionally targeted Muslims (Trump’s campaign promises confirm his intent to target Muslims).
To the extent that existing law will be followed by the Courts, the Executive Order on Immigration is unconstitutional.
3. GREATEST QUARTERBACKS OF ALL TIME
Johnny Unitas: Not on the list
TOM BRADY
PEYTON MANNING
ELI MANNING
BEN ROETHLISBERGER
RUSSELL WILSON
AARON RODGERS
JOE FLACCO
DREW BREES
WARREN MOON
Please note, this is not a Hall of Fame list. This is a list of the best. Dak Prescott, Tony Romo and Matt Ryan did not even make this list. Ok, go ahead, leave a comment, and explain why Brett Favre and Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas should have been included. And then, please think about what you would really (really really) do if you were the owner of a team and you had to spend one hundred million dollars and you had to draft the quarterback and you wanted the “best” for your team. And, please do not do that sophomoric thing where you quote stats, because the question of the best quarterback must be fairly phrased: If both players were on the same team with the same offensive weapons and the same line, which one would perform better, and which one would be more likely to get the ball into the hands of the receivers?
Please, no ad hominem attacks. I have heard enough lawyer jokes this year, already. My methodology for this list: I went back to 1998, and the hapless Arizona Cardinals, the year they actually won a playoff game for the first time since 1947, and I asked myself how all the other great quarterbacks would do on that same team, and whether they would survive the season.
(Ed. Note: I’d put Roger Staubach, Montana, Fran Tarkenton, Ken Stabler and Kurt Warner on that list. Also, I don’t know if this is an ad hominem attack, but “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries! I fart in your general direction!“)
Michael DePaoli accurately predicted “golden showers” in his NSFW ebook: LOKI TRUMPET, which is a completely fictional story (that does not in any way depict actual people) wherein a wealthy man runs for President of the USA.