Democrats Need to Nominate a Moderate Candidate to Defeat Trump

The danger of another Donald Trump Presidency is that the US constitution has been stretched and manipulated by a man who has little concept of his duties as Commander in Chief! 

In our unofficial two party political system Americans have very little choices who will be running for President.     An independent candidate as Starbucks CEO Steve Schultz will most definitely divide the electorate and giving another win to Donald Trump.

CEO Chairman Steve Schultz

Despite Schutz's statements he does not wish to be the divider of the American electorate which could result in another Trump Presidency, staying out of a Presidential run would hard for a man who indeed has a large ego and rightly or wrongly believes he would make a great leader.

The Dems need to be careful who their nominee will be.   Extremism is not the way to go this time.    A nominee who supports leftist ideas will likely not be supported by many independents who would rather cast their for vote for a status quo candidate as Trump or will take the chances on an independent as Steve Schultz.

During This Time of Extreme Partisanship Time To Write Again

It has been almost two years since I last wrote on this blog.   But a lot has changed since then and now with the Trump Presidency going into its second year I believe it is my civic duty to write.

Partisan politics is destroying our democracy---not a perfect democracy---but nonetheless it is our democracy and it is worth coming to its defense.

I am but a blogger, but hopefully my ideas will help challenge the ideas of those who choose to read Catalpa Grove.

Look forward to talking again.

Eligible Voters Who Did Not Vote Assured Trump Presidency

I have always been a Joe Biden fan and when he did not run for President, I was genuinely disappointed.  For establishment Democrats and the press it was assumed Hillary would be the Democratic nominee.  During the primaries, the press gave a wink wink to the Bernie supporters knowing that the Democratic primary was already rigged in Clinton's favor with the so-called super delegates.

Really did not care about Clinton using a private email server---but was genuinely disturbed that she hand picked those email correspondences she thought were relevant to Congress and the FBI.   Any other citizen would have been indicted.

As for the Clinton Foundation and Hillary's highly paid speeches they were symptomatic  how many politicians leave public service and became incredibly wealthy.

As Americans we should be concerned about the Trump family sitting with their father in the White House advising him as they were also elected to the Presidency.   But equally disturbing would have been a White House with ex-President Bill Clinton roaming the halls.

Short of the Electoral College not voting for Trump---which would be correct due to Trump's entanglements with Russia---Americans are stuck with this very creepy and potentially dangerous man as President.

Long and short of it---in 2016 Americans had very poor choices. But Trump did win according to the rule book.

Though concerned about a Trump Presidency--and we all should be--my anger is directed to those low and middle class income eligible voters who did not vote.  

Hopefully all Americans learned a civic lesson that votes do matter.

Just cross our fingers and hope Trump's vision for America is not a nation for the wealthy only!

Electoral College Needs to Step Up To Plate and Do It's Job

Despite the fact that the candidate I did not vote for won the Electoral College vote and not the popular vote I remain a proponent of the Electoral College.   The reason is simple: it is easier to recount ballots in states to determine the accuracy of a state vote and then awarding of the state's electoral votes to the top vote getter. Secondly, the Electoral College is also reflective of the demographic diversity of the nation.

Lastly and most importantly another function of the Electoral College has always  been to assure a qualified person becomes President and one not beholden to the interests of a foreign government.

In this case, for the first time in history, members of the Electoral College will have to determine if Donald Trump is indeed qualified to be President.  With personal and business ties to Russia and an appearance of lacking necessary Presidential temperament Trump's qualifications are suspect,

The members of the electoral college may have to step up to the plate and vote for the greater good of the nation and not their political affiliation when voting.

Should the Electoral College still elect Trump as an American I and many of us will have to live with the results.  We will have to assume the electoral knew what they were doing when they assembled to vote.


A good read is a short article History of Electoral College  in David Leip's Atlas of  U.S. Presidential Elections. 

Viewing the Abortion Issue In the Color Gray Can Be Discomforting

The abortion debate is an ongoing discussion in this Presidential campaign.   

One camp says the mother has reproductive rights and can choose to terminate her pregnancy at any time within the guidelines of the state she resides in. 

The other camp says the fetus is a human being and under no conditions can be aborted unless in the case of incest or the health of the mother is threatened.  And there are many people in that camp who would argue under no circumstances can the fetus be aborted. 

There are some of us who actually agree to a certain extent with both sides.

The human fetus, even when in the earliest stages of development, is not a rabbit or some other critter.   When an abortion is performed a human life is terminated.  Allegedly, the fetus should not be able to survive outside the mother's womb.

The dilemma for many of us is how can we justify telling  a woman she will have to carry the fetus to full term and therefore she has absolutely no control over her body.

So with some reluctance I am a pro-choice advocate.  Should I meet a woman contemplating the termination of her pregnancy, I would counsel her to reconsider and not end the human life.   However, that does not mean I would stand outside a clinic making her change her decision by shaming her for the difficult choice she is about to make.

What most woman of all ages and religious beliefs  should know, there are some very effective pills to induce a miscarriage  when the embryo is but a cluster of cells.  Access to these pills  should not be difficult for the woman to obtain. 

Recently, Hillary Clinton emphasized an unborn fetus has no constitutional rights.   That is of course a very alarming thought to think about.   

Taking it to the extreme, that would mean a fetus can actually be aborted whenever the mother and her doctor decide because the fetus (baby) has no rights and its humanity is recognized until it is born.

I have to applaud those who have taken a stance on the issues of pro-life or pro-choice and can stake their positions in black and white terms with no compromise.   

Unfortunately,  there are many of us who see both sides of the arguments and do not have the good fortune of seeing the discussion as being just a black or white issue.   We tend to see the issue in the color gray and that is often times very uncomfortable. 

Jury Paid Pennies For Time As They Decide Should They Make Erin Andrews Wealthy

When employed by ESPN,  Erin Andrews was indeed violated when a creep took pictures of her when she was undressing at the Marriott Hotel back in 2008.

The gist of the suit is that Andrews claims her privacy was violated by the Nashville Marriott when its employees gave her stalker the dates she would be at the hotel as well as a room next to her. 

However, Andrews suing the Marriott for $75 million is a bit excessive and one has to feel sorry for the jury which  is paid pennies for their time as they are about to decide should they make Andrews a very wealthy woman due to her alleged duress. 

Let's face it, there are many lawsuits which are indeed justifiable when awards are being made---particularly if a person is seriously injured through no fault of their own.

However in the case of Andrews,  hopefully between all her tears, the men and women on the jury can see-through Andrews and her lawyer(s),  as this trial as being nothing more than a get quick rich scheme.