OPINE SMORGASBORD — The Weekly Opine

Lots to discuss these days. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

As the nation turns

These are head-spinning times we live in. Rather than choose a single topic from the numerous developments that hover like flies swarming an uncovered dish of potato salad, today The Weekly Opine unpacks a variety of issues vying for our attention.

For some elderly politicians, time’s up

Just in the past week, we watched as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) froze on camera while delivering remarks. The 81-year-old McConnell, unable to speak, appeared flummoxed and, frankly, pathetic. McConnell was speaking at the same U.S. Capitol Building where he figuratively froze (twice) when it came time for the Senate to convict Trump, after the House handed then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell the “Trump’s impeached” baton.

We also witnessed Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) sit feebly at a hearing table, unable to grasp what was taking place in front of her very eyes. When it came time for the 90-year-old Feinstein to vote, she looked even more confused. Mercifully (but unacceptably), a staffer leaned into her ear and instructed Feinstein to vote “aye.” Smiling sheepishly, Feinstein obliged, saying “aye” while those watching surely thought “hell, no, it’s way past time for Dianne to go!”

Unlike many folks who know when to retire, too many politicians overstay their welcome. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

We’ve all seen 80-year-old President Biden amass a record of achievement that’s far greater than right-wing media credit him for. Nonetheless, Biden is literally tripping and falling, mangling words and losing his train of thought in the moment. His unsteadiness raises the question, can Biden make it through another four years? And if Biden is reelected but cannot do the job for four more years, do we really want Kamala Harris to step in as president?

This is much less about age and much more about competency. There is an 88-year-old man in the garden group I belong to who is mentally and physically sharp. He golfs weekly, takes fishing trips to Canada, throws darts, and is a leader in our local Chamber of Commerce. He has outstanding ideas and oh, by the way, still drives his car with ease. If McConnell, Feinstein and Biden had the physical and mental acuity of my garden club friend, that’d be one thing. But, clearly, they do not. It’s time to move on.

A simple solution

Are you the mayor of a blue city, e.g., Chicago, looking to stem the tide of red state governors busing migrants to your city (some of whom are ill with pink eye, colds and Covid-19)? Public opinion polls show that only 50-percent of Republicans and just one-third of Democrats support busing migrants to interior cities. Furthermore, there is an argument to be made that red state governors are de facto human traffickers, defined by the United Nations as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit.”

If I was mayor of a blue city, any bus driver participating in human trafficking by transporting migrants would immediately be arrested and held without bail until trial. That uncompromising act would likely greatly reduce the arrival of busloads of migrants.

Big-city mayors should stop passively accepting migrants sent by ill-intended red state governors. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

For example, in Chicago, approximately 10,000 migrants have been bused to the Windy City in the past year. The estimated annual cost of taking care of the migrants is $250 million. Meanwhile, lifetime Chicago residents, good people stuck in longtime decaying neighborhoods, are understandably angered when, presto, millions of dollars are suddenly available to shelter and feed migrants. In some cases, existing park district programs, intended to provide constructive activities for at-risk youth, are being shuttered so migrants can live in park district buildings.

No doubt sanctuary city governments believe they are doing the right thing by providing humanitarian aid. However, when for decades those same local governments refuse to invest proper resources to give hope to their own struggling, U.S.-born citizens, not all of whom are “welfare queens” or “gangbangers,” well, then, rolling out the red carpet for strangers is sure to cause pushback and deep resentment.

Don’t blow it, Democrats!

This will be succinct.

Hello, Dems. Republicans have lined up a group of frontrunner presidential candidates that reads like the junior varsity (barely). “Ladies and gentlemen, your 2024 leading Republican presidential candidates.” Drumroll…

Twice impeached, three times (so far) indicted, Putin-loving Trump. Charmless, inept and he despises everyone…Ron DeSantis. Fake Christian Mike Pence. Uncle Tom Tim Scott. Still doesn’t know what she stands for…Nikki Haley. He now rails against Trump, hoping you’ve forgotten he vociferously supported Trump in 2016 and 2020…Chris Christie.

Seriously, GOP? If Democrats play it smart, 2024 could be a blowout for the ages.

Here comes the judge

Maybe the worst thing that happened to Trump this week was not the indictment. After all, just as everyone knew Michael Jordan would take the game-winning shot, everyone knew Trump was about to be indicted regarding the January 6 insurrection.

Trump faces many sleepless nights. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

The really bad news for Trump is this: the randomly selected judge who will oversee the trial is an Obama-appointed judge. Jamaican-born Judge Tanya Chutkan, in a prior case, ruled the January 6 House Select Committee could access files including call logs, memos, internal papers, etc., from Trump’s advisors. Judge Chutkan’s ruling was a major factor in fueling the January 6 Committee’s investigation which paved the way for Special Counsel Jack Smith to indict Trump.

Judge Chutkan has doled out sentences to 31 defendants prosecuted for trashing the U.S. Capitol, as they attempted to stop certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory. In nearly 30% of the cases, she sentenced the defendant to a longer prison term than recommended by prosecutors. Not to mention she represents something Trump passionately despises; a woman; a Black woman; and she’s an immigrant. Without yet having rendered a procedural decision regarding this week’s indictment, Judge Chutkan is surely already under Trump’s skin.

One also wonders if the presence of the 61-year-old Judge Chutkan might influence the comparatively wet-behind-the-ears Judge Aileen Cannon. Judge Cannon, appointed by Trump before being randomly selected to oversee the Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial, is 42 years old.

Previously, Judge Cannon handed down misguided, laughable rulings that favored Trump. But she was quickly overruled by an appeals court. Now, she just might feel even more pressure not to display ignorance-laden favoritism to Trump. Judge Cannon probably doesn’t want the January 6 trial judge to outshine her, in terms of judicial acumen and how she is perceived by legal analysts populating nightly cable news shows. Maybe Judge Cannon will feel sisterhood with Judge Chutkan and perform flawlessly, i.e. “we got this.” We’ll see.

For Trump, an obvious misogynist, having two women oversee his fate might have him taking shots of NyQuil to get some sleep at night.