Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, May 26, 2018

OPINION

B3

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 26, 2018 


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TOM PURCELL


FOR MEMORIAL DAY - 
SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE 
US

 

Every Memorial Day, we remember those who died during active military 
service. But the day gives us a special opportunity to serve those who serve 
us.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, nearly 42 million American men and women have 
served during wartime. Nearly 1.2 million died while serving. Nearly 1.5 million were wounded.

Since 9/11, nearly 7,000 U.S. service members have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 50,000 
have been wounded - many have debilitating injuries and mental challenges that have changed their 
lives forever.

We may debate the rightness or wrongness of various engagements, but we know that freedom 
comes at a steep price - and we honor those who have secured it for us.

But we can do more. We can serve them back.

“There are many small things people can do that can make a world of difference,” said Jerry Newberry, 
assistant adjutant general at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Such as assisting the family of a service member who has been deployed.

“Family members go through a long period of wondering, worrying and waiting,” said Newberry. 
“But they still need to deal with the car breaking down, a child getting sick, a death in the family. If 
you know of such families, reach out to them.”

Or write an e-mail or letter. The troops - particularly those recuperating in military hospitals - love 
receiving e-mails, letters and care packages. You can do so at amillionthanks.org. 

Donate time. Your local Veterans Affairs office, VFW and other legitimate organizations are in 
desperate need of volunteers.

Organize a toy drive for children of deployed soldiers. Support the Marine Corps Toys for Tots 
program. Provide gift cards to troops through aafes.com.

Donate money. You can give to a variety of needed services for military members - or support the 
Red Cross to provide basic necessities to service members in military hospitals. Go to vfw.org and 
click on “Donate” or “Troop Support.”

Lori Felix at Military.com offers additional suggestions that are simple and inexpensive. One is to 
volunteer to place flags on the grave sites of fallen servicemen and women. Your local American 
Legion or VFW will have the details.

Felix writes that holiday weekends can be challenging times for those who are serving away from 
home. She suggests contacting the community relations office at your local military base to invite a 
service member or two to dinner.

Or do something kind for a wounded vet. The Walter Reed National Military Center has a Facebook 
page that provides inspiration and ideas for brightening a wounded vet’s day.

CNN offers some great suggestions.

Some disabled veterans are unable to drive. You can volunteer to give them a ride to their medical 
appointments at Disabled American Veterans (dav.org).

You can donate your frequent flyer miles so that family members can travel to the bedside of a 
hospitalized service member. That can be done through the Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles 
Program (fisherhouse.org).

CNN reports that more than a third of the men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan 
“have or will experience post-traumatic stress disorder.” The Puppies Behind Bars program trains 
companion dogs for veterans with PTSD. You can sponsor a dog at puppiesbehindbars.com.

Hey, Memorial Day is upon us. What better time to serve the men and women who have served, or 
are serving, us?

-

Copyright 2018 Tom Purcell. Tom Purcell, author of “Misadventures of a 1970’s Childhood,” a humorous 
memoir available at amazon.com, is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review humor columnist and is nationally 
syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. For info on using this column in your publication or website, 
contact Sales@cagle.com or call (805) 969-2829. Send comments to Tom at Tom@TomPurcell.com.


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LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN

BLAIR BESS

CARL GOLDEN

ROBERT MUELLER’S 
INVESTIGATION PLODS ON

It’s been said that, for the American people, the only thing shorter than 
their memory is their attention span.

 Now, more than a year and $10 million later, the investigation into 
allegations that the 2016 Trump for President campaign dealt with Russian 
operatives to influence the election outcome is putting that theory to the 
test.

 Despite signs the country has grown weary of it, the investigation led by Special Counsel 
Robert Mueller plods on, providing grist for the media, national Democrats and, of course, for 
President Trump’s Twitter feed.

 Notwithstanding speculation that the end is in sight, the investigation has careened off in 
other directions unrelated to its initial task of determining whether, in fact, collusion occurred 
and whether Trump campaign operatives were a part of it.

 For instance, the indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort alleges 
criminal conduct involving business dealings more than a decade earlier unconnected to 
allegations of election meddling. 

 Mueller has also extracted a guilty plea from former National Security Adviser Gen. Michael 
Flynn for lying to the FBI and has indicted 13 individuals and three companies related to the 
Russian bots.

 The president’s legal team - notably former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- has taken 
note of the public memory/attention span concept as well, arguing the investigation has gone 
far afield and the American people are so bewildered by the mass of conflicting accounts, 
charges, counter-charges and multiple investigations they are beginning to believe it’s hopeless 
to attempt to sort it all out and make any sense of it.

 Tales of spying, secret dossiers, cloak and dagger rendezvous, clandestine contacts, FBI raids, 
payoffs, Russian billionaires, a blizzard of subpoenas, and millions of dollars changing hands 
have poured forth for more than a year, creating a surreal air of confusion.

 An eclectic cast of characters has drifted on and off this stage drama, but none more bizarre 
than a porno film actress and her lawyer obsessed with public attention. 

 Giuliani, of course, has the well-being of his client at heart when he insists Mueller conclude 
his work quickly, act on his findings and put the issue to rest before this year’s mid-term 
Congressional elections, diluting - if not eliminating - its impact as a turning point campaign 
issue.

 Trump, in the meantime, continues his daily “fake news, witch hunt, no collusion” Twitter 
blasts, driving the daily news cycle and providing an enormous amount of television time to 
academics, consultants, opinion writers and anyone who ever served in government and wants 
to share an opinion.

 Mueller has been tight-lipped about the investigation, offering no hint of how far along it is 
or when he may bring it to an end although Giuliani said last week that Mueller had set Sept. 
1 as a reporting date, coincidentally the time when tradition has it that campaigning begins in 
earnest. 

 It’s a given that Russian apparatchiks meddled in the presidential election, using cyber attacks 
to drive messages aimed at influencing public opinion. It’s a given as well that the effort was 
designed to benefit Trump and undermine Hillary Clinton.

 For all the strum and drang drama, Trump’s hard core base has remained steadfast in its belief 
that Mueller is out to get the president, accepting the witch hunt characterization.

The Resistance has remained equally as steadfast in its belief that Trump is an illegitimate 
president, his election tainted by Russian interference and carried out with the campaign’s 
participation.

 Despite persistent rumors that Trump intends to fire Mueller, the sentiment in the Congress 
favors allowing him to complete his task without arbitrary deadlines or political pressures. Any 
anxiety they feel about its timeline is kept largely to themselves. 

 Giuliani is certain to ratchet up the pressure in interviews and public appearances, making 
his case that Mueller has already taken far too much time, has uncovered nothing to implicate 
the president and has strayed well beyond his initial charter.

 There is a risk certainly to the president and to Republican congressional candidates if the 
investigation drags on into the election season. Mueller confronts a risk as well and could 
open himself to criticism for deliberately prolonging his work, keeping the investigation at the 
top of the news to influence the mid-term outcome.

 If memories are short and attention spans shorter - as Giuliani appears to believe to some 
extent - it is in his and Trump’s interest to try to force Mueller’s hand. Mueller in all likelihood 
has one eye on the calendar as well.

-

Copyright 2018 Carl Golden, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public 
Policy at Stockton University in New Jersey. You can reach him at cgolden1937@gmail.


PRESIDENT DONALD 

HAS A FARM

President Trump’s latest assault on undocumented aliens reached a new 
low last week when he said, “These aren’t people, these are animals.” 

 Essentially, the president believes undocumented aliens are subhuman, 
or “Untermensch,” which was part of the justification used by leaders 
of Nazi-Germany to herd “undesirable” groups into death camps. These 
undesirables included Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, political 
opponents of the Nazi hierarchy, and anyone else Adolf Hitler and his cronies didn’t like.

 Whatever most normal people’s opinion of undocumented aliens is - positive or negative 
- it’s unlikely that the majority of Americans view them as “animals.” The exception to that 
statement, of course, is if they concur with the opinion of the president. Or Adolf Hitler. 

 But why resort to sticks, stones, and names that never hurt you? That would merely put 
those of us who disagree with the president’s perception of humanity - or inhumanity - on 
his level. Which is a place on earth most Americans have indicated they would rather not be. 

 Note to the president: you lost the popular vote and, according to numerous polls, less than 
half of all Americans approve of you or your regime.

 It’s mind-boggling that this president has called many of the supporters of the neo-Nazis and 
white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville last year “very fine people.” Clearly, in his 
worldview, undocumented aliens are not. Because they “aren’t people,” they’re “animals.” And 
while the president subsequently back-peddled a bit, saying he was referring to the violent, 
pre-dominantly Latinx gang MS-13, he fails to recognize that gang members are people as 
well.

 In the president’s mind and in the minds of many around him, including John Kelly, his 
Chief-of-Staff, it’s perfectly acceptable to separate children from their undocumented parents 
should they all be rounded up at the border and routed to immigrant detention facilities; or, 
as Kelly said, “foster care or whatever.” 

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions summed up the administration’s policy on undocumented 
migrants succinctly, “If you’re smuggling a child, then we’re going to prosecute you, and that 
child will be separated from you. If you don’t want your child separated, then don’t bring 
them across the border illegally.”

 The terminus - literally and figuratively - for many of those arriving at Nazi concentration 
camps was frequently the scene of children being separated from parents. Infants didn’t 
fare as well. On more occasions than not, they were immediately eliminated. That’s a tame 
euphemism for what actually happened. 

 What the attorney general fails to recognize is that he is referring to human beings. They 
are not smuggled contraband; not animals. Then again, Sessions isn’t exactly known for his 
sensitivity regarding race, culture, or sexual preference.

 The president’s attempts to muster compassion and emotion at a so-called “immigration round-
table” last week devolved, yet again, into an opportunity to play politics. As usual, his failings as a 
leader, policymaker, and as a human being were - according to him - the fault of the Democrats, 
a majority of whom do not agree with most of the president’s immigration decrees.

 Our beneficent leader had this to say to those attempting to cross the border without proper 
documentation, “I know what you’re going through right now with families is very tough, but 
those are the bad laws the Democrats gave us. We have to break up families. The Democrats 
gave us that law.” 

 No. They did not. The president and his administration did. 

 The president doesn’t have a clue about the plight of undocumented aliens. He should. 
According to published accounts in The Guardian and on CNN, historian Roland Paul 
notes that President Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich, left Germany, the president’s ancestral 
homeland, illegally; failing to notify authorities of his intention to emigrate. And escape the 
draft. Apparently, Friedrich Trump - unlike his grandson - didn’t have bone spurs on the 
heels of his feet. 

 A document Paul found in local archives in Bavaria notes that Friedrich Trump, having 
already become an American citizen, should leave the area by “1 May… or else expect to be 
deported.”

 Imagine that, the Trump family was punished for leaving a country illegally rather than 
arriving in one. 

 Perhaps if this nation hadn’t welcomed the Trump family to America, we wouldn’t have 
the leader we have in office today. Well, as the president told the knights of his round-table, 
the U.S. has “the dumbest laws on immigration in the world.” 

 Touche. 

-

Copyright 2018 Blair Bess distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Blair Bess is a Los Angeles-based television writer, producer, and columnist. He edits the online 
blog Soaggragated.com, and can be reached at BBess.soaggragated@gmail.com.

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