A wise saying is that one is judged by the company one keeps.  Donald Trump promised to surround himself with only the best people.  Here’s a sampling of the company Donald Trump keeps:

·        Jeffrey Epstein – former party pal of Trump who called Epstein a terrific guy who’s a lot of fun to be with.  Epstein is a convicted sex trafficker and pedophile.

·        Alexander Acosta – resigned Secretary of Labor.  As a U.S. Attorney, showed preferential treatment in sentencing of Jeffrey Epstein.

·        Stormy Daniels – porn star.  Accepted $130,000 as hush money payment to keep her affair with Donald Trump quiet in order for him to be elected.

·        Michael Cohen – Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer.  Convicted on campaign finance, tax evasion, and lying to financial institution charges.

·        Rudy Giuliani – Trump’s attorney.  Began dating his second wife while married to his first wife; began dating his third wife while married to his second wife.  Began dating his next girlfriend while married to his third wife.

·        Steve Bannon – Trump’s Chief Strategist upon inauguration.  Married 3 times, was charged with domestic violence and battery against 2^nd wife who also accused him of making anti-Semitic remarks.

·        Melania Knauss – Trump’s third wife, a former soft porn/nude model who immigrated to the U.S. on a so-called “genius” visa, “birther” advocate, lied about having a college degree and plagiarized Michelle Obama.

·        Stephen Miller – White House Senior Policy Advisor. Harassed black and brown students in high school and at Duke University, became friends and collaborated with white supremacist and neo-Nazi Richard Spencer.

·        Sebastian Gorka – Trump’s Deputy Assistant.  Wore a medal to Trump’s inauguration which was a symbol of a Hungarian group that collaborated with the Nazi government during World War II.

·        Corey Lewandowski – Trump’s campaign chair.  Charged with battery against a reporter, mocked an immigrant child with Down’s syndrome and had a complaint filed against him for sexual harassment.

·        Steven Mnuchin – Secretary of the Treasury.  Recently sued by Sears for illegally benefitting from deals made while on the Board of Directors, refused to comply with Congressional subpoena.

·        Tim Nolan, Ralph Shortey – Prominent Trump local campaign workers.  Both convicted of sex trafficking.

·        Michael Flynn – Trump’s National Security Advisor.  Convicted of making false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to the F.B.I.

·        Kellyanne Conway – Trump’s Counselor.  Calls lies “alternative facts,” has repeatedly violated the Hatch Act of 1939, which has been condemned by both Republicans and Democrats, and has ignored House subpoenas. 

·        Elliott Broidy – Trump donor, fundraiser and vice chair of inaugural committee.  Pleaded guilty to bribing the New York state comptroller, is under criminal investigation by the Ukraine, paid hush money to a Playboy model he got pregnant, and is currently being investigated by a grand jury for influence peddling and exploiting his access to Trump.

·        Jason Miller – Trump’s selection for White House Communications Director.  Served for 2 days and resigned after revelations of an extramarital affair with a Trump staffer that resulted in a pregnancy.

·        Monica Crowley – Quit before she started the job on Trump’s National Security Council.  Numerous instances of plagiarism in her writings were revealed.

·        Rob Porter – Trump’s Staff Secretary.  Resigned due to allegations of spousal abuse by both of his former wives, which were supported by photographs and a restraining order.

·        Rick Gates – Deputy Trump campaign manager.  Pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements to the F.B.I.

·        Rev. Jamie Johnson – resigned head of Dept. of Homeland Security’s Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership.  Said that America’s black community has turned cities into slums because of their laziness, drug use and sexual promiscuity.

·        Carl Icahn – Billionaire special advisor to Trump.  Resigned due to potential conflicts of interest.

·        Taylor Weyeneth – Chief of Staff, Office of National Drug Control Policy.  Resigned after numerous discrepancies were found on his resume.

·        Robert Kraft – New England Patriot owner and close friend of Trump.  Arrested for soliciting prostitution.

·        Carl Higbie – resigned member of the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Made disparaging and discriminatory statements against black people, gays, Muslims, immigrants and veterans.

·        Tom Price – Resigned Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Expended more than $1 million in taxpayer money for his own travel on private charter jets and military aircraft.

·        Paul Manafort – Former Trump campaign manager.  To date, convicted of 8 counts of bank and tax fraud.  More to come.

·        George Nader – Lebanese lobbyist who met with Jared Kushner and Donald Trump, Jr., offering assistance to Donald Trump’s campaign.  Has been charged and convicted of numerous crimes of sexual exploitation of minors and was recently arrested for possession of child pornography.

·        Ben Carson – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.  Ordered a $31,000 taxpayer funded dining room set for his office and was accused of retaliating against an employee who refused to do it.  Although he’s the nation’s head real estate officer, he had no understanding of the term REO while testifying to Congress.

·        George Papadopoulos – Advisor to Trump’s campaign.  Pleaded guilty to making false statements to the F.B.I.

·        Jared Kushner – Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor.  His family received big loans after he met with their executives in the White House, his father paid a prostitute to solicit his sister’s husband, the family has questionable loans and controversial business practices, Jared is under scrutiny in the Russia probe, and he had to file over 40 updates to his financial and foreign contracts disclosures.

·        Jerry Falwell, Jr. – Trump’s spiritual advisor.  He and his wife met a young pool boy on vacation and have a curious relationship with him, investing money in a joint company, purported revealing photographs and Michael Cohen helping in an attempted hush money arrangement.  More to come in this one.

·        Roger Stone – Longtime Trump advisor.  Charged with witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements.

·        Mike Pence – Vice President of the United States.  Wanted to defund HIV/AIDs funding in favor of “conversion therapy,” fought against reproductive rights, and tried to redefine rape.

·        Vladimir Putin – Trump has called him a leader and very smart, and has had secret conversations with him.  Putin has conducted a genocidal war, put an end to freedom of speech, killed or imprisoned his critics, and created an authoritarian regime.

There is certainly plenty by which to judge Trump.

Donald Trump recently misstated the birthplace of his father, was unable to pronounce the word origins, stated that wind power gives you cancer, called Tim Cook Tim Apple and a host of other missteps that could simply be called “faux pas” if taken individually.  However, these are not one off blunders – together they are screaming dementia.

Over twenty years ago, I had the horrific experience of witnessing my mother’s descent into galloping Alzheimer’s disease.  We attempted to ignore the initial symptoms – passing them off as mere aging or poor sleep habits or a myriad of other minor frailties.  Although dementia is sometimes difficult to diagnose when only a few symptoms present themselves, the days of denials disappeared rapidly due to severe memory impairment, aggression and paranoia to the point of her believing people were breaking into her apartment to murder her.  In a very few instances, one had to see a bit of humor in the situation.  As a Presidential election approached, she was angry that she was unable to vote.  She stated, nonetheless, that if she were voting, it would either be Republican or Communist.  The funny moments, however, were few and far between.

I suppose I could say that the process was mercifully short – a bit less than 2 years.  It was hell but I learned first-hand a number of the indications of mental deterioration.  What is frightening beyond words is how many of the symptoms are displayed by Donald Trump.  Here are some of them:

·        Impairments in language and communication.

·        Inability to focus and concentrate.

·        Diminished reasoning.

·        Verbal bellicosity.

·        Rapid mood changes.

·        Confusion.

·        Being repetitive in conversation.

·        Apathy.

·        Poor judgment leading to bad decisions.

·        Challenged in problem solving.

·        Aggression and frustration.

·        Suspicion and paranoia.

·        Short attention span.

·        Inability to handle complex tasks.

·        Agitation.

·        Inappropriate behavior.

·        Increased narcissism.

·        Forgetting details of current events.

·        Less interest in work with more time watching television.

·        False accusations.

·        Confusion with people’s names.

·        Inaccuracies stated as truths.

It’s beyond time.  The 25^th Amendment must be invoked.

More of some of my recent tweets.

·        We all knew someone like Trump in Middle School.  Fortunately, most of the rest of them grew up.

·        Trump’s name will be in history books, but it will be redacted.

·        Next from Rudy Giuliani:  “Collusion?  Oh, I thought you said confusion.  No confusion.  Donald knew exactly what he was doing.”

·        If Trump has to write out his State of the Union, it will start “Slate of the Onion.”

·        Trump is said to be finalizing details for his annual physical.  Is he trying to find someone to pee for him?

·        Trump had to serve “hamberders” to Clemson team because he was out of “covfefe.”

·        The consensus is either Trump is an agent for Russia or is Russia’s useful idiot.  Neither is the least bit comforting.

·        When can we have an Impeachment March?

·        Trump’s notes from his meeting with Putin were probably just a bunch of stick figure drawings.

·        It’s obvious someone else is writing some of Trump’s tweets.  The use of the word “usurpation: gave it away.  Trump wouldn’t know what it meant even if he could reach a dictionary.

·        Unfortunate misstatements are the cornerstones of this presidency.

·        Who needs a salary when you’re a grafter cheating the American people out of millions?

·        Trump decided to build the wall from Saran Wrap if they can figure out how to get it off the roll.

·        Trump’s Oval Office is the tweeting toilet.

·        Pictures showed Trump signing blank papers.  The staff told him they’re stealth orders.

·        If things keep going the way they are, the wall’s function will only be to keep Americans from migrating to Mexico.

Once again, my commentaries have been limited to Twitter, so here is a recap of some of my recent tweets.

·        For Pearl Harbor Day, Trump issued a congratulatory message thanking Pearl for all of the hard work she has been doing.

·        To be fair, who among us hasn’t given “thumbs up” to mourners at a funeral.

·        Methinks Tariff Man will soon have to answer to Sheriff Man.

·        Trump is wondering whether prison toilets are comfortable enough for tweeting.

·        Melania’s Christmas decorations look like Cousin It and his family are bleeding.

·        My Christmas wish to Trump:  “May your Christmas be worse than the Griswold’s.”

·        Sarah Sanders tries to be June Cleaver with her pearls, but she’s actually Eddie Haskell.

·        “Safe” tear gas is like a little pregnant and minimally dead.

·        For Trump’s appointees, “vetted” means checked by a veterinarian.

·        Trump said he would have helped at a Food Bank like President Obama did, but he doesn’t know the recipes for Big Macs and Diet Pepsi.

·        Trump’s response to the Khashoggi killing, “Well, you know it’s only like murder.  No big deal.  But Hillary’s emails …”

·        The good news for Ivanka if she is indicted is that maybe then she wouldn’t have to travel far for her conjugal visits.

·        Picking Trump’s most dangerous trait is like choosing between salmonella and all the other food poisonings.

·        Tariff Man, Tariff Man

Drives the market down the can.
And he sends the debt sky high.
Next he’ll tweet another lie.

·        Trump should be Time Out’s Man of the Year.

·        Trump thought Mueller’s questions would be like, “Spell cat.”

·        Norman Bates was spotted at Safeway trying to buy Lucky Charms dressed as his mother.

·        I took some time off from Twitter after the election until I remembered that so many people are still ignorant and racist.

·        Trump called Representative Schiff “Adam Schitt” and the other kids on the playground laughed and laughed.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

My second ever blog contribution on February 2, 2017 begins:

“Nothing humorous to start with today.  Thirteen Jewish Community Centers across the country received bomb threats yesterday, one quite close to home.  I predicted this escalation the day after the election.”  Thus began my entry into activism, joining the Anti-Defamation League, the ACLU, signing petitions and writing to my representatives.

Yesterday, 11 Jewish worshippers were murdered and more wounded by a shooter shouting, “All Jews must die.”  Yesterday, after stating that the nation’s gun laws had little to do with the shooting and suggesting that the synagogue should have had an armed guard, Trump jumped back on the campaign trail and attacked and name-called prominent Democrats. 

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

During the campaign, Trump chose to repeat the theme of “America First,” the motto of Nazi-friendly Americans in the 1930s, such as Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh.  This reflects an exclusionary America, emphasizing virulent patriotism and restrictive immigration.  “God bless this man,” stated the Daily Stormer, a white supremacist website supporting Trump.  After David Duke, the former grand wizard of the KKK, endorsed him, Trump refused to condemn him.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

Immediately prior to the election, Trump released a campaign ad with images of prominent Jews financier George Soros, Janet Yellen, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein with the description of “global special interests,” and “those who control the levers of power.”  He connected them with Hillary Clinton, saying she “partners with these people who don’t have your good in mind.”

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

In August, 2017, hundreds of torch-bearing white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia campus, changing slogans such as “blood and soil” and “Jews will not replace us.”  Trump said, “There were some very fine people on both sides.”

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

The Anti-Defamation League indicated that anti-Semitic acts in the U.S. rose 57% in 2017.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

Last week, California Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted a warning that three wealthy Jewish Democrats were buying the mid-term elections.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

Last Friday, Trump rallied against “globalists,” a code word for Jews used by Nazis to depict them as moneybags and radicals.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

Today, Eric Trump said that the synagogue shooter doesn’t represent the right.  He is very, very wrong.  Not only does the shooter represent them, he reflects them, he is legitimized by them, and he is accepted by them.

Yes, Trump and his cronies bear responsibility.

And, yes, I will continue to fight.

Once again, Twitter has been attracting my attention more than blog writing, so here are some more of my recent tweets.

·        On seeing a video of a horse running through a French bar:  The one time “a horse’s ass rampages through a bar” doesn’t apply to Kavanaugh.

·        We need to mess with a bunch of Trumpeteers’ brains and tell them the first law passed by a new Democratic Congress will be “Put Urinals in Women’s Restrooms Act.”

·        To be fair, who among us hasn’t ordered our own child to cover up our affair with a porn star?

·        Lindsay Graham is about to have the vapors.

·        I’ve been alive through 13 Presidents (including the one that will have the asterisk).

·        If Sarah Sanders were Pinocchio, by now her nose could have restored the rain forests.

·        Trump will likely blame the stock market plunge on Hillary’s emails.

·        Tomi Lahren’s mouth is set on auto stupid.

·        Kavanaugh’s testimony became just like your crazy drunk Uncle Larry flipping out at Thanksgiving when someone else took the turkey neck.

·        Explaining things to Trump with sock monkeys will confuse him.  He’ll keep asking which is the left sock and which is the right.

·        Kavanaugh may be qualified professionally, but he definitely failed his job interview and character references.

·        I’m not predicting a blue wave.  I’m a 70 year grandpa working his ass off to make it happen.

·        I guess Kavanaugh’s behavior does sort of validate his lengthy virginity.

·        I think the Kavanaugh Committee should just line the table in front of him with liquor and see what happens.

·        Trump told a hurricane flood victim who ended up with a boat floating in his backyard, “Finders Keepers.

·        Teachers say Stephen Miller ate glue off his arm as a child.  I think he moved on to lead paint.

·        Where has Rudy Giuliani been?  I think he’s busy picking out all his future wives.

·        A request to all honest journalists.  Whenever Sarah Sanders or Kellyanne Conway make one of their absurd claims, please just laugh in their faces.

·        Republicans claim Democrats are violent.  I’m a 70 year old Democratic grandpa.  The most violent I could get is flinging my hearing aids.

I’ve spent more of my writing time on twitter than on a blog, so I thought I would recap some of my more recent tweets here:

·        Why should we be surprised that Trump doesn’t know what the American flag looks like; he doesn’t have a clue about what America stands for.

·        One thing’s for sure.  The only building Mitch McConnell might get named after him is an outhouse.

·        Trump is not familiar with proper human behavior when someone dies.

·        Trump refuses to honor Senator McCain because he has the mind of a middle school bully.

·        If the bad news about him didn’t exist, Trump wouldn’t have to worry about Google featuring it.

·        Trump is so offensive, he’ll likely be banned from his own funeral.

·        Let’s not forget that Trump negotiated a nuclear deal with North Korea.  Oh, wait, let’s forget it.

·        There are so many people flipping, Simone Biles might have to give up her medal.

·        Equating Trump with Capone as NRA spokeswoman Loesch did is okay with me.

·        Indicted California Rep. Duncan Hunter uses the classic “throw your wife under the bus” defense.

·        Giuliani said Trump’s people will revolt if he is impeached.  What he should have said is, “Trump’s people are revolting.”

·        Remember when Trump promised to drain the swamp?  Instead, he’s loaded us up with more gators.

·        Trump’s followers haven’t become unhinged; most of them were never hinged to begin with.

·        Legalities aside, how can Trump’s evangelical base be okay with him admitting he paid hush money to his porn star and Playboy bunny lovers?

·        The bullet Cohen said he’d take for Trump turned out to be a suppository.

·        Who among us hasn’t publicly called an 8 times convicted felon a “great man?”

·        I’m waiting for Giuliani to yell, “Guilty isn’t guilty.”

·        Trump says, “Michael Cohen? Barely knew him.  Brought me covfefe once.  Hillary’s emails.”

·        Roses are red, purple are grapes.  Since Cohen’s going to flip, can’t wait for the tapes.

·        Didn’t Rand Paul used to be Eddie Haskell?

·        Melania will be leading a class in the easy way to get a Genius Visa.  (Spoiler alert: marry rich.)

·        I’m always flattered if someone calls me a lib, a libtard, a lefty, etc. It means that they are acknowledging that I have more human decency than they do.

·        The Trump library will be empty if the one Dick and Jane book gets checked out.

·        Giuliani says Trump, Jr. may not have even known Natalia Veselnitskaya was Russian.  Well, of course not – the name is obviously Swedish.

·        Every time Trump leaves the country he honors it.