I’m back to 3 topics this episode, and all, in some way, semi-sorta-related to the recent, peaceful transfer of power in the United States. I talk about the Left running out of adjectives for Donald Trump, given how they’ve misused those adjectives over the decades. I talk about how the outgoing President Obama commuted the sentence of someone who gave Wikileaks a huge treasure trove. And I talk about the closing of a prominent charity, and why it might be closing.
And don’t forget, I want to hear you talk about what you think. Comment here, or look at the sidebar for other ways to get in touch.
Mentioned links:
Attacked by Trump, Lewis acknowledges he boycotted Bush inauguration, too
Episode 160: Relief and Concern Over President-Elect Trump
Tapper Notes How White House Used to Be ‘Angry’ and Outraged’ by Manning Crimes
Silence From Networks as Clinton Global Initiative Shuts Down

Show transcript
The era of Trump has begun. And it has begun as it has with so many other Republicans; with whining and dire predictions by Democrats.
Let’s start with John Lewis, civil rights icon. He marched with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama. He’s represented most of the city of Atlanta in the US House since 1987. And he is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat.
He recently announced that he would not attend the inauguration of Donald Trump, because Lewis considered Trump’s win “illegitimate”. He said that this was something he’d never done before; an unprecedented move. Well, not really. The precedent was set in 2001 when he did not attend the inauguration of George W. Bush, and for the same reason; illegitimacy.
This is a microcosm of what has been going on for decades in the Democratic Party. They have been calling Republicans illegitimate, or Nazis, or evil, or sexist, or racist. There’s been all this wolf-crying, so that when a guy like Trump comes along, they have nowhere left to go. They can’t ratchet up the rhetoric, because it’s already over-the-top. How can they go over-over-the-top without sounding like self-parody? Frankly, I think they already sound like that.
And don’t forget just a couple months ago when this podcast highlighted comments that were made when Reagan was elected that sounded a lot like what we’re hearing today about Trump. There was so much fear-mongering with references to the KKK and the obligatory invocation of Der Fuehrer.
The problem for Democrats during a Trump administration is going to be trying to keep the scare tactics up while not having comparisons drawn to how they described Republicans since … forever. According to them, Adolph Hitler has been reincarnated every 4 years, and (if the Republican won the election) strolled around Washington, DC starving old people and kicking puppies.
I’ve even heard Facebook friends who are Democrats all of a sudden pine for Dubya. “At least he wasn’t this bad!” Yeah, well, based on the rhetoric back then, who could tell?

One of the things Presidents do near the end of their term is to pardon or commute the sentences of various people. They have full authority to do so, and it’s often been rather eyebrow-raising some of the choices they make.
This President’s is no exception. I’m sure there will be a list that comes out later (there’s over 1,700 of them), but I want to highlight just one; the commutation of the sentence o...