One Man's Opinion

If you really needed proof about how crazy Donald Trump is and what he stands for, take note of just two things, One, he would appoint Sarah Palin something in his administration. Two, he has been endorsed by Dennis Rodman. Case closed.

"Washington, D.C. is sinking into the ocean." Not fast enough! Venice is also sinking, but it is really worth saving .

Usually, lawyers have clients who are their own worst enemies, by being indiscreet or doing some outrageous thing contrary to their best interest. But, sometimes, the lawyer can also hurt his client's case, by behaving improperly or saying something that puts his client in a bad light. This is what has happened to Donald Trump. On top of all the ill will he has earned for himself by his vicious attacks on everybody, his attorney has made matters worse when he claimed that there is no such thing as spousal rape, while referring to an incident between Trump and his former wife Ivana. Not only is he wrong on the law, but bringing up the whole issue was ill advised. If this is the kind of legal counsel Trump will be using in the numerous lawsuits he has or will file against those who broke up with him over his tirade against Mexicans, he's in worst trouble than he thinks he is.

Lord Sewel, of British Parliament's House of Lords, went to the sewer of cocaine use and prostitution, got taped doing it, and has had to resign. There were no ifs or buts about it; he was clearly seen up close and heard loud and clear by the whole world, enjoying his escapade. What makes it even more ironic is the fact that Sewel was chairman of the committee on ethics of the House of Lords. British tabloids must be having a field day.

The headline "Initial autopsy of Bobbi Kristina Brown finds no obvious cause of death" shows how wrong science can be. The obvious cause of her death was having Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown as parents.

With this new focus on Cuba, the case of Elián González comes to mind as an episode of the ideological war that the U.S. waged against Cuba. Fifteen years later, Elián is a young man of 22, perfectly healthy, happy and studying engineering. Contrary to his family in Florida and other naysayers, he feels that returning him to his father in Cuba was the right decision, and time has proved that. After all, who better than him to know what the outcome has been. Credit must be given to then-Attorney General Janet Reno, who finally realized that a boy belongs with his loving father, something that is worth much more than living next door to Disney World.

The frequent claims by the U.S. that it has killed or eliminated top terrorist leaders reminds me of the similar claims made by the police with regard to drug lords and their organizations. Every time they bust a drug gang, they tell us that the gang has been "dismembered" or some such term, meaning that it is no longer functioning. And yet, the gangs keep on doing business. The same thing with terrorists. Either it's not true or these organizations have countless members, ready to take the dead one's place and go on with their "business."

Increasing the minimum wage is long overdue, and New York City and State are on the brink of mandating that it be $15 an hour for fast-food employees, up from the current $8.75. The fact is that the minimum wage at $7.25 in Puerto Rico is, quite frankly, slave labor. Especially in the case of big corporations, paying the minimum wage with no or next-to-no benefits is a scandal, that society should be ashamed of for allowing it. But, workers have begun to fight for better wages, and there is a movement that is gaining momentum everywhere and won't be stopped.

Once again, U.S. forces have accidentally killed their "allies" in Afghanistan. This time the tally was seven dead and five wounded at an Afghan army post that was blasted by American helicopters. In typical Madison Avenue parlance, it was a case of "friendly fire", so, I suppose, those guys are less dead or injured. As a matter of fact, the Afghan President, aiming not to embarrass the U.S. too much, referred to the helicopters as part of the "international forces." Of course, there will be an "investigation" and the "international forces" will take "maximum precautions" to avoid similar incidents in the future. Sure.

I hate to agree with Donald Trump on anything, but he's right about John McCain. In fact, it's Trump that agrees with me on this. A while back, I wrote that McCain had made a political career out of his being a POW, and that his frustration over having failed as a soldier has made him a warmonger. So, Trump is on the money about him. Of course, he could have been more elegant about it.

The KKK -- or what's left of it -- has come out to protest the taking down of the Confederate flag at the South Carolina capitol. So, if anyone had any doubt about what the flag stands for, there it is. No better witness than those Klan people.

I should have thought so! The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that there can be no discrimination against the LGBT community. In all basic and fundamental aspects of life -- employment being one of them -- there can be no discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, religion; in other words elements over which you have no control of or are an intrinsic part of who you are. Equality demands it; there can be no partial equality. People have the right to work, regardless of who they are gender wise or who they share their intimacy with. As long as something does not affect the work that you do, employers have no business interfering with it.

My father used to say that it was a bad idea to honor someone who is alive because, no matter how great the person might be, even at the last minute, he could do something awful that would embarrass everyone. Witness Bill Cosby's Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama awarded it to the man widely regarded as the ultimate American Black Man. A model citizen and a model for all black men. A man who publicly scolded young black men who were not doing the right thing for themselves and their community. Who chastised other black comedians for using the word "nigger" in their stand-up routines. In short, the Father-figure for all American black men. Oh, yes, and an admittedly serial rapist who used drugs to do his dirty deeds.

"El Chapo" threatening Donald Trump? He wishes! Does anyone seriously think that the escaped Mexican drug lord has nothing better to do than even think about Trump? Desperate for publicity, Trump would love that this were true, so he can continue badmouthing Mexicans, but someone is obviously playing around with Trump's foolishness.

Well, there you have it. Obama has commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders in a single day . Mind you, some of these people were drug traffickers in cocaine and crack . These were not just poor drug addicts or marijuana recreational users; they were dealing in hard drugs.  In total, Obama has commuted 89 sentences, more than Reagan; Bush, Sr.; Clinton and Bush,Jr. put together. And still Oscar López Rivera waits in his cell.

There are people who are too stupid to reconsider their views on something, even in the face of overwhelming evidence contrary to their opinion. Whoopi Goldberg, who you can only view in The View , a talk show, because her career has been over for a long time, has refused to change her view on the Bill Cosby  affaire , in spite of his admission that he used drugs on women to rape them . She has chosen to take the irrational stand he is still "innocent until proven guilty", although by that admission he has, essentially, "pleaded guilty." In doing so, she has not only thrown a sense of justice out the window, but also solidarity with women, including black women, that have been victims of Cosby. Admiration or friendship cannot be taken to such an absurd extreme.

A U.S. government report has concluded that about a third of the residences of diplomatic personnel abroad do not meet adequate security standards. This, in spite of the $170 million assigned for security purposes. So, the American diplomats and their families are pretty much on their own, as far as facing the dangers and risks inherent in their status in other countries. Someone must have used part of those funds for their personal gain. Of course, it has been alleged that the guidelines are not that clear, so the overseas personnel are somewhat confused about what it is that they must do to protect themselves. Like putting grilles on windows, for example. Oh, boy. No wonder the U.S. is in trouble all over the world.

I've just read that Obama will be the first U.S. President to visit a federal prison while in office. It's a "photo op" for his announcement of new federal sentencing guidelines. If only he would visit Oscar López Rivera to tell him why he won't release him from prison after 34 years  for the same "crime" that his much-admired Nelson Mandela did 27 years. That would really be "something to write home about."

Misty Copeland, a very light-skinned black ballerina with the American Ballet Theater, has been appointed "principal dancer", after 15 years with the company. Fine. But, the real news is that it has taken ABT 75 years  to have a black woman in that position. So, the cause for celebration speaks volumes about how slowly black people have progressed toward full equality and integration in the U.S. In a very real way, it is embarrassing, to say the least, that a country takes so long to accord its black people the recognition they deserve for their talent.

The hot dog-eating contest on July 4th in the U.S. is the perfect metaphor for the country. This would be a stupid event anytime, but to have it at a celebration of the country's independence shows how dumb and vapid American life is, as well as how little respect they have for a great date in their history. Stupid does as stupid is.

Imperialist countries have more in common than those who have not had that historical experience. This explains why the U.S. and Japan act so unconscionably towards Okinawa, insisting that the American military presence continue there and even in expanding it, in spite of a long history of abuses. Okinawans have had no success in getting the Japanese government on their side on this issue; instead, the Japanese have bent over backwards to prove to the Americans that they are their allies, sacrificing the Okinawans in the process. We in Puerto Rico know fully well what having American military bases on one's soil amounts to. Culebra and Vieques, two very small inhabited islands, were used as target practice for decades. Although the Americans left a long time ago, their abuse has not stopped. The U.S. government has done a very poor job of cleaning the islands of live ordnance and toxic waste. Imperialism dies hard.

Here's a simple question: Why is it that there are some countries which claim the right to go to other countries to "inspect" what they are doing in some respects, but they would not dream of letting any other country do the same in theirs? The simple answer is that they are the former and present colonial powers, that feel entitled to continue to do as they please as members of a very exclusive club. They claim the right to rule the world as they see fit, while the rest of the world -- which is deemed unfit to govern itself -- has to do as they are told or face the consequences of boycotts, sanctions or, worse, military aggression and intervention. As long as this is the case, there will never be true peace, because of this inequality and disrespect.

Those who take a hard line against homosexual marriage based on the Bible should reread it carefully , because, especially the Old Testament, is a catalog of adultery, cheating, incest, lying, murder, slavery, and other illegal and immoral behavior, either condoned, consented to, or ignored, but rewarded by Jehovah, as long as it was engaged in by those favored by Him, in exchange for their absolute loyalty. Hardly words to live by.

Donald Trump's lawyers are going to be very busy. Add Macy's and Carlos Slim to the list of companies and people he will have to sue for breach of contract.  By the time all this blows over, it's going to be a very long list of defendants in civil suits filed by Trump. As an attorney, I assume that his counsel has warned him that this is the wrong way to go, but, used to firing people, on and off-camera, I suppose he thinks he knows best, and will fire any lawyer that would presume to suggest otherwise. It's going to be very interesting to see how the courts handle these cases.