Let me say right away, I am probably wrong. I know there are readers out there who will say this as soon as they are done reading so it’s best to clear the air at the outset: these thoughts aren’t meant to be right. If here and there a reader unexpectedly happens to agree with something they read here, I guess both of us should go get our heads examined.
For every thought, there are a dozen rejoinders; a hundred disagreements; a thousand modifications; repudiation upon repudiation without number. However, after reader and writer work their through most of the culture clash and ideological wars of doctrinal purity, I hope there is still something left “alive” in my writing. If I can get even one reader in a hundred to spark positively, I’ll be happy.
Today’s “Wrong Way Thinking” concerns Donald Trump and U.S. District Judge (Southern District of California) Gonzalo Curiel. At last night’s meeting of “Chumps for Trump”, the evening got quite heated over Trump’s comments accusing Judge Curiel of being biased and hating him. The two factions at the meeting finally compromised and drafted a list of ten easy questions to ask Donald before we decide whether to praise or condemn his verbal broadside against a man’s honorable station in life:
TEN EASY QUESTIONS
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Have you ever met Judge Curiel? If so, where and when?
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Why does he hate you? Did he ever say this or are you just making it up? Even the pro-Donald forces last evening though it a little weak to claim “hatred” based on a proposed wall that does not exist anywhere except as a figment of Donald’s imagination . . . . An argument “as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death” (Abe Lincoln).
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Donald, are you familiar with Judge Curiel’s education and judicial record?
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Do you know of his personal and judicial courage in fighting drug traffickers?
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Did you oppose Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointing Judge Curiel to the San Diego Superior Court?
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What specific statement or decision has he made that offends you, O Great Donald?
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Has he ever said or done anything to evince prejudice toward you? If so, what was it?
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Do you feel Americans born in this country should remain “foreign nationals” if their parents or grandparents came from another country? For example, do you consider yourself German or American?
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Is there any chance your unprovoked attack is an attempt to distract people from the lawsuits in which it is alleged that Trump University was not a real university but a sucker’s trap–suits alleging fraud in that you promised students far more than was actually delivered?
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Do you have any evidence at all that Judge Curiel ever acted in a biased or unprofessional manner toward you? If so . . . oh forget it, everybody knows you don’t have a damn thing.
