In speaking of quid pro quo, I am not referring to Donald Trump or Joe Biden. What I am referring to is the four years of quid pro quo that existed when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and Bill Clinton was her gatekeeper. If a high profile person sought to seek an audience with Hillary, they most often had to make a sizable donation to the Clinton Foundation or give Bill a hefty fee for a 30 minute speech. I mention this because Hillary is now flirting with a decision to enter the Democrat Presidential Primary. In a recent poll she finished in the number one spot, one point ahead of Joe Biden. As for Biden, the latest info I have from my Washington contact is that Joe Biden is being urged to make his next appearance wearing shorts, so that we may see the golden hairy legs that he speaks about. For the other Democrat candidates, at the time of this writing the debate field is rapidly shrinking. We may not see Senator Booker and his bloviating style on the floor boards. Other troubling news on the Democrat side is that Senator Warren is slipping in the polls. In my experience handling political campaigns there are two major factors which tell the campaign is in trouble. One is the inability to raise money and the second is the wholesale firing of the campaign staff. Senator Warren has just completed the second issue. In her latest TV appearances her gesticulations have grown more goofy. In one instance, she gave a few moves that resembled the King Tut routine that comedian Steve Martin made famous.***
PHONY IMPEACHMENT. Big news in Washington last week was that the Democrat members of the House were pushing for a floor vote last Wednesday evening. By the time you read this, a great deal on the impeachment may have occurred. The reason the impeachment strikes us as phony is that the entire process was started by the complaint of a hearsay whistleblower and further pushed by a fictionalized reading of the phone call by Adam Schiff, who has been identified over the years as a congenital liar. His conduct of the impeachment inquiry that was started by Congressman Nadler, defied all the norms of protocol. His inquiry was marked by ignoring the President of previous inquiries. As of last Wednesday, the House was arguing on party lines regarding the impeachment of President Trump. Whatever the House decided the two articles of impeachment were to go to the Senate if it indeed passed the House. When it gets to the Senate, Minority Leader Schumer is trying to set the parameters for the Senate trial. According to insiders, the Majority Leader McConnell along with Senator Graham will be the ones to decide any Senate action.
THE GOLDEN ERA. Most times, when I am asked to speak, it is in regard to the so-called golden era of Reno. That era would be the decade of the ‘60s. During that time, Reno was an international hot spot and well recognized as one of the premier stops for jet setters. It attracted major celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, politics, business, and sports. I can remember stepping on the elevator at the Mapes and sharing the ride up with Raymond Burr, Walter Matthau, Clifton Webb, Rick Barry, Jackie Jensen, Joe DiMaggio, Nelson Rockefeller, Mickey Rooney, Andy Williams, Milton Berle and a host of other’s at various times.
Some of the events that occurred during that ten year span would be the 1960 Winter Olympics with the Olympic Press Club located on the top floor of the hotel. That was followed by the most famous film ever shot in Reno, “The Misfits”, with the full cast and crew ensconced in the Mapes for the entire summer shoot. The original Virginia City Camel Races occurred during a lull in the Misfits shooting. During the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr., Frank Sr. and the FBI set up a headquarters at the hotel for their communications with the kidnappers. In 1963, a contingent of Reno Boat aficionados was able to get the hydroplane gold cup race transferred from Seattle to Pyramid Lake. Two of the main movers in that endeavor were Charles Mapes and Pete Barengo. A year after the hydro event, hydro driver Bill Stead was able to gain support for the first Reno National Championship Air Races. During that ‘60s decade there were numerous TV and movie world premieres held in Reno.
At the risk of being non-politically correct, I would like to wish all the readers of the “Trib” a Merry Christmas.
NVCondor says
December 26, 2019 at 2:12 pmOh, here comes the usual Fox News deflection on the misdeeds of their beloved President Bone Spurs. When in doubt, do the “what about” made so famous by Hannity and Tucker. We are going to ignore the facts that are the reason Congress is impeaching Trump, and instead trot out your fantasies about the Clintons.
The real issues are: A president, who swore to protect and defend the Constitution, who engaged in a scheme to use taxpayer money to coerce a foreign leader to announce a debunked investigation on a political rival. That is clearly illegal.
In addition to inviting foreign intervention in our elections, again, Trump conducted an unconstitutional blockade of Congressional oversight, thereby denying the required checks and balances that are provided for in our Constitution. In terms that you can understand, Trump thinks he is a monarch, or dictator, and does not answer to Congress.
As bad as Nixon was, at least he recognized the limitations to his power and eventually complied with providing witnesses and documents. Not so with Trump. Hence, Article II of his impeachment.
There is nothing “phony” about this impeachment. Our constitutional form of government is riding on the outcome.
Perhaps you could reminisce about the golden days when Republicans were for law and order, who didn’t engage in trade wars, who supported our allies and honored our treaties, who valued our intelligence community and supported an independent justice department, who didn’t undermine our Armed Forces chain of command and celebrate war criminals. You know, the good old days.
It’s not being politically incorrect to say Merry Christmas. But, you knew that.