If you know about Flight 19, it pretty much help birth the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. On Dec. 9, 1945, 14 pilots of the U.S. Naval Aviation went missing off the eastern coast of Florida. Till this day, nothing has been discovered.
It’s been suspected that Lt. Charles C. Taylor, who had been flight leader, got lost when his compass malfunctioned. He mistook some islands off the southeastern seaboard for the Florida Keys. And since the Keys are in the southwestern part of the state, the planes took a direction northeast to get back to the base in Fort Lauderdale. The Navy initially ruled that Taylor had screwed up before they changed it to “cause unknown.”
What people might not know is a Martin PBM Mariner flying boat was sent out to search for them. It reportedly had an explosion in mid-air. The 13 crew members on board died. That with the 14 Navy service members on Flight 19 meant 27 people died for what some suspect was Taylor’s refusal to admit he was wrong.
Where are I going with this, you might ask? Well, part of the reason people still support Donald J. Trump is they don’t want to admit they were wrong, I think. At one point, the other 13 Naval airmen should have risked disciplinary action or even a court martial and went the other direction before it was too late. The 13 members on the PBM would still be alive and quite possibly things would’ve been different. Not to say one of them would’ve gone on to cure cancer or invent the artificial heart. But 27 lives were lost and that caused a ripple effect.
Trump is facing 91 felony counts in multiple cases including election tampering in the State of Georgia and his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection coup attempt. In Iowa, he said people should get over the shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. On Sunday, one day before the Iowa Caucus, Dan Marburger, principal of the school, died from the injuries he sustained as he reportedly shielded students from the shooter.
I’m wondering if Marburger’s family thinks they should just get over it. It was probably no surprise that Trump got 51 percent of the Caucus votes, which is 20 delegates. But that means almost half of the Republicans do not want him to be the nominee. That should be very telling. Just like some of the pilots should have done, they’re refusing to keep going out to sea before it’s too late.
Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida, received 21.2 percent of the vote and picked up nine delegates. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, received 19.1 percent or eight delegates. Vivek Ramaswamy, who suspended his campaign on Tuesday, received 7.7 percent and three delegates. .
Trump received 56,260 votes while the rest received 53,858 votes. That’s nearly 54,000 votes against Trump. Sometimes, the Republican who wins the Iowa Caucus doesn’t go on to get the nomination. Ted Cruz won in 2016. Rick Santorum won in 2012 but Mitt Romney who came in a close second went on to get the nomination. Mike Huckabee won in 2008. Romney came in second. And John McCain, who ended up getting the nomination, came in third. And Bob Dole won it in 1988 with George H.W. Bush, the sitting Vice-President at the time, got third.
It can be anyone’s game. Also, people in Iowa vote different than other parts of the country. The New Hampshire primary election on Jan. 23 might actually give DeSantis and Haley some more leverage going forward this year. And Trump received in September a not-too-warm reception at the Iowa/Iowa State game as people gave him the middle finger. It was a huge “Fuck you!” to him from the Heartland.
People are getting tired of being associated with Trump. Politicians, not just Republicans, have been leeching for years off of people in the South, the Midwest, and the Great Plains as part of the Heartland or the Bible Belt. They’ve talked of “traditional values.” They’ve said that “Real Americans” love them. Former Vice-President Dick Cheney once said, “The American people elected” him. Enough is enough is enough. People are growing tired of Trump and his behavior.
It doesn’t help matters that the area was being hit with record cold temperatures. It’s funny how Christians and especially Evangelicals want to say that when hurricanes hit coastal cities, which are usually have more Democrats, it’s called God’s wrath. Yet, whenever a destructive tornado hits a Red State or they get a massive artic blast, you hear nothing about God, except “Pray for them.”
Christians themselves are also upset over a campaign commercial that “God Made Trump” to be the “caretaker” of the country. What’s so funny about this ad is that it implies Trump is up late at night and gets up early in the morning to work. It paints him as a hard-working person. Yet, for someone who spends most of his life on social media or playing golf, that’s not the case. Yes, people are foolish enough to believe it, but it’s actually angering the clergy now.
Painting Trump as commanded by God is the same type of thing many dictators do. Adolf Hitler did it. But even as reports indicate Trump may have allegedly traveled with Jeffrey Epstein, the argument that he was going there to investigate alleged sex trafficking is another way his followers are going farther out to sea. Courts have struck down his legal team’s assertion that he has immunity. But riddle me this, Batman, why would a man who has nothing to hide be worried about immunity?
If Trump has Presidential immunity, then so does Joe Biden and so did Bill Clinton. Richard M. Nixon didn’t have Presidential immunity. Colorado and Maine are hoping the courts will rule that he can be left off the ballots for his alleged role in Jan. 6. Trump has already lost the popular vote twice. What’s hard for people to understand is the people who voted for him in 2016 voted against him in 2020? Also, more people who didn’t bother to vote at all in 2016 turned out to remove him from office.
And one thing people still haven’t considered is how people are living longer now, so it’s likely there were more voters in 2020. We always tell people to get out and vote. Yet when they do, the Republicans scream foul. Trump is running for President to stay out of prison. And the Republican Party is fighting amongst itself now more than ever.
The Republican National Convention is July 15-18. By that time, Trump will be 78. While they make an argument that Biden is too old to run for President, then, doesn’t that mean Trump is too. Personally, I wish we would have age and term limits, but Trump’s behavior seems to be the type of a man who is suffering from mental issues. He makes a social media post on Christmas Day saying people should rot in Hell.
There was no election fraud or rigged election. People are going to jail. People have went to prison. Anyone can tell you if you get turned around, it’s best to go back the other way or take a different path than the one you’re on. The same people who talk of sinning and beg God for forgiveness apparently think they can do no wrong. And neither can Trump.
As Obi-Won Kenobi said, “Who’s more foolish – the fool or the fool who follows him? “
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 