Sunday, May 22, 2016
Rep Trey Gowdy & Constitutional Rights
CNN/s Jake Tapper asked House of Representatives Member Republican Trey Gowdy what the problem was with increasing the waiting period to get a gun so that a more thorough background check could be completed. Rep Gowdy replied that extending the waiting period delayed fulfilling a citizen's Constitutional Rights. Why didn't Jake ask a follow up - then why is it acceptable to delay a woman's right to an abortion by either having a 72 hour waiting period or shoving an ultrasound up her vagina?
Monday, May 16, 2016
General Dwight David Eisenhower
Relatively few people alive today will remember Ike's Presidency, let alone his role in World War II. What a remarkable man of the twentieth century. As Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces, he directed the liberation of Europe from Hitler's massive deaths, destruction and tyranny. Ike did it by holding together the Allies and their armed forces - that meant Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Charles de Gaulle, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery and Omar Bradley, just for starters. He knew how to work with people and lead his troops. And then he became President of the United States. As President, he integrated schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, he developed the interstate highway system and he appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren - the latter perhaps to Ike's later dismay. President Eisenhower was a Republican!
As this country faces a bizarre Presidential election, it is well worthwhile to take the measure of this humble man who achieved so much. After his Presidency, he resumed his preferred title, General. General Eisenhower was a man of vision, common sense, looking to the future. He is an example we should consider as we evaluate the current candidates.
As this country faces a bizarre Presidential election, it is well worthwhile to take the measure of this humble man who achieved so much. After his Presidency, he resumed his preferred title, General. General Eisenhower was a man of vision, common sense, looking to the future. He is an example we should consider as we evaluate the current candidates.
Who Is Donald Trump?
He has spent months being rude and abrasive. His views on nuclear proliferation, NATO, white supremacists, Mexicans, immigrants and Moslems have tarnished the position of the United States in world opinion. Now he says he will be "so Presidential, you will be bored". He thinks the Presidential campaign is entertainment? NO! The presidential campaign is an opportunity for voters to learn about the candidates' views and agenda. Trump has made that clear. Now he wants the voters to believe that he is going to change. That he thinks the voters want entertainment from their candidate is a gross insult to the intelligence and seriousness of the voter and the process. And this is the same kind of deception that he has used in his business practices - filing multiple bankruptcies that stiffed his local subcontractors and, while he talks about stemming immigration, himself hires immigrants and makes his products overseas.
He makes a mockery of the term, "political correctness", while showing no respect for government, for the political process nor the office holders, from Presidential candidates to the sitting President. This is not showing leadership - it is destroying the fabric that binds us. He undermines the United States' functioning government. For example, while I am no fan of Senator Ted Cruz, no way!, calling him "Lyin' Ted", does not give him the respect that is his do and diminishes him without bothering to present content. And do you notice that most supporters refer to Donald, not as "Donald", but as "Mr. Trump"? Even the Governor of New Jersey called him Mr Trump, while Mr Trump himself referred to the governor as "Chris". What does that say about his attempt to manipulate images?
Now he promises all sorts of things that he cannot possibly deliver.
Bottom line - nothing he says can be trusted.
He makes a mockery of the term, "political correctness", while showing no respect for government, for the political process nor the office holders, from Presidential candidates to the sitting President. This is not showing leadership - it is destroying the fabric that binds us. He undermines the United States' functioning government. For example, while I am no fan of Senator Ted Cruz, no way!, calling him "Lyin' Ted", does not give him the respect that is his do and diminishes him without bothering to present content. And do you notice that most supporters refer to Donald, not as "Donald", but as "Mr. Trump"? Even the Governor of New Jersey called him Mr Trump, while Mr Trump himself referred to the governor as "Chris". What does that say about his attempt to manipulate images?
Now he promises all sorts of things that he cannot possibly deliver.
Bottom line - nothing he says can be trusted.
Now We Know
Now we know why Trump is running for President! He wants to buy it! He says the US debt can be retired by selling off $1.7 trillion in assets, much of which is real estate. Becoming President would be his ultimate business killing. Actually, I hope that I am making a joke. The tragedy of selling off the true treasures of the Untied States of America. Would that include the glorious back country of Yosemite? Grand Tetons, Yellowstone? Put oil wells off Big Sur (if we haven't already). And, what would happen after they were gone? Then how would the financial foundation of the US go forward? Ah, The United States of Trump.
I Never Thought
I never thought I would ever agree with George Will. But he said that, if Trump is nominated, the Republican Party should do everything it can to keep Trump OUT of the White House. The Republican Party needs to show some leadership. Trump in the White House could destroy the Republican Party for a generation. The only question would be how long it would take for Trump to cause a constitutional crisis as President. Yes, George Will, it is time for the GOP to show some responsible leadership. After all, the GOP created Trump by disrespecting the current President (beyond normal levels of disagreement), by nominating Sarah Palin for Vice President and by deliberately paralyzing the government for years. Unfortunately, George Will added that the GOP goal should now be to make Hillary Clinton a one term President. The thing is, the GOP's partially achieved objective of paralyzing the Obama Presidency is what created the voter distress at the lack of government action.
Donald Wishy Washy
Now he says that banning Muslins from the US is "only a suggestion". !!!!! For months, he insisted that Muslims must be banned "until we can figure out what is going on" - whatever that means. Now that he is being widely and roundly criticized for his very clear and frequently expressed point of view, he changes his position. Well, he says it would be good to keep other countries guessing about what the US would do. REALLY? It almost sounds like I'm writing a satirical joke. But no! A contender for Presidency of the Untied States of America said that stuff. Frightening
Welcome Aboard !
Andrea Michell hosted Maya MacGuineas, President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, today. Ms. MaGeuineas described the inconsistent variety of debt reduction plans that Trump has stated. How he would do away with the US debt in 8 years. How he could decrease or devalue payment on the debt. After reviewing Trump's statements, Ms MacGuineas stated that she concludes that Trump doesn't understand the difference between the national debt and the budget deficit! My comment - Welcome to Argentina! Your US Treasury Bonds would be headed to worthlessness! Of course, this is exactly how Trump financed his building projects - he declared bankruptcy and didn't pay his subcontractors!
Do The Right Thing
The body politic has finally gotten there. I finally heard it voiced. Republicans for Hillary. It took actual physical violence, but the GOP has finally gotten there.
It is a tragedy. American Republican politics looking like 1930's Germany. The campaign slogan, "Make American Great Again" really means "Make America White Again". Trump lies and then denies what he has said from one day to the next. He foments violence. He embarrasses the Untied States throughout world. Today I heard him call his rally his "show". The implications of that word, a show, says it all. It's theater, a performance. It follows that there is no real substance. Just inciting disrespect, hate and violence.
The dialogue should be about what to do about workers whose industrially based jobs are disappearing. Those workers are mostly white men. Trump taps into their very real fears. But Trump offers no solutions, only a phoney promise to return to a bygone era, and only hate.
Flint
How can I not weigh in on the disaster in Flint. My heart goes out to the families - powerless, without local government control - in the face of state level governmental EVIL. Did you know that the state referendum repealed the legislation that authorized state take over of local governments? And the Republican legislature and governor re-enacted the legislation - adding the provision that it could not be repealed? Children given disabilities caused by man, small businesses (like a beauty parlor) unable to function safely. All so the state didn't have to pay about $100 or $140 per day to treat the water. This so far beyond stupidity that it is truly EVIL. And that this horror has continued for over a year until journalism brought it to the attention of the broader public. This is why the USA has a free press. Thanks to Rachel Maddow who should earn a Pulitzer.
Outrageous
I almost wrote "shocking" but it is not shocking that Trump thinks he has had something to do with the release of Americans held in Iran. Trump is not stupid and so I believe he knows better. That makes him simply a charlatan, manipulating his message to push the buttons of an angry, ignorant portion of the populace. Why? Does he want to be President that much? He is smart enough to know that his promises cannot possibly be fulfilled. What about his views expressed in the past, such as supporting a woman's right to choose? Who is the real Trump? Where would he lead this country? That may be scarier than his hateful rhetoric.
Disgusting
Paris Tragedy & American Religious Freedom
Once again the horror of terrorism visits the civilized world. There have been many inspirational words and actions in the past week - condemning the barbarism, mourning the dead, paying for healing the injured, grappling with a response to the terror. The man whose wife was killed at the Bataclan would not give the terrorists the success of instilling fear in him or in changing his life, while he still grieved. I attended the Philadelphia Orchestra concert last week and their playing of the Le Marseillaise was both powerful and emotional.
But I cannot let the week go by without condemning the absurd notions of Republican candidates for the Presidency of the US who quake in their boots and attempt to fan the flames of fear in the American population. Have we learned nothing from World War II? The US was wrong to inter Japanese American citizens and was wrong to refuse refuge to thousands, maybe millions, of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. It took the US how many decades to figure out that was wrong? So now, Republican Presidential candidates are attacking American citizens who happen to be Moslems. Donald Trump lies - there has never been a plan to bring 250,000 Syrian refugees into the US. Trump, who gets his foreign policy education from television, says, if President, he will bomb the s*** out of "them", whoever and however he would make that happen. Carson compares Moslems to rabid dogs. These men are not leaders. And worse, what Americans listen to their garbage?
The civilized world is in a really bad situation - much of it emanating from the stupid American war on Iraq. So now the world faces evil barbarism hiding under the false shield of one of the world's great religions. Maybe East and West together can figure out a strategy, not just to defeat the barbarism, but also how to stabilize the vacuum in the Middle East that allowed the barbarism to flourish. Clearly, idle threats, as the Republican candidates' knees knock in fear, and false accusations aren't the answer.
AH HA MOMENT!
The reason the nutty Dem/Rep Governors of NY/NJ decided - off the cuff - with no planning - in a moment of chaos to impose a quarantine is that they don't want to spend the money on the cost of ebola patients. Maybe this way, they will get federal dollars to underwrite their costs. This is all a game called "Let's Get Federal Dollars".
UNITED STATES OF NEW JERSEY & NEW YORK
Isolation with no planning for no reason. Where and how are these state governments going to implement this? What is the Constitutional basis for this? Doctors without Borders deserve much, much better than quarantine. No good deed goes unpunished. This is just increasing the sense of panic among Americans and potentially denying West Africans the help of doctors and other health care professionals who doante their time. A New Jerey citizen could arrive at Philadlephia International airport and go home but not if they land at Newark. Ridiculous. Makes me think about what the US did to Jjapanese Americans during World War II. Overreacting and denying constitutional rights.
"HYPOCRACY IS NOT A CONSTRAINT"
Quoting Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (Dem, NY) regaring House of Representatives Republicans during their hearing on ebola. The same legislators who proclaim that they aren't scientists when it comes to climate change, are now pontificating on their knowledge and expertise of how to treat ebola. The same legislators who would not vote on approving a Surgeon General for the US. These Republicans will never miss an opportunity to politicize a serious public health issue. Ted Cruz who called it an "epidemic" here when there were 3 identified cases and criticized the CDC for the mess at Texas Health Presbyterian - when it's his own home state's failure! Give me a break!
POLICE VIOLENCE
Associated Press quoted President Obama, speaking at the Black Congressional Caucus Foundation, saying that the widespread mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed by the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Missouri exists in too many other communities and is having a corrosive effect on the nation, particularly on its children. He blames the feeling of wariness on persistent racial disparities in the administration of justice. Obama said these misgivings only serve to harm communities that are most in need of effective law enforcement.
This is so true. As a white female senior citizen, I don't trust police - and I'm no radical - just a law abiding citizen - I don't use drugs and I do stop at stop signs. What does that say about law enforcement in this country? Ferguson is extreme but not that different from so many towns transitioning from all white to integrated. And those wrist bands! saying "I am Darren Wilson". That's insane. And it takes the US Department of Justice to have to tell them that it's inflammatory?
ISIL
A Caliphate in the Middle East, starating in the lands of Syria and Iraq. Brutal, vicious, I'm-the-only-one-who-is-right-good-deserving-choose your own metaphor. Slaughter and inhumanity hiding behind a false conception of one of the world's great religions. What makes them different than the Nazis? Nothing that I can see. I opposed the second invasion of Iraq - you never know what direction war will take. Events can't always be predicted or controlled. Iraq II confirmed that. That said, it is better to fight a true scourge before it gains great power. Sound familiar?
How can one comprehend or explain pure evil? What makes humans behave like that?
SUCH A TRAGEDY
As I listened to the Ferguson police chief on Friday when he announced the details of the covnenience store roberry, my heart sank. Just how stupid could he be! Is he stupid-dense-bigotted or just what that led him to fan the flames? The citizenry had every right to be upset. When he was advised not to do it!!! The man needs to be fired or resign. And now a private autopsy has been revealed, but still no official autopsy has been rleeased. The only person getting protction is Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Michael Brown. The prosecutor says it could take "months" before grand jury takes action.
Now there are counter protests, with a bunch of (from what I saw in pictures) whtie people supporting Darren Wilson.
What is the matter with these people?
FERGUSON MO
Police have created one frighening tenderbox. The situation last night looked like a military show of force. Regarding lst night, whether there was a provcative act(s) by protesters, or not, or how many alledged act(s) will never be known because the police will say there was such an act in any case to jsutify an unbelievable level of force that they used. Watching msnbc last night, it appeared that tear gas continued to be lobbed after the protesters dispersed. But none of that matters. Before the tear gas and rubber bullets, the protesters had rifles aimed at them. But before that, the police and government have not publicly addressed the death of Michael Brown beyond putting the officer on desk duty. Last I heard, the officer hasn't been identified and the autopsy hasn't been released. That creates the perfect circumstance for legitimate protest. The only responce from the authorities has been to rachet up the antagonisms. Clearly these authorities aren't trying to reconcile, they are trying to put down. This is a text book case of what police and government should not do. Not publicly dealing with the officer, alledgedly to keep the officer safe, and not dealing publicly with the cirumstance of the incident invites trouble. The police are responsible and it's amazing that no one got killed last night.
ROBIN WILLIAMS
He was a great human being. He brought so many of us such joy and comfort. It hurts to find out that he was in emotional pain and that the pain became so unbearable that he killed himself, that the knowledge of leaving his loving family couldn't overcome the degree of pain he felt. Rest in Peace. Heaven is a happier place with Robin there.
MEANING OF WORLD WAR II FOR TODAY
My recent interest in World War II was sparked by discovering that my uncle participated in the bitterly fought Battle of the Bulge. I had recently reorganized my library and thrown out one of my college history books, A Study in Tyranny by Alan Bullock about adolph hitler. I wasn't going to read that garbage again, I thought at the time. I had also watched the television miniseries, Winds of War and War and Remembrance on dvd's from the local library. I had remembered World War II from 20th certury history class as a distant event in the past - before my birth for sure. Only now, decades later, I realized it wasn't so distant. The Nuremberg Trails took place around the time of my birth. My baptism had to be delayed, awaiting the return of my potential godfather, still serving in post-war Europe. On my first trip to London, I remember seeing buildings damaged during the Blitz and in then named Leningrad, bullet holes in the spectacular cathedral, Church of the Blood. No, World War II wasn't so long ago. And I became interested in the events presented in the two miniseries.
I had not forgotten my past reading: The Counterfeit Traitor (Alexander Klein), Is Paris Burning? (Collins and Lapierre), Leningrad Diary (Vera Inber) and most especially Armagedden (Leon Uris).
So far, my recent reading has included:
The Story of the Second World war (Katherine Savage)
The Origins of the Second World War (AJP Taylor)
Crusade in Europe (Dwight D Eisenhower)
Operation Torch (William B Breuer)
Nuremberg Trials
Russia at War 1941-1945 (Alexander Werth)
While 6 Million Died (Arthur Morse)
then I needed to get the Alan Bullock book from the library
and moved on to
Ike (Michael Korda)
Eisenhower (Carlo D'Este)
Monument Men (Robert Edsel) and the George Clooney film
The more I read, the more I realize that world affairs today are still dictated by World War II. Not just Israel and the Middle East and the borders and dynamics of Eastern Europe, but also the US in its position and responsibility in the world today. Remember that before Pearl Harbor the US couldn't be dragged into that "European" war!
And then I discovered that Lincoln Kirstein was a "Monuments Man"! Wow! I knew Kirstein as the moving force that brought ballet to the US in the form of George Balanchine and Ballet Society, predecessor of New York City Ballet. But I digress.
I suppose I keep reading because I repeat the question, "How could this happen???" Hitler, the genocide, the unbelievably vicious war that words can't describe. I just read that when Geroge Patton, the toughest of the tough, first saw a centration camp, Dachau, I think, he vomited.
How did Hitler come to power? How did he get people to follow him? Who were those hideous soulless so-called humans who conspired with him? That brings us to the whole question of evil in the world. I leave that for another discussion. Destabilize government and play upon the prejudices of citizens. Sound familiar?
It seems a miracle that the Allies joined together and successfully defeated the madman. Imagine - not defeating that madman could have easily brought forth a new Dark Age as in the Middle Ages. And think about Eisenhower - he was a miracle too - he managed to lead Montgomery, Patton, Bradley, Churchill, DeGaulle, and even, Roosevelt and Stalin. I watched a recent special on the 70th anniversary of D-Day and never once was Ike's name mentioned. How ignorant. Victory of the Allies over the Axis was by means assured. We must remember that democracy and freedom are, and remain, fragile.
Meanwhile I also follow US politics. Here we are today. A Congress that has been unable to act and a political party with no platform other than voter identification, abortion restriction and defeating the party in power. Politicians who don't believe in government! And opposition party criticism doesn't stop at our borders - the opposition undermines the Presdient and even the most basic evidence of our prestige overseas. They won't even approve ambassadors for dozens of countries. The opposition party shut the government down, obsentibly because of the national debt. But we all know that, when the Republican Party is the opposition party, their methodology is to undermine the party in power, unlike the Democraactic Party. The basic principle of democracy, compromise, is not in the Republican Party's vocabulary. President Clinton was impeached for a petty lie. Democrats are the more responsibe than that. If any President deserved impeachment it was George W Bush for the weapons of mass destruction lie. Now that's a Big Lie! And the Republicans say that no events of terorism happened on our soil during their watch. Duh! Appaprently 9-11 doesn't count? But Democrats are about making government work, not destruction.
Now the Republicans need to find a vulnerability for Presdient Obama. Their publicly avowed aim is destroying his presidency. And they are prepared to undermine the country and the principles of our democracy to do it. I remember when increasing voter registration and voting was encouraged. More citizens should vote! Not anymore. Republicans don't want more people voting because their objective is power to the Republican Party. Just ask the Pennsylvania legislator. But in truth, voter identification is a solution in need of a problem. Destabilize government and play upon the prejudices of citizens. Sound familiar? Of course, it is a question of degree, physical violence versus verbal assults.
Remember Hitler, World War II and the Holocaust. We need to cultivate and cherish our democracy. Respect and Compromise. Remember.
POLICE VIOLENCE
Once again, an unarmed black man was shot to death by the police. In Ferguson, MO, this time. What is it with our police? I had an experience with our local police recently. The water company was ripping up our residential street and I thought I had parked far enough away from the action. Suddenly, a cop pounded on my door. When I opened my door, the cop threw open my storm door, forcing me to grab for my dog. He demanded that I move my car. After days and days of water company action without any information to residents, I wasn't too pleased. So I slammed my door shut. The cop pounded on my door again, I opened my door and he, again, threw open my storm door, as I again grabbed for my dog, he yelled, angrily, "Don't you slam your door on me!" I complained about this story to my neighbor and she said, "That's nothing!" She told me how a cop had walked into another neighbor's house, got all the way into the son's bedroom, at 7am on Saturday morning!
I decided that these two events warranted a complaint letter to the local mayor. I recieved a prompt reply that my complaint would be investigated and I would recieve a reply in thirty days. I received a reply from the police chief around the thirtieth day informing me that my complaint was investigated and it was determined that the cop did nothing wrong. No one spoke to me about my letter and, in my complaint letter, I didn't include the name of the neighbor whose house had been entered. That's an investigation?
Now, if a suburban cop treats an older white woman in her own home like that, what does that say about police? That cop had less control of his anger than I had of mine. And what does that say about investigative procedures? There was no investigation, beyond the cops, of his walking into someone's home uninvited. I did ask the neighbors involved if they were ever questioned. I guess it was considered okay since their door wasn't locked.
And African Americans get infinitely less justice. In Ferguson MO, why did a cop escalate a meaningless non-problem into a deadly confrontation? Who cares if someone is walking in the street?
My only consolation is that there is now a record of complaint against this cop who walked into someone's house and yelled at me at my own house. When he stops someone on the highway that runs through our town and that becomes an out of control incident, there will be a record of his previous behavior. If that matters.
Donald Trump was interviewed at length by The New York Times on foreign policy issues. The article appears in the current Times’ issue. Basically, Trump believes in the concept, America First. He goes far beyond isolationism and advocates that United States’ allies pay for American assistance and support. In summary, his plan advocates American aggressive postures, demanding reimbursement for services or withdraw from the international balance. He thinks the United States can unilaterally change the trading relationship with China. Has he forgotten that China holds billions in US Treasury debt? The trade and the debt create a balance. Trump would single handedly upset that balance. He would refuse import of Saudi Arabian oil. What would that do to several major international conglomerates of American origin? In other words, he doesn’t think through the ramifications of his lopsided notions.
The US should have learned the price of isolationism with the advent of Hitler in Europe. The US has exercised international leadership since World War II. Beyond abdicating our responsibility in international affairs, Trump would destabilize the entire planet through his ignorance.
He might be able to bluster his way to the Republican nomination, but he won’t be able to run American foreign policy that way. It comes down to the responsibility of the Republican Party to deal with the monster they created. As has been said, any way you cut it, the Republican Party is screwed. They might as well do the right thing.
Diversion
Whenever a serious, critical event occurs, demanding the wisdom and attention of the potential Presidential candidates, Trump diverts the news media. So, instead of addressing issues around terrorism in Europe and American approaches and responses to it, Trump has the media discussing the candidates' spouses. Of course. Because Trump does not know enough about the issues and their background to opine or make intelligent statements about the serious subject at hand. Meanwhile, Hillary made two detailed speeches about foreign policy and her approach to these critical issues.
Trump declares that Hillary doesn't have the "stamina" to be Commander-in-Chief. News anchors ask him follow up to explain his declaration and he repeats his statement. He never gives examples or evidence of his opinion. He just throws dirt because he doesn't know anything about the serious issues at hand.
Trump declares that Hillary doesn't have the "stamina" to be Commander-in-Chief. News anchors ask him follow up to explain his declaration and he repeats his statement. He never gives examples or evidence of his opinion. He just throws dirt because he doesn't know anything about the serious issues at hand.
OVER THE TOP
Following the tragedy in Brussels, the Republican candidates lost no time in trying to prove their strength. Cruz is willing to surveil Moslem neighborhoods in the United States; Trump is willing to use nuclear weapons against isis. Fortunately, NYC Police Commissioner, William Bratton told a press conference that "Trump doesn't know what the hell he's talking about" and NYC Mayor DiBlasio condemned Cruz's plan. Republican commentator said that what voters like about Trump is his unpredictability. Fortunately, voters liking Trump are less than half the minority (Republican) party.
If Trump becomes the Republican candidate, does that mean he will get regular security briefings? I dread the day. Not only wouldn't I trust him as President, I don't trust him to even get an official security briefing.
If Trump becomes the Republican candidate, does that mean he will get regular security briefings? I dread the day. Not only wouldn't I trust him as President, I don't trust him to even get an official security briefing.
Republican Obfuscation
Governor Snyder says "there was failure at all levels of government". His way to try to spread the blame for the lead pipe infestation of Flint, MI, and include the federal government. But the federal Environmental Protection Agency did not initiate the change in water source for Flint that results in lead poisoning of a entire city.
Here's the irony to my thinking. The Republicans are the bait and switch party. Same thing with the Garland nomination for the Supreme Court. Let the people decide, they say. The people did elect the President, including the responsibility to nominate for Supreme court vacancies.
The Republicans obfuscate and then claim that, it's the Democrats fault. And some portion of the electorate buys it. They are all idiots!
Here's the irony to my thinking. The Republicans are the bait and switch party. Same thing with the Garland nomination for the Supreme Court. Let the people decide, they say. The people did elect the President, including the responsibility to nominate for Supreme court vacancies.
The Republicans obfuscate and then claim that, it's the Democrats fault. And some portion of the electorate buys it. They are all idiots!
Let's Get Serious
I have dabbled in expressing my opinion of Donald Trump. Initially, I took a certain perverse pleasure in his unique brand of pseudo-conservatism and its ability expose the true nature mainstream conservatism as a combination of religious zealotry set on imposing its will on the country, economic oriented elitism set on reducing taxes at the expense of legitimate national objectives and yes, racism.
Trump has long since taken Presidential campaigning into embarrassing and frightening depths.
This began seven years ago with talk of President Obama’s place of birth, as a way to de-legitimize his Presidency. At the same time, McConnell and Boehner in Congress promised to block any legislative program that the President put forth. And Representative Joe Wilson felt emboldened to shout “You lie!” at the President when he addressed Congress. When Obama put forth much needed health insurance proposal, Sarah Palin decried “death panels”. And we can’t let Senator John McCain off the hook for selecting a pedantic idiot as his Vice Presidential candidate.
The Republican Party had one goal – to discredit the opposition party. They tapped into racism of white America to foster their own political ends. With President Clinton, the Republicans attacked his womanizing. Like he was the first President who ever had an affair. But Republicans are not the majority party, so they attack vulnerable personal issues and feed on the electorate’s selfishness and fears.
The Republican Party encouraged Trump’s “birthism” and he was on his way. Perhaps the GOP thought they could control Trump. The party could let him gin up their base by spewing his angry rhetoric and the GOP’s mainstream candidate would benefit from the groundwork that Trump laid. Whatever. The GOP promised to fight Obama without putting forth an alternative program and wonders why their supporters are seeking an alternative. And everyone laughed at Trump, either as being ignorant or a passing joke.
But Trump caught the imagination of voters who have legitimate concerns, like diminishing industrial jobs, terrorism, care for veterans, educational opportunities, health care, taxes, immigration. Trump has not offered a single realistic solution to any one of those problems. He has put forth nonsense – build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, ban Moslems from entering the US until “we figure out what is going on”.
By the way, haven't they figured out that immigration is our way to making Social Security and Medicare solvent?
He criticizes everyone, Republican and Democrat. Open political discourse is part of American history and a right assured by the Frist Amendment. But Trump doesn’t use political discourse. He attacks the essence of a person. It is never acceptable to publicly call the President of the United States as stupid or any of the other terms Trump uses. The Office of the President is entitled to being discussed respectfully. Disagree with policies, express frustration, but remember that the whole world is listening, including ISIS, Al Queda, Putin and North Korea. Even American allies around the world are expressing concerns. Allies never intervene in American elections but Trump has brought international concerns to a new level.
He lies, talks over his fellow candidates and media. He disavows his own lies when it suits him. He is smart, but in a cunning way. But he doesn’t know history, government, political science or even the US Constitution. As a resident of southern New Jersey, I know that his multiple bankruptcies have resulted in his small, local subcontractors going unpaid. He has built his empire on the many bankruptcies that stiffed the little local businesses. Not to mention his failed ventures, like Trump University, now being sued by New York State after taking between $35,000 and $40,000 from an individual student with no return. Now on to his third wife, a former model whom he brought to the United States.
Despite Trump's distaste for representatives of the media, the media has given Trump more free on air time than all the other candidates of both parties combined. Ah, the irony! Trump blocks press access while the press gives him free coverage. Initially, the press and pundits treated him like a joke. Now the press and pundits know that he isn't funny. He is dangerous and challenges the very foundation of the discourse of a democracy.
Despite Trump's distaste for representatives of the media, the media has given Trump more free on air time than all the other candidates of both parties combined. Ah, the irony! Trump blocks press access while the press gives him free coverage. Initially, the press and pundits treated him like a joke. Now the press and pundits know that he isn't funny. He is dangerous and challenges the very foundation of the discourse of a democracy.
For me, the saddest aspect of his candidacy is that it is supported by members of the electorate who are gullible, frightened, fearful, angry or uneducated, making up almost half the Republican voters. They are hoping for something better, just like the people who paid hard earned dollars (or took out loans) for Trump University. All they got was a picture with a cardboard cutout of Trump. And that is exactly what the US will get from him. But the stakes are much higher.
Finally, he foments violence. His disrespect and call for violence has no place in American discourse. Never. As a young family watches a debate, how can they explain his words to their children? Like when he talks of blood coming out of her wherever? In a televised debate! He now says Hilary can’t be President to handle negotiations because she doesn’t have “stamina”. Of course that is sexist. Not that he disagrees with her proposed policies and that he has concrete ideas of what to do, other than he promises that he knows how to negotiate. And that he will negotiate individual treaties with each country! Like that could ever happen. He would create trade policies with devastating effect.
The only difference between him and Hitler in the 1930’s is the US Constiution and its checks and balances. Thank you, Founding Fathers! You sure knew what you were doing. Well, maybe the Electoral College is a little dated, but the Constitution still a model for the rest of the world.
And the Republicans haven’t learned. They are vowing to ignore Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Please do! Wait till you see who President Hillary Clinton will nominate!
Now we hear rumblings of “Republicans for Hillary” and the mainstream GOP running a third party candidate. Any way you slice it, the Republican Party screwed itself. And they did it to themselves
Republicans for Hillary
It is a tragedy. American Republican politics looking like 1930's Germany. The campaign slogan, "Make American Great Again" really means "Make America White Again". Trump lies and then denies what he has said from one day to the next. He foments violence. He embarrasses the Untied States throughout world. Today I heard him call his rally his "show". The implications of that word, a show, says it all. It's theater, a performance. It follows that there is no real substance. Just inciting disrespect, hate and violence.
The dialogue should be about what to do about workers whose industrially based jobs are disappearing. Those workers are mostly white men. Trump taps into their very real fears. But Trump offers no solutions, only a phoney promise to return to a bygone era, and only hate.
Flint
How can I not weigh in on the disaster in Flint. My heart goes out to the families - powerless, without local government control - in the face of state level governmental EVIL. Did you know that the state referendum repealed the legislation that authorized state take over of local governments? And the Republican legislature and governor re-enacted the legislation - adding the provision that it could not be repealed? Children given disabilities caused by man, small businesses (like a beauty parlor) unable to function safely. All so the state didn't have to pay about $100 or $140 per day to treat the water. This so far beyond stupidity that it is truly EVIL. And that this horror has continued for over a year until journalism brought it to the attention of the broader public. This is why the USA has a free press. Thanks to Rachel Maddow who should earn a Pulitzer.
Outrageous
I almost wrote "shocking" but it is not shocking that Trump thinks he has had something to do with the release of Americans held in Iran. Trump is not stupid and so I believe he knows better. That makes him simply a charlatan, manipulating his message to push the buttons of an angry, ignorant portion of the populace. Why? Does he want to be President that much? He is smart enough to know that his promises cannot possibly be fulfilled. What about his views expressed in the past, such as supporting a woman's right to choose? Who is the real Trump? Where would he lead this country? That may be scarier than his hateful rhetoric.
Disgusting
Donald Trump's latest is that there is something we don't know about President Obama, something mysterious, malevolent and evil, that he secretly approves Muslim extremism. Trump is an intelligent man who probably knows that he, Trump, is telling lies and fomenting to undermine the leader of the United States of America. And maybe Trump thinks he's a smart ass. What we don't know is Trump's motivation to undermine the stability of the American government. Why?
Paris Tragedy & American Religious Freedom
Once again the horror of terrorism visits the civilized world. There have been many inspirational words and actions in the past week - condemning the barbarism, mourning the dead, paying for healing the injured, grappling with a response to the terror. The man whose wife was killed at the Bataclan would not give the terrorists the success of instilling fear in him or in changing his life, while he still grieved. I attended the Philadelphia Orchestra concert last week and their playing of the Le Marseillaise was both powerful and emotional.
But I cannot let the week go by without condemning the absurd notions of Republican candidates for the Presidency of the US who quake in their boots and attempt to fan the flames of fear in the American population. Have we learned nothing from World War II? The US was wrong to inter Japanese American citizens and was wrong to refuse refuge to thousands, maybe millions, of Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. It took the US how many decades to figure out that was wrong? So now, Republican Presidential candidates are attacking American citizens who happen to be Moslems. Donald Trump lies - there has never been a plan to bring 250,000 Syrian refugees into the US. Trump, who gets his foreign policy education from television, says, if President, he will bomb the s*** out of "them", whoever and however he would make that happen. Carson compares Moslems to rabid dogs. These men are not leaders. And worse, what Americans listen to their garbage?
The civilized world is in a really bad situation - much of it emanating from the stupid American war on Iraq. So now the world faces evil barbarism hiding under the false shield of one of the world's great religions. Maybe East and West together can figure out a strategy, not just to defeat the barbarism, but also how to stabilize the vacuum in the Middle East that allowed the barbarism to flourish. Clearly, idle threats, as the Republican candidates' knees knock in fear, and false accusations aren't the answer.
AH HA MOMENT!
The reason the nutty Dem/Rep Governors of NY/NJ decided - off the cuff - with no planning - in a moment of chaos to impose a quarantine is that they don't want to spend the money on the cost of ebola patients. Maybe this way, they will get federal dollars to underwrite their costs. This is all a game called "Let's Get Federal Dollars".
UNITED STATES OF NEW JERSEY & NEW YORK
Isolation with no planning for no reason. Where and how are these state governments going to implement this? What is the Constitutional basis for this? Doctors without Borders deserve much, much better than quarantine. No good deed goes unpunished. This is just increasing the sense of panic among Americans and potentially denying West Africans the help of doctors and other health care professionals who doante their time. A New Jerey citizen could arrive at Philadlephia International airport and go home but not if they land at Newark. Ridiculous. Makes me think about what the US did to Jjapanese Americans during World War II. Overreacting and denying constitutional rights.
"HYPOCRACY IS NOT A CONSTRAINT"
Quoting Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (Dem, NY) regaring House of Representatives Republicans during their hearing on ebola. The same legislators who proclaim that they aren't scientists when it comes to climate change, are now pontificating on their knowledge and expertise of how to treat ebola. The same legislators who would not vote on approving a Surgeon General for the US. These Republicans will never miss an opportunity to politicize a serious public health issue. Ted Cruz who called it an "epidemic" here when there were 3 identified cases and criticized the CDC for the mess at Texas Health Presbyterian - when it's his own home state's failure! Give me a break!
POLICE VIOLENCE
Associated Press quoted President Obama, speaking at the Black Congressional Caucus Foundation, saying that the widespread mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed by the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Missouri exists in too many other communities and is having a corrosive effect on the nation, particularly on its children. He blames the feeling of wariness on persistent racial disparities in the administration of justice. Obama said these misgivings only serve to harm communities that are most in need of effective law enforcement.
This is so true. As a white female senior citizen, I don't trust police - and I'm no radical - just a law abiding citizen - I don't use drugs and I do stop at stop signs. What does that say about law enforcement in this country? Ferguson is extreme but not that different from so many towns transitioning from all white to integrated. And those wrist bands! saying "I am Darren Wilson". That's insane. And it takes the US Department of Justice to have to tell them that it's inflammatory?
ISIL
A Caliphate in the Middle East, starating in the lands of Syria and Iraq. Brutal, vicious, I'm-the-only-one-who-is-right-good-deserving-choose your own metaphor. Slaughter and inhumanity hiding behind a false conception of one of the world's great religions. What makes them different than the Nazis? Nothing that I can see. I opposed the second invasion of Iraq - you never know what direction war will take. Events can't always be predicted or controlled. Iraq II confirmed that. That said, it is better to fight a true scourge before it gains great power. Sound familiar?
How can one comprehend or explain pure evil? What makes humans behave like that?
SUCH A TRAGEDY
As I listened to the Ferguson police chief on Friday when he announced the details of the covnenience store roberry, my heart sank. Just how stupid could he be! Is he stupid-dense-bigotted or just what that led him to fan the flames? The citizenry had every right to be upset. When he was advised not to do it!!! The man needs to be fired or resign. And now a private autopsy has been revealed, but still no official autopsy has been rleeased. The only person getting protction is Darren Wilson, the officer who shot Michael Brown. The prosecutor says it could take "months" before grand jury takes action.
Now there are counter protests, with a bunch of (from what I saw in pictures) whtie people supporting Darren Wilson.
What is the matter with these people?
FERGUSON MO
Police have created one frighening tenderbox. The situation last night looked like a military show of force. Regarding lst night, whether there was a provcative act(s) by protesters, or not, or how many alledged act(s) will never be known because the police will say there was such an act in any case to jsutify an unbelievable level of force that they used. Watching msnbc last night, it appeared that tear gas continued to be lobbed after the protesters dispersed. But none of that matters. Before the tear gas and rubber bullets, the protesters had rifles aimed at them. But before that, the police and government have not publicly addressed the death of Michael Brown beyond putting the officer on desk duty. Last I heard, the officer hasn't been identified and the autopsy hasn't been released. That creates the perfect circumstance for legitimate protest. The only responce from the authorities has been to rachet up the antagonisms. Clearly these authorities aren't trying to reconcile, they are trying to put down. This is a text book case of what police and government should not do. Not publicly dealing with the officer, alledgedly to keep the officer safe, and not dealing publicly with the cirumstance of the incident invites trouble. The police are responsible and it's amazing that no one got killed last night.
ROBIN WILLIAMS
He was a great human being. He brought so many of us such joy and comfort. It hurts to find out that he was in emotional pain and that the pain became so unbearable that he killed himself, that the knowledge of leaving his loving family couldn't overcome the degree of pain he felt. Rest in Peace. Heaven is a happier place with Robin there.
MEANING OF WORLD WAR II FOR TODAY
My recent interest in World War II was sparked by discovering that my uncle participated in the bitterly fought Battle of the Bulge. I had recently reorganized my library and thrown out one of my college history books, A Study in Tyranny by Alan Bullock about adolph hitler. I wasn't going to read that garbage again, I thought at the time. I had also watched the television miniseries, Winds of War and War and Remembrance on dvd's from the local library. I had remembered World War II from 20th certury history class as a distant event in the past - before my birth for sure. Only now, decades later, I realized it wasn't so distant. The Nuremberg Trails took place around the time of my birth. My baptism had to be delayed, awaiting the return of my potential godfather, still serving in post-war Europe. On my first trip to London, I remember seeing buildings damaged during the Blitz and in then named Leningrad, bullet holes in the spectacular cathedral, Church of the Blood. No, World War II wasn't so long ago. And I became interested in the events presented in the two miniseries.
I had not forgotten my past reading: The Counterfeit Traitor (Alexander Klein), Is Paris Burning? (Collins and Lapierre), Leningrad Diary (Vera Inber) and most especially Armagedden (Leon Uris).
So far, my recent reading has included:
The Story of the Second World war (Katherine Savage)
The Origins of the Second World War (AJP Taylor)
Crusade in Europe (Dwight D Eisenhower)
Operation Torch (William B Breuer)
Nuremberg Trials
Russia at War 1941-1945 (Alexander Werth)
While 6 Million Died (Arthur Morse)
then I needed to get the Alan Bullock book from the library
and moved on to
Ike (Michael Korda)
Eisenhower (Carlo D'Este)
Monument Men (Robert Edsel) and the George Clooney film
The more I read, the more I realize that world affairs today are still dictated by World War II. Not just Israel and the Middle East and the borders and dynamics of Eastern Europe, but also the US in its position and responsibility in the world today. Remember that before Pearl Harbor the US couldn't be dragged into that "European" war!
And then I discovered that Lincoln Kirstein was a "Monuments Man"! Wow! I knew Kirstein as the moving force that brought ballet to the US in the form of George Balanchine and Ballet Society, predecessor of New York City Ballet. But I digress.
I suppose I keep reading because I repeat the question, "How could this happen???" Hitler, the genocide, the unbelievably vicious war that words can't describe. I just read that when Geroge Patton, the toughest of the tough, first saw a centration camp, Dachau, I think, he vomited.
How did Hitler come to power? How did he get people to follow him? Who were those hideous soulless so-called humans who conspired with him? That brings us to the whole question of evil in the world. I leave that for another discussion. Destabilize government and play upon the prejudices of citizens. Sound familiar?
It seems a miracle that the Allies joined together and successfully defeated the madman. Imagine - not defeating that madman could have easily brought forth a new Dark Age as in the Middle Ages. And think about Eisenhower - he was a miracle too - he managed to lead Montgomery, Patton, Bradley, Churchill, DeGaulle, and even, Roosevelt and Stalin. I watched a recent special on the 70th anniversary of D-Day and never once was Ike's name mentioned. How ignorant. Victory of the Allies over the Axis was by means assured. We must remember that democracy and freedom are, and remain, fragile.
Meanwhile I also follow US politics. Here we are today. A Congress that has been unable to act and a political party with no platform other than voter identification, abortion restriction and defeating the party in power. Politicians who don't believe in government! And opposition party criticism doesn't stop at our borders - the opposition undermines the Presdient and even the most basic evidence of our prestige overseas. They won't even approve ambassadors for dozens of countries. The opposition party shut the government down, obsentibly because of the national debt. But we all know that, when the Republican Party is the opposition party, their methodology is to undermine the party in power, unlike the Democraactic Party. The basic principle of democracy, compromise, is not in the Republican Party's vocabulary. President Clinton was impeached for a petty lie. Democrats are the more responsibe than that. If any President deserved impeachment it was George W Bush for the weapons of mass destruction lie. Now that's a Big Lie! And the Republicans say that no events of terorism happened on our soil during their watch. Duh! Appaprently 9-11 doesn't count? But Democrats are about making government work, not destruction.
Now the Republicans need to find a vulnerability for Presdient Obama. Their publicly avowed aim is destroying his presidency. And they are prepared to undermine the country and the principles of our democracy to do it. I remember when increasing voter registration and voting was encouraged. More citizens should vote! Not anymore. Republicans don't want more people voting because their objective is power to the Republican Party. Just ask the Pennsylvania legislator. But in truth, voter identification is a solution in need of a problem. Destabilize government and play upon the prejudices of citizens. Sound familiar? Of course, it is a question of degree, physical violence versus verbal assults.
Remember Hitler, World War II and the Holocaust. We need to cultivate and cherish our democracy. Respect and Compromise. Remember.
POLICE VIOLENCE
Once again, an unarmed black man was shot to death by the police. In Ferguson, MO, this time. What is it with our police? I had an experience with our local police recently. The water company was ripping up our residential street and I thought I had parked far enough away from the action. Suddenly, a cop pounded on my door. When I opened my door, the cop threw open my storm door, forcing me to grab for my dog. He demanded that I move my car. After days and days of water company action without any information to residents, I wasn't too pleased. So I slammed my door shut. The cop pounded on my door again, I opened my door and he, again, threw open my storm door, as I again grabbed for my dog, he yelled, angrily, "Don't you slam your door on me!" I complained about this story to my neighbor and she said, "That's nothing!" She told me how a cop had walked into another neighbor's house, got all the way into the son's bedroom, at 7am on Saturday morning!
I decided that these two events warranted a complaint letter to the local mayor. I recieved a prompt reply that my complaint would be investigated and I would recieve a reply in thirty days. I received a reply from the police chief around the thirtieth day informing me that my complaint was investigated and it was determined that the cop did nothing wrong. No one spoke to me about my letter and, in my complaint letter, I didn't include the name of the neighbor whose house had been entered. That's an investigation?
Now, if a suburban cop treats an older white woman in her own home like that, what does that say about police? That cop had less control of his anger than I had of mine. And what does that say about investigative procedures? There was no investigation, beyond the cops, of his walking into someone's home uninvited. I did ask the neighbors involved if they were ever questioned. I guess it was considered okay since their door wasn't locked.
And African Americans get infinitely less justice. In Ferguson MO, why did a cop escalate a meaningless non-problem into a deadly confrontation? Who cares if someone is walking in the street?
My only consolation is that there is now a record of complaint against this cop who walked into someone's house and yelled at me at my own house. When he stops someone on the highway that runs through our town and that becomes an out of control incident, there will be a record of his previous behavior. If that matters.
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