I want to touch base on a few different fronts today, rather than my usual focus on one subject. Some of the items are regarding adjustments for going forward with this blog and others in reference to what I believe we need to watch for in the upcoming administration.
I will still be posting every day. Due to advice from a trusted adviser, my son, I will not be sending out a notification for each day's posting. He suggested that I may very well be alienating readers (pissing them off) rather than expanding the readership. In light of this good advice, I plan to make one notification per week, on Sundays. Each Sunday's email will list the titles of the past week's posts from Monday up to and including the Sunday that the email is sent on. Of course I want to make 'friends', not 'enemies'. The only request I have of you, the reader, is to help increase the readership each week, by sharing this blog with your friends, and asking your friends to do the same. I will continue to place the title of each post on my Facebook page along with the address, on a daily basis. I have also decided to stop tweeting, but will continue to monitor twitter to know what the idiot has to say, with the full understanding that he uses it to distract from what he is really doing.
This will be my last post of 2016. I will resume posting on Monday 1/2/2017.
Now for the major house keeping. Throughout the over fifty posts I have already made to this blog, I have identified major issues that need to be watched by all of us. We are the watch dogs. We need to keep our eyes and ears alert for the following concerns, but not limited to these concerns. We need to use our noses and sniff out bad smelling shit.
- steve bannon - We must, I repeat must watch bannon at all times. He may be a plant, to have us keep our eyes on him while the idiot does other things, but bannon is way to dangerous to not be watched. We must continually write news outlets to demand and remind them to assign a dedicated resource to bannon. If the press is looking for profit with exciting stories, bannon fills that bill.
- Congress - We must ramp up the quantity of communications that all representatives receive. For the most part, members of the House and the Senate only pay attention to their constituents, so deluge your Representative and Senators with phone calls, emails and most importantly hard copy mail. It is my understanding that Congressional representatives pay the greatest attention to hard copy mail. They appreciate that the author is truly concerned because it is the most time consuming form of communication, other than scheduling a meeting with your Rep or Senator. If you are concerned about any legislation, especially that which trump proposes, speak up loud and speak up often.
- Keep an eye on the following: the environment, women's issues, human rights issues, healthcare issues, immigration issues, nuclear weapons issues, clean power issues, dirty power issues, attempts at dismantling important agencies, trump's conflict of interest issues, nepotism issues, any illegal activity that can be cited for the purpose of impeaching trump. I'm sure there are other issues, that I am not seeing at this moment, but as a friend of mine always says to me "it's a good start"
We are our country and our government. Do not allow anyone to take it away from us. When there is an intruder, do what watch dogs do; bark real loud and if necessary, find some way to bite.
Wishing all of you a Happy New Year. We can make 2017 a good year!
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Nepotism
(a)For the purpose of this section—
You know......I really do not need to write another word here, but I will anyway. AGAIN, trump believes he can flaunt the law. ivanca trump and her husband, jared kushner, cannot work in the White House, period. It is specifically prohibited by the above referenced federal statute. Per this statute, trump cannot hire them in any official capacity, by any means. In other words, he cannot even nominate them to a position and then have them approved by Congress. I can read, you can read, the members of Congress can read, trump.......not so sure. I do not need to give reasons why I find the idea of these two people, daughter and son-in-law, serving in the White House for the head admin a repulsive idea. The only ground that I need to stand on is the law.
(1)“agency” means—
(2)
“public official” means an officer (including the President and a Member of Congress)
(3)
“relative” means, with respect to a public official, an individual who is related to the public official as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.
(b)
A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official. An individual may not be appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a civilian position in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who is a relative of the individual.
We, the people must be proactive. We must write to our representatives in Congress and the Justice Department. These two people working in the White House is flat out illegal.
As was pointed out in an Op-Ed in the New York Times this morning (a happy coincidence because I started this posting last night) written by Norman Eisen and Richard W. Painter, If trump chose to disregard the law and 'employ' these two people as advisers in an unofficial way, a whole different set of issues would arise. If trump does not officially appoint these two to official positions, but gives them free access to the the West Wing of the White House, they would have the ability to instruct administration staff, while not having been approved by our representatives. They would skirt the legal necessity to have to disclose taxes and business dealings so that conflicts of interest could be identified and removed. They would use an 'end run' to avoid recusing themselves from issues that involve their business holdings with conflicts of interest. They would be privy to info that would be "dangerously close to liability for insider trading". As far as I'm concerned, Eisen and Painter are hedging their bet as lawyers often do. If ivanca trump and kushner have access to the highest levels of secured information that they will gain as uncontrolled opperatives in the White House, they will in fact be in violation of inside trading laws, currently on the books. They won't be dangerously close, all three of these people will be squarely over the legal line; trump, his daughter and her husband.
In order to demonstrate the legitimacy of the authors of the referenced Op-Ed, please see their credentials, below and note that Eisen worked for The Obama White House and Painter worked for the G.W. Bush White House:
Norman Eisen, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2009 to 2011. Richard W. Painter, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, was the chief White House ethics lawyer from 2005 to 2007.
The last point that I will put forward is that without official positions, i. trump and j. kushner have no legal standing to be given the highest level of security clearance, as trump has requested for them. In fact they have no right to any level of security clearance. Without security clearance, all three would be squarely breaking the law by discussing sensitive security issues. This would be especially true for kushner, who trump wants in the West Wing of the White House to advise trump on foreign policy issues.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Grey Scale
12/28 -
Last night was my last night at my brothers house in the D.C. metro area. We had friends over and a nice family and friends dinner for thirteen. After dinner we settled into a conversation, around the dining room table, about what we all thought the upcoming government was going to end up looking like. As many Americans do, there were many of us around the table that saw the next administration in black or white terms, along with the Republican Congress. I was one of those voices, although not the Congress as much as the future administration. I still do not see the trump administration in any other way, other than the extremes of black or white.
My sister in-law is, I have found over the past thirty years, a very astute political observer and much of what she has foreseen as the future of our country's political structure has come to pass. For instance, in the 1980's, she told me that what we now refer to as the 'Christian right' was going to grow to be a political power that needed to be paid attention to. At the time I 'boo hooed' her and believed she was silly. Well we all know how that has played out. Last night she rightfully pointed out that nothing is black or white (or at least very little). And I immediately recognized, within myself, that this was a basic tenet that I live by. I often tell people that say words like 'never' or 'always' that superlatives are rarely true. So, given my own core beliefs, my sister in-law's history with understanding Washington, D.C. and her admonition that rarely are things either black or white, I stepped back.
I still believe that trump and steve bannon, as well as a few other's that will be appointed to cabinet positions are characters that can be seen in stark black and white terms, with relation to their opinions on critical issues. Characters, I believe, is an apt description for these people. Certainly trump and bannon lack any complexity as human beings, as far as I'm concerned. If they have well rounded and developed adult personalities, I see no evidence of it. The others that I referred to, I really do not know enough about them to make that sort of decision.
I also feel that the women and men that comprise the Senate are reasonable people. Even Mitch McConnell, who I do not hold much respect for, has shown himself to not be a rubber stamp for trump (at least on some issues), but time will tell. The Senate may very well be a very strong ally in the fight to hold trump and bannon in check. I am not forgetting about pence, who will preside over the Senate, but whose only true powers will be to be a tie breaking vote and of course to attempt to keep Republicans in line on any given vote. pence is a person I believe to be a great threat to individual liberty, especially women's liberties.
The House of Representatives as a whole, again, has decent men and women. There are smaller groups that will attempt to wreak havoc and therefore the House is a less dependable body. So, the Senate will need to be a check on both the admin and the House.
We, Americans of decent moral values, whether Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, rich or poor need to be pragmatic. We need to find common ground and stand on that turf to block bannon and trump when they attempt to act in immoral ways. That pragmatism depends on not seeing each other with rigid labels, but recognizing each other as allies against immorality. Not seeing each other as black or white characters. Recognize the 'grey scale', find the common ground, use it to keep our country safe and to remain the United States of America.
Last night was my last night at my brothers house in the D.C. metro area. We had friends over and a nice family and friends dinner for thirteen. After dinner we settled into a conversation, around the dining room table, about what we all thought the upcoming government was going to end up looking like. As many Americans do, there were many of us around the table that saw the next administration in black or white terms, along with the Republican Congress. I was one of those voices, although not the Congress as much as the future administration. I still do not see the trump administration in any other way, other than the extremes of black or white.
My sister in-law is, I have found over the past thirty years, a very astute political observer and much of what she has foreseen as the future of our country's political structure has come to pass. For instance, in the 1980's, she told me that what we now refer to as the 'Christian right' was going to grow to be a political power that needed to be paid attention to. At the time I 'boo hooed' her and believed she was silly. Well we all know how that has played out. Last night she rightfully pointed out that nothing is black or white (or at least very little). And I immediately recognized, within myself, that this was a basic tenet that I live by. I often tell people that say words like 'never' or 'always' that superlatives are rarely true. So, given my own core beliefs, my sister in-law's history with understanding Washington, D.C. and her admonition that rarely are things either black or white, I stepped back.
I still believe that trump and steve bannon, as well as a few other's that will be appointed to cabinet positions are characters that can be seen in stark black and white terms, with relation to their opinions on critical issues. Characters, I believe, is an apt description for these people. Certainly trump and bannon lack any complexity as human beings, as far as I'm concerned. If they have well rounded and developed adult personalities, I see no evidence of it. The others that I referred to, I really do not know enough about them to make that sort of decision.
I also feel that the women and men that comprise the Senate are reasonable people. Even Mitch McConnell, who I do not hold much respect for, has shown himself to not be a rubber stamp for trump (at least on some issues), but time will tell. The Senate may very well be a very strong ally in the fight to hold trump and bannon in check. I am not forgetting about pence, who will preside over the Senate, but whose only true powers will be to be a tie breaking vote and of course to attempt to keep Republicans in line on any given vote. pence is a person I believe to be a great threat to individual liberty, especially women's liberties.
The House of Representatives as a whole, again, has decent men and women. There are smaller groups that will attempt to wreak havoc and therefore the House is a less dependable body. So, the Senate will need to be a check on both the admin and the House.
We, Americans of decent moral values, whether Democrats, Republicans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, rich or poor need to be pragmatic. We need to find common ground and stand on that turf to block bannon and trump when they attempt to act in immoral ways. That pragmatism depends on not seeing each other with rigid labels, but recognizing each other as allies against immorality. Not seeing each other as black or white characters. Recognize the 'grey scale', find the common ground, use it to keep our country safe and to remain the United States of America.
Opulence
12/27 -
I live in Pennsylvania, but am down in the D.C. metro area with my brother, his wife and family for Christmas. It is truly joyful to be here, especially their granddaughters who are eight and three. They are unbelievably well behaved girls. Not the stereotypical loud and crazy kids running around. They are able to occupy themselves for hours at a time with thoughtful activities.
In the powder room, there is a basket of magazines, a fairly typical feature in many homes. When looking through these publications while visiting the 'facility', I came across the 'Luxury Issue' of The Washington Post Magazine. Please excuse me for being indelicate, but it was a good thing I was in the bathroom, because I wanted to puke. The level of opulence, sheer material wealth, and apparent pride in these trappings was, to me, foul and disgusting. Photos of women in clothing that is obviously extremely costly and bedecked with the latest jewelry. At least fifty percent of the magazines pages are ads for 'everything' from "the perfect wedding" to "The Center for Cosmetic Surgery" to cognac, jewelry, clothes, minks, Rolls Royces, McLarens, Lamborghinis and so on. The photos are of people that are obviously privileged beyond what the vast majority of people on this planet will ever even catch a whiff of.
Although everything about this 'Luxury Issue' nauseated me, I came to understand that it was what this issue represents that offended me, not individuals with vast sums of money. For the most part, I do not begrudge those that are wealthy, their wealth. For the most part. What sticks in my 'crawl' is the apparent lack of compassion that I see represented and reflected. People at grand events, where hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent to stage the event, and outside of the the venue hundreds, maybe even thousands of people homeless on the streets, struggling to survive day to day. I've no doubt that the individuals that I see pictured donate large sums of money to individual charities, and I am thankful.
What I am writing about is on a much larger scale than wealthy people contributing to charitable organizations. I'm speaking to our society, where homeless people do not have a decent place to live. I'm speaking to millions that cannot afford health care. especially the health insurance issue. What do health insurance companies mean when they say they are loosing money by being required to insure those that cannot afford to be insured? These companies are still collecting money from these very same people through the 'market places' that have been set up by The Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA), just not what they charge those that can afford to pay the 'normal' fee. Are these companies still not showing a profit? Of course they are. Are they not meeting the profit projections they want to put in their ledgers? Maybe not. 'Tough shit'.
While working on this post, I was sitting at the dining room table with my niece, who was, as chance would have it, applying for health insurance through the 'market place'. Last year she paid $150 per month, now she will need to pay $300 per month. Is this a failing of the AHCA? If so, it is only because in order to get uninsured people insured, to get any kind of legislation passed, the insurance industry lobbied their way into maintaining control over the system. It is not the "government" that raised the monthly fee for those least able to pay, it is the insurance industry.
In an earlier posting titled on 11/22, I addressed the health care issue and a possible alternative solution. I urge all of you to read this post, even if you have already read it. I believe the case made in the earlier post will make more sense in light of what is written above.
I live in Pennsylvania, but am down in the D.C. metro area with my brother, his wife and family for Christmas. It is truly joyful to be here, especially their granddaughters who are eight and three. They are unbelievably well behaved girls. Not the stereotypical loud and crazy kids running around. They are able to occupy themselves for hours at a time with thoughtful activities.
In the powder room, there is a basket of magazines, a fairly typical feature in many homes. When looking through these publications while visiting the 'facility', I came across the 'Luxury Issue' of The Washington Post Magazine. Please excuse me for being indelicate, but it was a good thing I was in the bathroom, because I wanted to puke. The level of opulence, sheer material wealth, and apparent pride in these trappings was, to me, foul and disgusting. Photos of women in clothing that is obviously extremely costly and bedecked with the latest jewelry. At least fifty percent of the magazines pages are ads for 'everything' from "the perfect wedding" to "The Center for Cosmetic Surgery" to cognac, jewelry, clothes, minks, Rolls Royces, McLarens, Lamborghinis and so on. The photos are of people that are obviously privileged beyond what the vast majority of people on this planet will ever even catch a whiff of.
Although everything about this 'Luxury Issue' nauseated me, I came to understand that it was what this issue represents that offended me, not individuals with vast sums of money. For the most part, I do not begrudge those that are wealthy, their wealth. For the most part. What sticks in my 'crawl' is the apparent lack of compassion that I see represented and reflected. People at grand events, where hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent to stage the event, and outside of the the venue hundreds, maybe even thousands of people homeless on the streets, struggling to survive day to day. I've no doubt that the individuals that I see pictured donate large sums of money to individual charities, and I am thankful.
What I am writing about is on a much larger scale than wealthy people contributing to charitable organizations. I'm speaking to our society, where homeless people do not have a decent place to live. I'm speaking to millions that cannot afford health care. especially the health insurance issue. What do health insurance companies mean when they say they are loosing money by being required to insure those that cannot afford to be insured? These companies are still collecting money from these very same people through the 'market places' that have been set up by The Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA), just not what they charge those that can afford to pay the 'normal' fee. Are these companies still not showing a profit? Of course they are. Are they not meeting the profit projections they want to put in their ledgers? Maybe not. 'Tough shit'.
While working on this post, I was sitting at the dining room table with my niece, who was, as chance would have it, applying for health insurance through the 'market place'. Last year she paid $150 per month, now she will need to pay $300 per month. Is this a failing of the AHCA? If so, it is only because in order to get uninsured people insured, to get any kind of legislation passed, the insurance industry lobbied their way into maintaining control over the system. It is not the "government" that raised the monthly fee for those least able to pay, it is the insurance industry.
In an earlier posting titled on 11/22, I addressed the health care issue and a possible alternative solution. I urge all of you to read this post, even if you have already read it. I believe the case made in the earlier post will make more sense in light of what is written above.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
A World for all People
Dear Readers,
Please forgive me for not posting with the consistency that you are used to. I am on vacation and have been doing holiday 'things' with my family. I will be posting every day, but it may be late or first thing the next morning (like the post below). Please know that the regularity will return after the first of the year.
With Thanks for your understanding,
Bill
Post for 12/26 -
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone. What an amazing country we live in, where we have the freedom to practice any religion we please, or not practice a religion at all for that matter, without repercussions from a governing body. In many countries around the world, this is simply not possible. In those countries people are coerced into religious compliance for fear of unwanted and unpleasant consequences from governments. Morality can not be legislated, but it certainly helps to hold basic human nature in check.
Humans, the world over, have an innate drive to have prejudices against other humans that do not think as they do. Jews don't trust Muslims. Christians don't like Jews and don't trust Muslims. Muslims don't like or trust Jews and Christians. In our politically correct world, these are statements that we find repugnant and use a broad brush to paint the picture. Although I know that no group is monolithic and no individual can be judged due to the 'group' they 'belong' to, I believe these statements basically hold true. It is the human condition. Don't ask me why, I don't know. But.......looking at history, it seems undeniable.
We are certainly not immune in our country, but we have a circuit breaker, a firewall. It does not block the issue in the all of the private sector, but it does prevent the issue from occurring in government and to some extent in the private sector. For instance, it is illegal to use discrimination in any way, including religion, to discriminate in hiring practices. In other countries this would not be an issue for an employer.
I believe we have entered into another era of 'Crusades'. I believe that historians, from the longer view, will see behavior in many areas around the world in the same way that we now view the Crusades of the dark and middle ages. Both Christians and Muslims have a greater capability to prosecute such a conflict, to do so with greater ferocity and to conduct such a war on a world wide basis. Jews are not above such a conflict and have most likely been integral in setting up these 'bad' feelings. All parties feel as though they are the offended group and feel fully justified in what amounts to hate. Go ask many Jews how they feel about Muslims and the answer will be one of distrust and hate. Ask Many Muslims how the feel about Jews....... distrust and hate. Members of both groups will give you logical and salient reasons. Now that a very small group of terrorists (relative to the religious group that they claim to represent) has committed acts of terrorism in both the U.S. and in Europe, just ask many 'Christians' in the U.S. how they feel about Muslims. You guessed it, distrust and hate. They may not even try to mask the hatred with cloaked language.
So......what to do? I do not claim to have the answer. If anyone had the answer the world would be a better, less violent place now. I believe our job, in this country and across the world is to start to define that path for our children and future generations. The U.S. Constitution started us down that road, but we have stalled and even taken a few steps backwards. What we need, to move forward again, are leaders in our country and around our globe to espouse peace, tolerance and a place for all people on our planet. The fact that this is an idealistic view is not lost on me. Our current reality is evident and unfortunately, I do not see anyone in current leadership positions that have an interest in supporting this message. Our job is to place pressure on our leaders, with all the peaceful means we can think of, to be more idealistic and make that the new reality.
Please forgive me for not posting with the consistency that you are used to. I am on vacation and have been doing holiday 'things' with my family. I will be posting every day, but it may be late or first thing the next morning (like the post below). Please know that the regularity will return after the first of the year.
With Thanks for your understanding,
Bill
Post for 12/26 -
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone. What an amazing country we live in, where we have the freedom to practice any religion we please, or not practice a religion at all for that matter, without repercussions from a governing body. In many countries around the world, this is simply not possible. In those countries people are coerced into religious compliance for fear of unwanted and unpleasant consequences from governments. Morality can not be legislated, but it certainly helps to hold basic human nature in check.
Humans, the world over, have an innate drive to have prejudices against other humans that do not think as they do. Jews don't trust Muslims. Christians don't like Jews and don't trust Muslims. Muslims don't like or trust Jews and Christians. In our politically correct world, these are statements that we find repugnant and use a broad brush to paint the picture. Although I know that no group is monolithic and no individual can be judged due to the 'group' they 'belong' to, I believe these statements basically hold true. It is the human condition. Don't ask me why, I don't know. But.......looking at history, it seems undeniable.
We are certainly not immune in our country, but we have a circuit breaker, a firewall. It does not block the issue in the all of the private sector, but it does prevent the issue from occurring in government and to some extent in the private sector. For instance, it is illegal to use discrimination in any way, including religion, to discriminate in hiring practices. In other countries this would not be an issue for an employer.
I believe we have entered into another era of 'Crusades'. I believe that historians, from the longer view, will see behavior in many areas around the world in the same way that we now view the Crusades of the dark and middle ages. Both Christians and Muslims have a greater capability to prosecute such a conflict, to do so with greater ferocity and to conduct such a war on a world wide basis. Jews are not above such a conflict and have most likely been integral in setting up these 'bad' feelings. All parties feel as though they are the offended group and feel fully justified in what amounts to hate. Go ask many Jews how they feel about Muslims and the answer will be one of distrust and hate. Ask Many Muslims how the feel about Jews....... distrust and hate. Members of both groups will give you logical and salient reasons. Now that a very small group of terrorists (relative to the religious group that they claim to represent) has committed acts of terrorism in both the U.S. and in Europe, just ask many 'Christians' in the U.S. how they feel about Muslims. You guessed it, distrust and hate. They may not even try to mask the hatred with cloaked language.
So......what to do? I do not claim to have the answer. If anyone had the answer the world would be a better, less violent place now. I believe our job, in this country and across the world is to start to define that path for our children and future generations. The U.S. Constitution started us down that road, but we have stalled and even taken a few steps backwards. What we need, to move forward again, are leaders in our country and around our globe to espouse peace, tolerance and a place for all people on our planet. The fact that this is an idealistic view is not lost on me. Our current reality is evident and unfortunately, I do not see anyone in current leadership positions that have an interest in supporting this message. Our job is to place pressure on our leaders, with all the peaceful means we can think of, to be more idealistic and make that the new reality.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
BOOOOOOOM!
12/22/16 :
vlad putim - "Moscow needs to “strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, [developing arms that can avoid missile defense systems].
The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes (author's note, good leadership (not), trump needs to come to his senses)
12/23/16:
BREAKING: Trump to #morningjoe on the nukes tweet: 'Let it be an arms race'
“We will outmatch them at every pass,” per MSNB
'Trump meant that he won’t allow other countries to expand their nuclear capabilities.', per sean spicer, future White House press secretary, in a television interview, per a Washington Post article on the afternoon of 12/23.
What the hell is going on? A nuclear arms race?!? Are these two guys idiots? I am not any kind of expert on nuclear arms or on military strategy. And you know what, I don't need to be. Here's some simple numbers. The U.S. currently has 2,150 operational and deployed nuclear weapons. There are another 2,500 in 'reserve storage' and 3,000 set to be disarmed. But lets just talk about the 2,150 that are operational and deployed. Our country has various classes of 'nukes' with varying strengths; 100 kilotons, 150 kilotons, 340 kilotons, 450 kilotons and 1.2 megatons. The nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima had a strength of approximately 15 kilotons and the weapon dropped on Nagasaki was between 18 and 23 kilotons. You do the math. How much destructive power do we need?
trump tweeted that he wants to "strengthen and expand our nuclear capability". I'll repeat the two key words, "strengthen and expand". I'm at a loss for words.
trump tweets and then his his 'team' scrambles to soften his words. Even if this is an intended strategy to keep other nations off balance (which I do not believe is the case), it is a dangerous and adolescent game. What I do believe we have here is a reactionary ass that can't keep his 'mouth' shut. Twitter is no way to conduct foreign policy, or domestic policy for that matter. putin, for his part, is proving that he understands trump; he can and will manipulate trump.
Hopefully, trump's nominee to oversee the Pentagon, Retired Marine General james mattis, will be able to assert his views, which he revealed in testimony last year in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. mattis noted that it was time to ask whether it was “time to reduce the triad to a dyad,” suggesting that it may be time to abandon America's ICBMs (inter continental ballistic missiles). he further pointed out that to do so could reduce the "false alarm danger" (setting off a nuclear war by accident).
Just remember, trump ....."know[s] more.......than the generals do, believe [him]”. He was talking about ISIS when he made this statement, but it sure sounds like he thinks the same way with reference to nuclear arms.
No Bueno!
he
Friday, December 23, 2016
At the Car Wash
The first thing I want to note is, I'm sorry for being so late with today's post. It is 9:35 pm as I sit down to write today. This is not the norm, but I had family obligations I needed to take care of today, i.e. getting ready for Christmas.
A second piece of house keeping, there will be no post on Sunday, Christmas day.
Today, while driving north on PA route 309, into Quakertown, PA, I was stopped in a line of traffic right next to a car wash. It was busy, what with it being a nice day and people wanting to get their cars spruced up for Christmas day. There were all sorts of nice looking vehicles, all shined up, with chrome wheels. All where expensive cars & pick up trucks. You know, $35,000 being the least expensive. The pick up trucks were obviously not really working trucks, they were too pretty. I bet you know what I'm leading up to, don't ya. All of the employees were Hispanic. I'm not profiling, It was clearly the case. Now don't worry, I'm not going nazi on you. In an earlier post I noted that many immigrants take on jobs that that we want done, but we Americans are simply not going to do them. Oh, I guess it's OK to have Hispanics in our country at that moment, when 'you' want your car washed, or when you want your lawn mowed, or when you want your garden tended, or when you want your crops picked, or when you the restaurant owner needs a dishwasher, or when you need your house cleaned, or when you the hotel owner needs maids to clean the rooms. Sorry, just a little morality rant.
I work as a help desk technician to help customers resolve issues with their computers used for sales in fast food restaurants. A large portion of the customers that I help are Spanish speakers, all around the country. It seems to me, though, that the highest concentration is in the southern states of our country. Funny, these are the states where people opposed to immigration are the loudest about the subject. So, why do you think I don't hear more white American voices, huh? That's not to say that I don't hear some, but the majority of the voices that I hear are not white Americans. They are Hispanic voices, Indian (from the country of India) voices, Middle Eastern voices, Black American voices. Gettin' the picture. Marginalized voices.
So, what's all this manure about we don't want immigrants in our country. We all want clean cars, but many of us are too damn lazy to wash them ourselves, and we sure as hell aren't workin' at the car wash unless the owner is willing to pay us a hell of a lot more than what he or she pays the current employees, and 'we' sure as hell aren't going to pay what would be necessary for the owner to make even a small profit if she or he had to pay white Americans to do the job. Sure we want immigrants in our country. We want them to do the jobs that we're simply not going to do, but that we want done.
A friend of mine read me a passage from a book that she is reading, written by a woman who intentionally worked in a fast food restaurant (as an employee, not a manager). Of course she could not make a living wage. She noted that those that work these kinds of jobs are the true "philanthropists". They give up so much, so that those that frequent the restaurant can have more money to spoil their children and to have nice pretty houses. The author's point may be somewhat overblown, but for the most point, she is right on the (shall I say it.......sure, go ahead Bill) "money".
Feliz Navidad y'all!
A second piece of house keeping, there will be no post on Sunday, Christmas day.
Today, while driving north on PA route 309, into Quakertown, PA, I was stopped in a line of traffic right next to a car wash. It was busy, what with it being a nice day and people wanting to get their cars spruced up for Christmas day. There were all sorts of nice looking vehicles, all shined up, with chrome wheels. All where expensive cars & pick up trucks. You know, $35,000 being the least expensive. The pick up trucks were obviously not really working trucks, they were too pretty. I bet you know what I'm leading up to, don't ya. All of the employees were Hispanic. I'm not profiling, It was clearly the case. Now don't worry, I'm not going nazi on you. In an earlier post I noted that many immigrants take on jobs that that we want done, but we Americans are simply not going to do them. Oh, I guess it's OK to have Hispanics in our country at that moment, when 'you' want your car washed, or when you want your lawn mowed, or when you want your garden tended, or when you want your crops picked, or when you the restaurant owner needs a dishwasher, or when you need your house cleaned, or when you the hotel owner needs maids to clean the rooms. Sorry, just a little morality rant.
I work as a help desk technician to help customers resolve issues with their computers used for sales in fast food restaurants. A large portion of the customers that I help are Spanish speakers, all around the country. It seems to me, though, that the highest concentration is in the southern states of our country. Funny, these are the states where people opposed to immigration are the loudest about the subject. So, why do you think I don't hear more white American voices, huh? That's not to say that I don't hear some, but the majority of the voices that I hear are not white Americans. They are Hispanic voices, Indian (from the country of India) voices, Middle Eastern voices, Black American voices. Gettin' the picture. Marginalized voices.
So, what's all this manure about we don't want immigrants in our country. We all want clean cars, but many of us are too damn lazy to wash them ourselves, and we sure as hell aren't workin' at the car wash unless the owner is willing to pay us a hell of a lot more than what he or she pays the current employees, and 'we' sure as hell aren't going to pay what would be necessary for the owner to make even a small profit if she or he had to pay white Americans to do the job. Sure we want immigrants in our country. We want them to do the jobs that we're simply not going to do, but that we want done.
A friend of mine read me a passage from a book that she is reading, written by a woman who intentionally worked in a fast food restaurant (as an employee, not a manager). Of course she could not make a living wage. She noted that those that work these kinds of jobs are the true "philanthropists". They give up so much, so that those that frequent the restaurant can have more money to spoil their children and to have nice pretty houses. The author's point may be somewhat overblown, but for the most point, she is right on the (shall I say it.......sure, go ahead Bill) "money".
Feliz Navidad y'all!
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Who Loans Money to trump?
In a continuing effort to understand what appears to be an overly "chummy" relationship with Russia I'm attempting to "follow the money". I do not have the financial or time resources to conduct this kind of investigation on my own, so I need to rely on what I believe to be credible news sources to supply me with the information. For the most part, I am quickly hitting dead ends, but I am able to piece together a little bit of a credible trail.
In a Washington Post article by Phillip Blump, dated July 27, 2016, I found the following trump tweet:
Reading this tweet easily made me think that he his clumsily trying to perform a "watch this hand" magic trick. OK, so he doesn't have any "investments" in Russia. My question is, does Russia have "investments" in trump?
I found an Op-Ed from the Los Angeles Times, By Max Boot dated July 25, 2016. Boot is an author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, military historian, and a republican. He is also the Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He wrote the following:
“The Trump-Russia links beneath the surface are even more extensive ...... [t]rump has sought and received funding from Russian investors for his business ventures, especially after most American banks stopped lending to him following his multiple bankruptcies.”
Still, I wasn't even close to believing that I had found, at least, a smoking gun. This was an Op-Ed article and offered me no clear, solid proof that Russian companies, individuals, banks had lent money to or invested in trump. I kept looking. I found a Time magazine article dated August 2, 2016 by Jeff Nesbit. In this article Nesbit reported:
".....[the] Washington Post reported [in an article by Tom Hamburger et.al. on June 17, 2016]: “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” [t]rump’s son, [d]onald Jr., said at a real estate conference in 2008, according to a trade publication, eTurboNews."
If trump continues with the reasoning that he will not release his tax returns because he is still under audit from the IRS, then the IRS needs to focus resources on trump's taxes and finish the audit. All reasons for trump not releasing his tax returns must be stripped, so that when he refuses, he is seen in a clear light by all Americans.
In a Washington Post article by Phillip Blump, dated July 27, 2016, I found the following trump tweet:
Reading this tweet easily made me think that he his clumsily trying to perform a "watch this hand" magic trick. OK, so he doesn't have any "investments" in Russia. My question is, does Russia have "investments" in trump?
I found an Op-Ed from the Los Angeles Times, By Max Boot dated July 25, 2016. Boot is an author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, military historian, and a republican. He is also the Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He wrote the following:
“The Trump-Russia links beneath the surface are even more extensive ...... [t]rump has sought and received funding from Russian investors for his business ventures, especially after most American banks stopped lending to him following his multiple bankruptcies.”
Still, I wasn't even close to believing that I had found, at least, a smoking gun. This was an Op-Ed article and offered me no clear, solid proof that Russian companies, individuals, banks had lent money to or invested in trump. I kept looking. I found a Time magazine article dated August 2, 2016 by Jeff Nesbit. In this article Nesbit reported:
".....[the] Washington Post reported [in an article by Tom Hamburger et.al. on June 17, 2016]: “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” [t]rump’s son, [d]onald Jr., said at a real estate conference in 2008, according to a trade publication, eTurboNews."
This was as close as I was going to get to a smoking gun. It went off eight years ago, but there's still enough smoke for me, trump jr. saying that "money [was] pouring in[to trump's companies] from Russia" This indicates to me that trump and his companies have a tremendous obligation to Russians, in some form.
To date, trump has still not revealed, released his tax returns for review by the American people. There is no law that he must do so, but going forward it needs to become law that any individual running for President must release his tax returns for public scrutiny. By not releasing his returns, trump is bucking a long standing precedent and tradition. The election is over. trump does not need to worry, he will become the next head administrator of the the administrative branch of the U.S. government (I will no longer refer to trump as President, he is simply an 'admin')
If trump continues with the reasoning that he will not release his tax returns because he is still under audit from the IRS, then the IRS needs to focus resources on trump's taxes and finish the audit. All reasons for trump not releasing his tax returns must be stripped, so that when he refuses, he is seen in a clear light by all Americans.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
An Open and Sent Letter to Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer
Dear Senator Schumer,
I am not a constituent of yours, at least not directly. In a broader sense, though, I am. You have taken on a tremendous responsibility as Senate Minority Leader. You now have the duty to conduct yourself as a leader for all Americans and as such I am a constituent of yours, one of tens of millions. I believe that you are an honorable, decent and moral man.
When donald trump assumes the office of President, your job, moving forward, may prove to be one of the most difficult in the history of your position, the Senate, indeed our country. You will be the bulwark, the firewall, the point person for stopping what is now the possibility of our country repeating the mistakes of Germany in the 1930s. I am confident that you know that steve bannon proclaims himself as a Leninist. I am equally as sure that you know that the kkk and the american nazi party are loud vocal supporters of bannon. Of course, these two groups would not endorse bannon and therefore trump unless his philosophies did not align with those of these two groups. This, in and of itself, is reason enough to resist trump and any part of his agenda that your moral compass finds to be unacceptable.
Do not buy any of the effluent that trump espouses to be his agenda. By definition, trump is both a narcissist and a sociopath. trump's only goal is his own aggrandizement. The fact, and it is fact, that he has latched onto the kkk and the american nazi party to, via steve bannon, be his vehicle to that goal Because he is a sociopath and does not know right from wrong, he thinks that fame and infamy are the same thing. trump will be seen by historians, well into the future as being infamous.
Obstruction is the path that you must walk on. except for funding the government, Congress's task must be to block any legislation that is immoral, will lead to immorality or will dismantle agencies whose job it is to protect Americans, in fact in many ways, the people of this planet. Morality is a subjective notion, but I believe that members of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, can find common ground on its definition and identify trump's moral bankruptcy.
Place your voice in the ears of members of the Republican party in Congress. Repeat over and over again, to them that they must work with you in a bi-partisan way to stop trump and bannon from dismantling OUR
government. Let them know, help them to understand that to take apart our government, to weaken our government, opens the door for a regime that looks a great deal like hitler's. Remind them of the similarities between the 'brown shirts' in hitler's Germany and the thugs that trump vocally endorsed when they committed violent acts at his campaign rallies. his public announcements that he would pay their legal fees if arrested. These incidents were only a glimpse of what can and may happen during a trump Presidency.
Do not let up. Do not acquiesce. Do not appease. We, your constituents want nothing else from you, as long as trump heads the administrative branch of OUR government which is "of the people, by the people, for the people [and] shall not perish from this Earth".
May God bless you. Respectfully,
William R. Sherman
I am not a constituent of yours, at least not directly. In a broader sense, though, I am. You have taken on a tremendous responsibility as Senate Minority Leader. You now have the duty to conduct yourself as a leader for all Americans and as such I am a constituent of yours, one of tens of millions. I believe that you are an honorable, decent and moral man.
When donald trump assumes the office of President, your job, moving forward, may prove to be one of the most difficult in the history of your position, the Senate, indeed our country. You will be the bulwark, the firewall, the point person for stopping what is now the possibility of our country repeating the mistakes of Germany in the 1930s. I am confident that you know that steve bannon proclaims himself as a Leninist. I am equally as sure that you know that the kkk and the american nazi party are loud vocal supporters of bannon. Of course, these two groups would not endorse bannon and therefore trump unless his philosophies did not align with those of these two groups. This, in and of itself, is reason enough to resist trump and any part of his agenda that your moral compass finds to be unacceptable.
Do not buy any of the effluent that trump espouses to be his agenda. By definition, trump is both a narcissist and a sociopath. trump's only goal is his own aggrandizement. The fact, and it is fact, that he has latched onto the kkk and the american nazi party to, via steve bannon, be his vehicle to that goal Because he is a sociopath and does not know right from wrong, he thinks that fame and infamy are the same thing. trump will be seen by historians, well into the future as being infamous.
Obstruction is the path that you must walk on. except for funding the government, Congress's task must be to block any legislation that is immoral, will lead to immorality or will dismantle agencies whose job it is to protect Americans, in fact in many ways, the people of this planet. Morality is a subjective notion, but I believe that members of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, can find common ground on its definition and identify trump's moral bankruptcy.
Place your voice in the ears of members of the Republican party in Congress. Repeat over and over again, to them that they must work with you in a bi-partisan way to stop trump and bannon from dismantling OUR
government. Let them know, help them to understand that to take apart our government, to weaken our government, opens the door for a regime that looks a great deal like hitler's. Remind them of the similarities between the 'brown shirts' in hitler's Germany and the thugs that trump vocally endorsed when they committed violent acts at his campaign rallies. his public announcements that he would pay their legal fees if arrested. These incidents were only a glimpse of what can and may happen during a trump Presidency.
Do not let up. Do not acquiesce. Do not appease. We, your constituents want nothing else from you, as long as trump heads the administrative branch of OUR government which is "of the people, by the people, for the people [and] shall not perish from this Earth".
May God bless you. Respectfully,
William R. Sherman
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
A Call to Federal Employees in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. and its surrounding suburbs are what may be labeled a 'company town'. The 'company's' business is the Federal Government. Those that live in the D.C. metropolitan area are the gears, the nuts and bolts of the machine, the moving parts. Just as with a car, or any other machine for that matter, all of the parts need to be in 'tune' with each other for the machine to function at peak efficiency. The moving parts need lubrication so that friction and overheating do not damage the moving parts. I propose that those at the higher and highest levels of government are the lubricant. I'm sad to say that the oil that is about to be placed in the machine is of the lowest grade possible.
I believe that the residents of D.C. and the suburbs on both sides of the Potomac River are overwhelmingly displeased with the incoming administration's leader (trump), as well as those that he has nominated for high ranking positions. I certainly can't see that steve bannon has favor with any moving part in the Federal machine in Washington.
So, what am I getting at? Obstruction, that's what. I am calling for all Federal employees that believe that trump and those he brings with him are dangerous and morally bankrupt, to do whatever they are legally able to do, to slow down the process of government. I am not suggesting that critical services to our country's citizens be affected. What I am suggesting is that, as an example, any employee of the EPA that is tasked with dismantling the agency or is asked to perform work that the employee believes is contrary to the protection of the Earth's environment, takes the time to follow EVERY law and regulation in doing their job. Review your work word by word to make sure that every 'i' is dotted, every 't' is crossed, all punctuation and spacing in a document is correct, and when you think it is all correct, proof read the document again. Continue to make corrections as necessary to make the document 'perfect'. Proof read the document until you find no more mistakes. Do not work overtime. Do not take work home with you. Use all of your personal time, sick time and vacation time. Remember, you, the Federal employee is very difficult to 'fire'. As long as a Federal employee is adhering to laws and regulations, it's practically impossible to be fired. If you are harassed by upper management or have your job threatened, use you union, that's what it is there for. This same behavior can be applied to any and all agency employees. Make sure that all of you are talking to one another. Do not allow yourselves to be isolated from one another. In this way you can coordinate your 'activities'.
I am not suggesting insubordination and if some administrator or manager claims that this behavior is, that doesn't make it true. If an employee follows all rules, regulations and laws, then that employee is within his rights, in fact is obligated, to do so.
Upon sharing this post, I will be sending it to the The Washington Post, as an Op-Ed & an open letter to all Federal Employees. My fervent hope is that The Post sees this as an important and relevant letter and has the backbone to publish it. I will also be searching for the Facebook pages for various agencies and when found, place this post on each one in its entirety.
I am sincere about this request to all Federal Employees. I am doing everything that I can think of to minimize the damage that will surely occur to our country while trump is in office.
I believe that the residents of D.C. and the suburbs on both sides of the Potomac River are overwhelmingly displeased with the incoming administration's leader (trump), as well as those that he has nominated for high ranking positions. I certainly can't see that steve bannon has favor with any moving part in the Federal machine in Washington.
So, what am I getting at? Obstruction, that's what. I am calling for all Federal employees that believe that trump and those he brings with him are dangerous and morally bankrupt, to do whatever they are legally able to do, to slow down the process of government. I am not suggesting that critical services to our country's citizens be affected. What I am suggesting is that, as an example, any employee of the EPA that is tasked with dismantling the agency or is asked to perform work that the employee believes is contrary to the protection of the Earth's environment, takes the time to follow EVERY law and regulation in doing their job. Review your work word by word to make sure that every 'i' is dotted, every 't' is crossed, all punctuation and spacing in a document is correct, and when you think it is all correct, proof read the document again. Continue to make corrections as necessary to make the document 'perfect'. Proof read the document until you find no more mistakes. Do not work overtime. Do not take work home with you. Use all of your personal time, sick time and vacation time. Remember, you, the Federal employee is very difficult to 'fire'. As long as a Federal employee is adhering to laws and regulations, it's practically impossible to be fired. If you are harassed by upper management or have your job threatened, use you union, that's what it is there for. This same behavior can be applied to any and all agency employees. Make sure that all of you are talking to one another. Do not allow yourselves to be isolated from one another. In this way you can coordinate your 'activities'.
I am not suggesting insubordination and if some administrator or manager claims that this behavior is, that doesn't make it true. If an employee follows all rules, regulations and laws, then that employee is within his rights, in fact is obligated, to do so.
Upon sharing this post, I will be sending it to the The Washington Post, as an Op-Ed & an open letter to all Federal Employees. My fervent hope is that The Post sees this as an important and relevant letter and has the backbone to publish it. I will also be searching for the Facebook pages for various agencies and when found, place this post on each one in its entirety.
I am sincere about this request to all Federal Employees. I am doing everything that I can think of to minimize the damage that will surely occur to our country while trump is in office.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Pride and Sadness
Today was a difficult day. I went to Harrisburg, PA, the state Capitol, to protest the election of trump by the Electoral College. As I noted in a previous post this past Saturday, I fully expected the Electoral College to confirm trump's election as per the Constitution of our country. Of course, the Electors are free to vote as they see fit, but I did not expect any of Pennsylvania's Electors to alter the vote that they were elected to make.
I arrived a 7:30 am. There were a hand full of women and one man that arrived the day before at three in the afternoon. They stood vigil through the night. These were strong and committed Americans. They were threatened with violence twice. My turn came also. People started to trickle in at the Capitol steps. The small, but growing group was having conversations, while holding our signs of protest so passing traffic could see our thoughts written on them. While speaking with a woman, a young man (21 or 22 yrs old, I believe) came and stood with the two of us. When she and I were done speaking, I said hello to the young man. He told me that I'd "better put my sign down". I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting direct confrontation, although in retrospect I should have been aware of the possibility. I said I'm not sure what you said. He repeated himself and told me if I didn't put the sign down, he would call a bunch of his "boys" and they would come over in a truck and "kick my ass". Knowing that this was a peaceful protest and being a pacifist, I put the sign down until this boy was out of sight. Then I again held up my sign. From beginning to end was about five minutes. I understand why the sign stirred up his emotions. I designed it with two purposes; to communicate the danger of trump and to stir up emotions to get the point across. A photo of the sign is below:
[working to correct photo issue]
As the morning wore on, many people arrived to demonstrate against trump's inevitable election by Pennsylvania's twenty Electors. We chanted slogans. We sang patriotic songs. It was very loud. At one point I needed to put more money in the parking kiosk for my car, a block and a half away. It was loud. I believe there were about 150 to 200 people on the steps. You can judge for yourself from this photo:
[working to correct photo issue]
I arrived a 7:30 am. There were a hand full of women and one man that arrived the day before at three in the afternoon. They stood vigil through the night. These were strong and committed Americans. They were threatened with violence twice. My turn came also. People started to trickle in at the Capitol steps. The small, but growing group was having conversations, while holding our signs of protest so passing traffic could see our thoughts written on them. While speaking with a woman, a young man (21 or 22 yrs old, I believe) came and stood with the two of us. When she and I were done speaking, I said hello to the young man. He told me that I'd "better put my sign down". I was taken aback. I wasn't expecting direct confrontation, although in retrospect I should have been aware of the possibility. I said I'm not sure what you said. He repeated himself and told me if I didn't put the sign down, he would call a bunch of his "boys" and they would come over in a truck and "kick my ass". Knowing that this was a peaceful protest and being a pacifist, I put the sign down until this boy was out of sight. Then I again held up my sign. From beginning to end was about five minutes. I understand why the sign stirred up his emotions. I designed it with two purposes; to communicate the danger of trump and to stir up emotions to get the point across. A photo of the sign is below:
As the morning wore on, many people arrived to demonstrate against trump's inevitable election by Pennsylvania's twenty Electors. We chanted slogans. We sang patriotic songs. It was very loud. At one point I needed to put more money in the parking kiosk for my car, a block and a half away. It was loud. I believe there were about 150 to 200 people on the steps. You can judge for yourself from this photo:
[working to correct photo issue]
At Eleven am, an announcement was made that if we wanted to witness the vote we could go to the House Chamber's Gallery. I wanted to observe these women and men. I wanted to see them vote with clear consciences. The gallery held about 75 to 100. It was on the fourth floor looking down on the floor of The House. When those of us who would observe the vote arrived, the cast of characters were going through a rehearsal. The actual proceedings began a noon.
While we were waiting, another young man, sitting next to me asked me what my purpose for being in the Gallery was. I calmly and clearly noted that I did not believe that the vote would turn out any other way than what is expected. I further asked him if he knew who steve bannon is, noting that he is trumps nominee for chief white house strategist. He answered yes. I went on to reinforce that bannon is vocally and loudly supported by the kkk & the american nazi party and that I am concerned that what hitler and his crew did to Germany in the 1930's may very well happen in our country with trump as president. I finished by telling him that I consider this action to be one of a continuous series of protests that must occur as long as trump is president in order to limit the damage that he will do. This person was approximately thirty years old and it became apparent that his sentiments were otherwise. I had a reasonable conversation with him, but let him know when he became unreasonable, and that I was willing to have civil discourse, but to not put words in my mouth that he did not hear me say (which he repeatedly did by throwing out rhetoric that he obviously picked up from hearing it somewhere else instead of thinking for himself).
When noon came and the ritual began, we all listened respectfully. At a certain point, those of us in the room who were protesting trump started to hum softly the song "America the Beautiful" over and over again. May be three or four times around, and then we stopped. It spontaneously started again when the actual paper ballots were being filled out by The Electors. Again as they placed their ballots in a wooden box (as though it was anonymous). Again as the votes were being counted.
The organizing group had obtained a permit to be in The Capitol Rotunda during the vote. All through the activities on The House Floor, those protesting in The Rotunda sang The National Anthem many times; America the Beautiful; This Land is Your Land; If I Had a Hammer, and roared very loudly at critical moments during the proceedings (I suspect someone in The Gallery was giving them cues from there cell phone). It was extremely loud. It drowned out the speakers in the chamber. I saw some of the Electors turn to hear where the sound was coming from at first. They obviously took notice.
Between the protesting on the steps, in The Rotunda and our presence in The Gallery, I could not have been prouder to be an American. When the expected results were read on The House Floor, loud calls of derision erupted from those of us in The Gallery, and mixed with my pride in being an American came an extreme sadness to be an American as well. We all walked out.
As I walked out of The Capitol Building I was now in the stark brightness of the sunlit, cold afternoon; into the light of this, our, reality until trump is no longer president. trump's reality must be to endure our protests every day, whether in the White House, at Camp David, gallivanting about or at trump tower. Every Day!
Sunday, December 18, 2016
America and Peaceful Transfer of Power
As of this post, donald trump is a private citizen. he hasn't even been truly elected as president of our country per the U.S. Constitution. Sadly, that will happen tomorrow. I have made a point of not reacting to news with this blog. I have taken time to think events through and respond, not react. This morning is half and half. I have already written a post regarding trump's illegal actions around communicating with foreign leaders and making foreign policy declarations. The law that he has broken is long standing, since 1799; known as The Logan Act.
While driving to work this morning, I was listening to National Public radio (NPR) and heard that China has seized a U.S. underwater drone off the coast of the Philippines. The given reason was that China is keeping shipping channels safe. I am a firm believer in differentiating cause and effect from contiguity (events occurring close together in time and space, but not related to one another). So, in fairness, it is unclear if this event is directly related to trump's phone call with Taiwan's president, his subsequent denouncement of the "One China Policy" and his criticism of the man made island air bases that China has been building in the South China Sea, or if it is just many events that seem to be related, but are not. Me, I'm choosing cause and effect. This drone (and it is fair to assume that there are others) did not just appear in the South China Sea. I feel like I'm on solid ground when i write that China has been aware of these drones way before trump opened his mouth. So the question becomes, 'why now'?
One of the great things about our system of government is the peaceful transition of power. It has been clear, since The Logan Act, that no private citizen may speak for the United States without proper authorization. In my life time of sixty one years, I have been aware of the news since approximately nine years of age. I have no recollection of a President Elect interfering in foreign affairs. What we are now seeing is exactly why this standard has always been observed. Tensions between our current administration and the planet's other large power now exist. This should not and would not be an issue that our current government would need to address if it were not for trump's illegal interference. The reasons for impeachment continue to grow.
Fortunately, we have competent diplomats, and the issue has already been resolved. The only thing that remains is for the U.S. and China to work out the logistics of how, where and when the transfer of this drone, back into U.S. 'hands', will take place.
trump simply can't keep his mouth shut. he so much wants the adulation and adoration of large groups of people that he spews crap out of his mouth with the obvious intent (consciously or sub-consciously) of hearing his supporters scream approval. he knows which 'buttons' to push to obtain these results. I have to tell you, I think he is not conscious of this drive, which is even more frightening then if he was aware of it. I don't know about you, but I don't want someone leading our country who is not in touch with his motivations for the actions she or he takes.
To cause havoc in international affairs prior to taking office, trump has found a way to challenge the peaceful transfer of power. he is attempting to take control, to wield power that he does not legally have, prior to becoming President. Tensions between a foreign power and the U.S. are not peaceful. Peaceful transfer of power has broader ramifications than risking domestic tranquility. If the world becomes a more unstable place due to a private citizen's actions who will be President, but is not yet President, then that citizen is attempting to manipulate events so that the transfer of power becomes contentious and dangerous. All in the name of self aggrandizement!
P.S - I was just about to press the 'publish' button, when by chance I saw the following 'tweet'. I have copied it exactly as I found it. AGAIN.....A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LOGAN ACT AND POSSIBLY TREASONABLE!!!!!! Also, adolescent. How many trump's does it take to screw in a light bulb? None, 'I'll just sit here in the dark'.
While driving to work this morning, I was listening to National Public radio (NPR) and heard that China has seized a U.S. underwater drone off the coast of the Philippines. The given reason was that China is keeping shipping channels safe. I am a firm believer in differentiating cause and effect from contiguity (events occurring close together in time and space, but not related to one another). So, in fairness, it is unclear if this event is directly related to trump's phone call with Taiwan's president, his subsequent denouncement of the "One China Policy" and his criticism of the man made island air bases that China has been building in the South China Sea, or if it is just many events that seem to be related, but are not. Me, I'm choosing cause and effect. This drone (and it is fair to assume that there are others) did not just appear in the South China Sea. I feel like I'm on solid ground when i write that China has been aware of these drones way before trump opened his mouth. So the question becomes, 'why now'?
One of the great things about our system of government is the peaceful transition of power. It has been clear, since The Logan Act, that no private citizen may speak for the United States without proper authorization. In my life time of sixty one years, I have been aware of the news since approximately nine years of age. I have no recollection of a President Elect interfering in foreign affairs. What we are now seeing is exactly why this standard has always been observed. Tensions between our current administration and the planet's other large power now exist. This should not and would not be an issue that our current government would need to address if it were not for trump's illegal interference. The reasons for impeachment continue to grow.
Fortunately, we have competent diplomats, and the issue has already been resolved. The only thing that remains is for the U.S. and China to work out the logistics of how, where and when the transfer of this drone, back into U.S. 'hands', will take place.
trump simply can't keep his mouth shut. he so much wants the adulation and adoration of large groups of people that he spews crap out of his mouth with the obvious intent (consciously or sub-consciously) of hearing his supporters scream approval. he knows which 'buttons' to push to obtain these results. I have to tell you, I think he is not conscious of this drive, which is even more frightening then if he was aware of it. I don't know about you, but I don't want someone leading our country who is not in touch with his motivations for the actions she or he takes.
To cause havoc in international affairs prior to taking office, trump has found a way to challenge the peaceful transfer of power. he is attempting to take control, to wield power that he does not legally have, prior to becoming President. Tensions between a foreign power and the U.S. are not peaceful. Peaceful transfer of power has broader ramifications than risking domestic tranquility. If the world becomes a more unstable place due to a private citizen's actions who will be President, but is not yet President, then that citizen is attempting to manipulate events so that the transfer of power becomes contentious and dangerous. All in the name of self aggrandizement!
P.S - I was just about to press the 'publish' button, when by chance I saw the following 'tweet'. I have copied it exactly as I found it. AGAIN.....A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THE LOGAN ACT AND POSSIBLY TREASONABLE!!!!!! Also, adolescent. How many trump's does it take to screw in a light bulb? None, 'I'll just sit here in the dark'.
Donald J. Trump
We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!
Saturday, December 17, 2016
December 19, 2016 ...... A Momentous Day in America
On Monday, two days from today, December 19, 2016, the Electors of the Electoral College will gather in each state's capitol to vote for The President of the United States. The Electors are bound by no law to vote for any particular candidate. They are free to vote their conscience.
As much as I would like to hope that these people will envision the obvious results of electing trump as our next President; the moral bankruptcy of trump and his mouth piece steve bannon who is vocally and loudly supported by the kkk and the american nazi party; I believe that the result of The Electoral College will be a rubber stamp for trump. This last sentence was very difficult to write. I and millions of other Americans do not want this to be the outcome. In fact (and it is simply that, a fact), the majority of Americans do not want this outcome. We, as a nation, voted for Hilary Clinton, when looked at through the lens of 'one person, one vote'.
I support our Constitution. Our constitution was deigned to be a living document, that can be changed through the process of amendment. The outcome of Monday's Electoral College vote may be the impetus we need, as moral and thoughtful Americans, to push for the dissolution of the Electoral College, in order to have a truly representative Democracy. The states are not voting for the President of the United States, 'We The People' are.
On Monday, at every state capitol in the country, there are events, gatherings, planned to coincide with when the Electors will be meeting to vote. I, unfortunately just found about all of these events, this morning. I immediately re-arranged my schedule, and will be attending the event in Harrisburg, PA. I say unfortunately, because, had I known earlier, I would have alerted all those that read this blog in a more timely way. I am providing a link, below, that when clicked on will show a list of links for the events in each state. If you can find a way to attend, please do so.
https://www.facebook.com/events/219210221855920/
The stated purpose of these events is to attempt to have The Electors not vote for trump. If bringing this pressure to bear achieves this goal, it would be one of the, if not the, most magnificent events in my life time. BUT, if this goal is not achieved, the gatherings at each state capitol will still be the continued voices of protest that must continue in a consistent, vocal, non-violent way, until trump is no longer President. Whether that be by the four year term running its course, impeachment by The House of Representatives followed by his resignation or being found guilty of criminal activity by the Senate, or by some other means, protest must continue. Our country cannot afford to allow trump's sociopathic mindset be translated into law. We are the only firewall that we can count on. The Congress certainly has the ability to be a firewall, and The Supreme Court in a more limited way, but when it comes down to 'brass tacks', We The People, need to fight for the Democracy that we have inherited.
As much as I would like to hope that these people will envision the obvious results of electing trump as our next President; the moral bankruptcy of trump and his mouth piece steve bannon who is vocally and loudly supported by the kkk and the american nazi party; I believe that the result of The Electoral College will be a rubber stamp for trump. This last sentence was very difficult to write. I and millions of other Americans do not want this to be the outcome. In fact (and it is simply that, a fact), the majority of Americans do not want this outcome. We, as a nation, voted for Hilary Clinton, when looked at through the lens of 'one person, one vote'.
I support our Constitution. Our constitution was deigned to be a living document, that can be changed through the process of amendment. The outcome of Monday's Electoral College vote may be the impetus we need, as moral and thoughtful Americans, to push for the dissolution of the Electoral College, in order to have a truly representative Democracy. The states are not voting for the President of the United States, 'We The People' are.
On Monday, at every state capitol in the country, there are events, gatherings, planned to coincide with when the Electors will be meeting to vote. I, unfortunately just found about all of these events, this morning. I immediately re-arranged my schedule, and will be attending the event in Harrisburg, PA. I say unfortunately, because, had I known earlier, I would have alerted all those that read this blog in a more timely way. I am providing a link, below, that when clicked on will show a list of links for the events in each state. If you can find a way to attend, please do so.
https://www.facebook.com/events/219210221855920/
The stated purpose of these events is to attempt to have The Electors not vote for trump. If bringing this pressure to bear achieves this goal, it would be one of the, if not the, most magnificent events in my life time. BUT, if this goal is not achieved, the gatherings at each state capitol will still be the continued voices of protest that must continue in a consistent, vocal, non-violent way, until trump is no longer President. Whether that be by the four year term running its course, impeachment by The House of Representatives followed by his resignation or being found guilty of criminal activity by the Senate, or by some other means, protest must continue. Our country cannot afford to allow trump's sociopathic mindset be translated into law. We are the only firewall that we can count on. The Congress certainly has the ability to be a firewall, and The Supreme Court in a more limited way, but when it comes down to 'brass tacks', We The People, need to fight for the Democracy that we have inherited.
Friday, December 16, 2016
December 15, 2016 ..... A Non-Momentous & Complex Day
Whew, we got through it ........ the non-press conference. I had been looking forward to December 15th with great anticipation. donald trump had scheduled a press conference, along with his adult children, to announce how he was going to resolve the obvious conflicts of interest he would have between his business interests and the interests of The United States of America. I just couldn't wait to hear what kind of horse sh~t would come out of his mouth this time. Alas, it did not take place. But why? Here he is, and always has been, 'the man with the plan', so what prevented him from following through on his public pronouncement to do so? On November 30th, in a series of four tweets, trump wrote:
"[i] will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that [i] will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While [i]'m not mandated to do this under the law, [i] feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!"
Before I continue to explore what may have caused the cancellation of such an important announcement (even though the above, sent signals that it was pure bull), I want to expose the crap in this statement.
In the first long winded sentence (with a lack of punctuation, I might add), trump notes that it is a "fact" that he will be "leaving [his] ..... business in total....". In the third sentence, he goes on to say that "legal documents" were being drawn up that would "take [him] completely out of business operations". Now he may think that a large number of Americans are stupid and don't understand the English language and logic, but I'm here to tell you that these two pronouncements do not agree with each other. Not being involved in "business operations" still leaves the door open for maintaining financial interests in his businesses. Maintaining financial interests means he is not "leaving" his businesses. (By the way, here is a person who claims to be smart, has multiple businesses which are each separate legal entities and he labels them incorrectly as "business" rather than businesses).
his next error is that he maintains that America needs to be "great again". As I pointed out in my post, yesterday, 'America is Already Great'. You can't make something "great again" that is already great. That's like saying you're going to make chartreuse, chartreuse again, or an existing table into a table again. In fact you can make an existing table into a table again, but you would have to dismantle the table and put it back together again. Our country is already great and does not need to be dismantled and put back together again.
A third problem is that he claims it is "visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with [his] various businesses". No, it is flat out important that the path to conflict of interest between any President's personal business dealings and the business of our country be completely severed, period! To have something "visually" appear a certain way is an attempt at manipulation. It is clear that manipulation is an attempt to 'have your cake and eat it too'. Appearing like he has no interest in his businesses is not the same as having no interest in his businesses.
Lastly, it is important that the President of our country is in office to take on an extremely hard job. Most people feel the Presidency is the hardest job in our country and on this planet. The "Presidency" is not a "task". Even putting the word "important" in front of the word "task" and ending the statement with an exclamation mark, does not communicate the gravity of the President's job. This guy has revealed himself. he feels like the presidency is a "task".
So, why did this momentous press conference not take place. Press conferences are unpredictable. Just because the opening statements by the person holding the press conference are about a certain subject, doesn't obligate the members of the press to ask questions only about that subject. Here are some questions that trump most likely wants to avoid:
- Why do your children need any security clearance, much less the highest level of security clearances?
- a follow up question would be, 'if your children will be running your businesses, do you not see the conflict of interest that will still exist?'
- Even if ivanca trump takes a leave of absence from trump's businesses,, why should she have security clearance, she will not be a Federal employee?
- If you do not divest yourself of all financial interest in all of your businesses, or even if you do, and hand operational control over to your children, how will you provide transparency regarding any and all conversations you have with your children?
- Given what the CIA has determined about Russia's role in this past election and the fact that many high ranking republicans in Congress are calling for investigative hearings into those findings, why are you claiming that you do not believe the CIA's determination?
- (NOTE - I believe that this question is the real reason the press conference was cancelled. Electors in the Electoral College are not bound to vote in any other way than to vote their conscience. Not that trump won't be elected President on December 19, 2016, it's just that trump doesn't want the vote to be anything other than what he expects).
These are just questions I would wanted to have asked, if there were a press conference yesterday. Ahhhhh, but alas, it did not come to pass.
"[i] will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that [i] will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While [i]'m not mandated to do this under the law, [i] feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!"
Before I continue to explore what may have caused the cancellation of such an important announcement (even though the above, sent signals that it was pure bull), I want to expose the crap in this statement.
In the first long winded sentence (with a lack of punctuation, I might add), trump notes that it is a "fact" that he will be "leaving [his] ..... business in total....". In the third sentence, he goes on to say that "legal documents" were being drawn up that would "take [him] completely out of business operations". Now he may think that a large number of Americans are stupid and don't understand the English language and logic, but I'm here to tell you that these two pronouncements do not agree with each other. Not being involved in "business operations" still leaves the door open for maintaining financial interests in his businesses. Maintaining financial interests means he is not "leaving" his businesses. (By the way, here is a person who claims to be smart, has multiple businesses which are each separate legal entities and he labels them incorrectly as "business" rather than businesses).
his next error is that he maintains that America needs to be "great again". As I pointed out in my post, yesterday, 'America is Already Great'. You can't make something "great again" that is already great. That's like saying you're going to make chartreuse, chartreuse again, or an existing table into a table again. In fact you can make an existing table into a table again, but you would have to dismantle the table and put it back together again. Our country is already great and does not need to be dismantled and put back together again.
A third problem is that he claims it is "visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with [his] various businesses". No, it is flat out important that the path to conflict of interest between any President's personal business dealings and the business of our country be completely severed, period! To have something "visually" appear a certain way is an attempt at manipulation. It is clear that manipulation is an attempt to 'have your cake and eat it too'. Appearing like he has no interest in his businesses is not the same as having no interest in his businesses.
Lastly, it is important that the President of our country is in office to take on an extremely hard job. Most people feel the Presidency is the hardest job in our country and on this planet. The "Presidency" is not a "task". Even putting the word "important" in front of the word "task" and ending the statement with an exclamation mark, does not communicate the gravity of the President's job. This guy has revealed himself. he feels like the presidency is a "task".
So, why did this momentous press conference not take place. Press conferences are unpredictable. Just because the opening statements by the person holding the press conference are about a certain subject, doesn't obligate the members of the press to ask questions only about that subject. Here are some questions that trump most likely wants to avoid:
- Why do your children need any security clearance, much less the highest level of security clearances?
- a follow up question would be, 'if your children will be running your businesses, do you not see the conflict of interest that will still exist?'
- Even if ivanca trump takes a leave of absence from trump's businesses,, why should she have security clearance, she will not be a Federal employee?
- If you do not divest yourself of all financial interest in all of your businesses, or even if you do, and hand operational control over to your children, how will you provide transparency regarding any and all conversations you have with your children?
- Given what the CIA has determined about Russia's role in this past election and the fact that many high ranking republicans in Congress are calling for investigative hearings into those findings, why are you claiming that you do not believe the CIA's determination?
- (NOTE - I believe that this question is the real reason the press conference was cancelled. Electors in the Electoral College are not bound to vote in any other way than to vote their conscience. Not that trump won't be elected President on December 19, 2016, it's just that trump doesn't want the vote to be anything other than what he expects).
These are just questions I would wanted to have asked, if there were a press conference yesterday. Ahhhhh, but alas, it did not come to pass.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
America is Already Great
This past election cycle saw the slogan "make America great again", as though our country wasn't great. I take offense at that. America is great in so many ways, it's almost hard to count all the ways.
First and foremost in my mind is that America is the beacon of hope and opportunity on our planet. When I speak of opportunity, I am not only referring to financial possibilities. I'm also referring to the ability to speak freely, to self actualize, to protest, to become educated, to travel freely, to practice religion as you please or to not practice religion if that is your choice. You, the reader can add your thoughts. Freedom is the key component for hope and opportunity, and freedom is what we have and must preserve in order for America to remain great.
I have been fortunate enough to travel to other counties during my life. I have been to Dublin, Toronto, Tokyo and Taiwan. I have also traveled across our country a few times, by car, giving me the pleasure of being in many cities and towns. From this writers perspective, I found the general standard of living in other countries to be just a few notches below ours. It's hard to explain. It's subjective. Little things like elevators, signage on highways, lavatories (in 1976 I was at a television station in Tokyo, and in the men's room had to squat over a hole in the floor, lol).
America is the world's great financial and industrial engine.
America is a diverse country that has, throughout its history, made room for new comers. It hasn't always been pretty when waves of new people have come from foreign countries, but the final result has always been positive and even today is moving in a positive direction. It may not seem that way, but we humans tend to have a short sited view of time and we are only seeing the tumult around the current wave of new comers.
We, as Americans, often do not recognize the beauty of our country, our government, our Constitution, our society, our culture, each other. My niece lived in China for a couple of years. When she cam home, she had a renewed appreciation for our country. As the old saying goes, "you don't miss your water, 'til your well runs dry".
I could certainly continue to list ways that America is great. This is not to say that growth and improvement cannot continue. We're humans and therefore not perfect. Not being perfect means there is always 'room for improvement'. But we do not need to play the victim, by thinking that we are no longer great and need to be "great again"
Now, yesterday, I was listening to a series on the BBC show "World Update" and an interview about the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR. The person being interviewed was a Russionn journalist. Dan Damon, the host of the show, asked why Russia had become involved in Syria. The journalist noted two reasons. The first was because Putin wanted to "thumb his nose at the west". but the other reason really caught my attention. The Russian journalist noted that for domestic consumption, Russia became involved in Syria to prove the popular saying currently used in Russia; "Russia is great again". Sound familiar?
This gave me pause to think. I'm not a purveyor of conspiracy theories, but I'm starting to notice a pattern. I'm serious. trump's loans with Russian banks, trump's mutual admiration club with putin. The CIA's determination that Russia manipulated hacked email information with the goal of getting trump elected. rex tillerson, Exxon CEO and Secretary of State nominee, has close ties with putin (word is, they're 'buddies'). And now the same rhetoric that was used by trump is exposed as a popular phrase in Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia. Russia keeps coming up in relation to trump.
Here's the 'deal'. Russians may feel the need to 'prove' that Russia is "great again", but America is great. America does not need to be "great again". We never stopped being great. Anyone who has a different view of our country, no matter what their circumstances, is not viewing the world and our standing in it, clearly.
First and foremost in my mind is that America is the beacon of hope and opportunity on our planet. When I speak of opportunity, I am not only referring to financial possibilities. I'm also referring to the ability to speak freely, to self actualize, to protest, to become educated, to travel freely, to practice religion as you please or to not practice religion if that is your choice. You, the reader can add your thoughts. Freedom is the key component for hope and opportunity, and freedom is what we have and must preserve in order for America to remain great.
I have been fortunate enough to travel to other counties during my life. I have been to Dublin, Toronto, Tokyo and Taiwan. I have also traveled across our country a few times, by car, giving me the pleasure of being in many cities and towns. From this writers perspective, I found the general standard of living in other countries to be just a few notches below ours. It's hard to explain. It's subjective. Little things like elevators, signage on highways, lavatories (in 1976 I was at a television station in Tokyo, and in the men's room had to squat over a hole in the floor, lol).
America is the world's great financial and industrial engine.
America is a diverse country that has, throughout its history, made room for new comers. It hasn't always been pretty when waves of new people have come from foreign countries, but the final result has always been positive and even today is moving in a positive direction. It may not seem that way, but we humans tend to have a short sited view of time and we are only seeing the tumult around the current wave of new comers.
We, as Americans, often do not recognize the beauty of our country, our government, our Constitution, our society, our culture, each other. My niece lived in China for a couple of years. When she cam home, she had a renewed appreciation for our country. As the old saying goes, "you don't miss your water, 'til your well runs dry".
I could certainly continue to list ways that America is great. This is not to say that growth and improvement cannot continue. We're humans and therefore not perfect. Not being perfect means there is always 'room for improvement'. But we do not need to play the victim, by thinking that we are no longer great and need to be "great again"
Now, yesterday, I was listening to a series on the BBC show "World Update" and an interview about the 25th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR. The person being interviewed was a Russionn journalist. Dan Damon, the host of the show, asked why Russia had become involved in Syria. The journalist noted two reasons. The first was because Putin wanted to "thumb his nose at the west". but the other reason really caught my attention. The Russian journalist noted that for domestic consumption, Russia became involved in Syria to prove the popular saying currently used in Russia; "Russia is great again". Sound familiar?
This gave me pause to think. I'm not a purveyor of conspiracy theories, but I'm starting to notice a pattern. I'm serious. trump's loans with Russian banks, trump's mutual admiration club with putin. The CIA's determination that Russia manipulated hacked email information with the goal of getting trump elected. rex tillerson, Exxon CEO and Secretary of State nominee, has close ties with putin (word is, they're 'buddies'). And now the same rhetoric that was used by trump is exposed as a popular phrase in Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia. Russia keeps coming up in relation to trump.
Here's the 'deal'. Russians may feel the need to 'prove' that Russia is "great again", but America is great. America does not need to be "great again". We never stopped being great. Anyone who has a different view of our country, no matter what their circumstances, is not viewing the world and our standing in it, clearly.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
scott pruitt, rick perry , trump & disregard for the environment
Today, I want to look at two cabinet nominees that are crucial to our planets environment. For the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); scott pruitt and for the Department of Energy; rick perry. These are two agencies that play the most important roles in working to keep the earth a viable environment for most life forms on the planet, not least of all human life. The issue is not the ability to live on the planet now or in the near future, it is to keep the environment in a position to sustain life well into the future.
The stated goals of the EPA are as follows:
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance
The sated mission of the Energy Department is as follows:
The mission of the Energy Department is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.
http://www.energy.gov/mission
So, let's see how the nominees for these two cabinet level positions match up with 'their' agencies' goals.
Scott Pruitt, as Attorney general (AG) of Oklahoma, has been at odds with the EPA for much of his time as the AG. He states on his Linked In page, that he is “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda”. he has a law suit currently pending against the EPA. Not looking too good, eh? pruitt is documented as being closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry. he is on record as questioning the validity of research findings that carbon emissions are causing climate change. To be truthful, what this author would like to do, in my fantasies, is to chain pruitt inside a smoke belching stack of a coal fired plant, or secure his mouth over the tail pipe of a car and see how well he fairs. Not that I'm suggesting that we forget the greenhouse effect that carbon emissions cause, thus raising the temperature around the globe, but let's just talk about air quality. Which does this shmock think will make for good air quality, solar arrays & wind mills, or smoke belching power plants.
rick perry, former Governor of Texas; he's much easier to explain. When running for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, perry said, during a debate, that The Department of Energy was one of three departments he wanted to "dismantle". Whoaaa doggy (a little Texas talk). It is not difficult to imagine that this guy will do all that he can to at the least 'hamstring' the very agency he has been nominated to lead. Amongst the many types of energy that the Department of Energy regulates is nuclear power, nuclear waste and an aging nuclear weapons arsenal. Hey ....... let's just get rid of this department. That would "ensure America's security".
These are the two people that would, if trump has his way, lead these two critical agencies that work to ensure Americas security and well being. In essence these two departments perform a basic Constitutional function, "promote the general Welfare". Are these good choices, I don't think so!
The stated goals of the EPA are as follows:
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance
The sated mission of the Energy Department is as follows:
The mission of the Energy Department is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.
So, let's see how the nominees for these two cabinet level positions match up with 'their' agencies' goals.
Scott Pruitt, as Attorney general (AG) of Oklahoma, has been at odds with the EPA for much of his time as the AG. He states on his Linked In page, that he is “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda”. he has a law suit currently pending against the EPA. Not looking too good, eh? pruitt is documented as being closely aligned with the fossil fuel industry. he is on record as questioning the validity of research findings that carbon emissions are causing climate change. To be truthful, what this author would like to do, in my fantasies, is to chain pruitt inside a smoke belching stack of a coal fired plant, or secure his mouth over the tail pipe of a car and see how well he fairs. Not that I'm suggesting that we forget the greenhouse effect that carbon emissions cause, thus raising the temperature around the globe, but let's just talk about air quality. Which does this shmock think will make for good air quality, solar arrays & wind mills, or smoke belching power plants.
Also, the trump transition staff announced pruitt is “an expert in Constitutional law”. pruitt is on record as saying ,“Obama’s gone too far. If Congress is not acting, he thinks he can act in their place…Unconstitutional.” Now I'm not a lawyer, but I believe I have a good grip on the Constitution. The way our government was set up was for the Supreme Court to be the arbiter between the legislative and administrative branches. If the legislative branch believes that the President has exercised powers that are not hers or his to use, the proscribed recourse is through the Supreme Court. A President is not doing anything Unconstitutional just because an individual says so. The Supreme Court is the only entity in this country that can make that determination. This guy has a long way to go to prove to me that he understands the Constitution.
Truth be told, what he was doing with that statement was throwing food to the sheep. The sheep love hearing words like 'Constitutional' or 'Unconstitutional' in relation to what they want. The sheep believe, in their heart, that if someone says one of those words from a position of authority, then it's true.
The quotes, referenced above are from a Washington Post aricle:
rick perry, former Governor of Texas; he's much easier to explain. When running for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, perry said, during a debate, that The Department of Energy was one of three departments he wanted to "dismantle". Whoaaa doggy (a little Texas talk). It is not difficult to imagine that this guy will do all that he can to at the least 'hamstring' the very agency he has been nominated to lead. Amongst the many types of energy that the Department of Energy regulates is nuclear power, nuclear waste and an aging nuclear weapons arsenal. Hey ....... let's just get rid of this department. That would "ensure America's security".
These are the two people that would, if trump has his way, lead these two critical agencies that work to ensure Americas security and well being. In essence these two departments perform a basic Constitutional function, "promote the general Welfare". Are these good choices, I don't think so!
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