Misdirection & Distraction

Twitter, for trump, is his tool for misdirection and distraction.  This became obvious to me when he went on a twitter tirade regarding pence's night at the Broadway production of Hamilton.  The very day that pence went to see Hamilton, is the day that trump settled the trump university law suites.  he obviously wanted to perform some theater of his own to move attention away from this settlement.

I searched the net for the words distraction and misdirection and found the following two wikki posts:

Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misdirection_(magic)


Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from the desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources. External distractions include factors such as visual triggers, social interactions, music, text messages, and phone calls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distraction

trump is not a magician as far as I'm concerned.  he is not even a grade C entertainer.  I am not fooled by his attempts at distraction and misdirection.  I am watching both hands (and the third one that comes out of his derriere).  The tweets have value in that they display his warped thinking, but when he tweets I am on the alert to watch for & think about other  things he is doing that he may or may not be tweeting about.  For example, even when he tweets about his Cabinet appointments, he is attempting to have the reader not look deeper into the character of the appointee.  he is just throwing something out there for the sheep to feed on.

I urge you, the reader, to always be watching everything that trump is doing and not be taken in, distracted, misdirected or whatever you want to call this tactic.  he is not worthy of our inattention.  he is dangerous.  We must watch and speak out.  Email our representatives.  Call our representatives.  March in protests.  Discuss what trump is doing with friends and colleagues. Urge your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.  Lastly, PLEASE share this blog and my blog address, www.politicalbill1218.blogspot.com, with all of your 'friends' and contacts on the various social media sites that you take part in.  Thank you! 

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree

Bill - so......donald, it's my understanding that your father was arrested at a KKK rally that turned violent in 1927

trump - "He was never arrested. He has nothing to do with this. This never happened. This is nonsense and it never happened. This never happened. Never took place. He was never arrested, never convicted, never even charged. It's a completely false, ridiculous story. He was never there! It never happened. Never took place." (Washington Post, 3/29/2016)
Bill - whoa there! You're being very defensive. I simply noted that it was my understanding that your father, fred trump, was arrested at a KKK rally. I didn't say anything else. nothing about him being charged or convicted. What I do know, from my research, is that your father, fred trump, lived at 175-24 Devonshire Rd. in Jamaica Queens, NY. as listed in the 1930 Census. I also know that a fred trump, who lived at that same address, was arrested at a Memorial Day march in 1927. I found this in a New York Times article. Here are photo copies of both items.


























Now, I don't know anything other than,that fred trump was at this march, was charged w/"being disorderly" and was released on $500 bail.  So, with the evidence right in front of his face, why does donald trump say "He was never arrested. He has nothing to do with this. This never happened. This is nonsense and it never happened. This never happened. Never took place. He was never arrested, never convicted, never even charged. It's a completely false, ridiculous story. He was never there! It never happened. Never took place."?  Does he think that the New York Times had it in for his father?  Or.....does he know at some level of his sociopathic mind know that; a.) his father was a racist and that's not ok, b.) he himself is a racist and that's not ok, c.) the majority of our country strongly feels & knows that racism is not ok, so he doesn't want to be seen as a racist OR d.) all of the above.  Me, I'm going with 'd'.

trump had a racist for a father and no telling how far back in his lineage.  trump (who would like to think he's a legend, but legendary figures are inherently good people) was quoted in the Washington Post as saying "my legacy has its roots in my father’s legacy," when interviewed a year ago.

Another infamous racist, joseph goebbels (hitler's propaganda minister), is quoted as saying "if you tell the same lie enough times, people will believe it; and the bigger the lie the better".  Sound familiar?!?!

How can we determine what is real news

Social media is one of the ways that our world is changing at a dizzying pace.  Fortunately  the Millennial generation is used to this pace.  Those of us that are older are may be not quite as able to handle the speed at which things are presented on the internet, but we're holding our own.  This past election cycle has exposed an issue that all thinking people will need to address for themselves; false news stories.

The first thing I need to say is that when you, the reader, reads my posts, I make a habit of indicating what is my belief or opinion or view.  I will work to be diligent about stating whether information is a fact or not, and when I state something is a fact, I will back it up w/quality research.  An example would be when I have stated that certain governmental procedures need to be followed, I have quoted the law; "chapter and verse".  Another practice I will follow is to note what my sources are, for information that I present as fact.

It, of course, slows down assimilation of information to corroborate news stories, but in order to make informed decisions, it is the only way.  Just because a news item is passed to you by someone you trust, on Facebook for example, doesn't make it true.  This is not to say that the person you trust is attempting to give you false information.  Maybe they didn't check out the story they are passing along. Some 'news' items may not be worth your time & effort, but if the info you are looking at is going inform you or be part of what will inform you, regarding an important decision, then you are the person that you have to trust to determine the veracity of that information, or not......that's your choice.

So......how to do this, after all anyone (including news sources) can be fooled by 'news'.  When it comes to items that are based in law, you don't need a lawyer.  What I do is search for state or federal laws on the web that apply to the question at hand, read carefully, follow the trail  laid down in the law to make sure I understand all paths that the law is connected to.  It's the same as reading a contract.  If it is a story that does not involve legal research, I have sources for news that I trust.  It certainly is not my place to say what is or what is not a credible source for news.  I do want to note that we all have our prejudices.  Being aware of them, may keep you away from news sources that are simply "preaching to the choir".  Also, it may be a good idea to cross check stories between news sources to see if there is agreement  with reference to the "facts" that are presented.  If two sources disagree, a third source would be a good idea to see if there is agreement between the third source and one of the first two sources that have been looked at.

My goal, here, has not been to 'preach'.  I thought it was a good idea to remind myself and you the readers that in our increasingly fast paced world, deception and misdirection are increasingly easy and is certainly occurring.

security clearance

Because I  strongly believe that security clearance for the office of  President of the U.S. is crucial, critical, to the holder of that office to function, I am breaking out a portion of yesterday's posting to repeat again here. This is how trump can be removed from office.

First let's look at the criteria for all levels of federal security clearance.  One of the criteria is that the person for which clearance is intended, cannot  be in a position where foreign governments can  possibly bribe them.  An example would be, the person being considered cannot have declared personal bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy obviously leaves a person open to being bribed, coerced to provide information in return for money.  This is simply an example of being a target for bribery.  There are other ways a person can be susceptible to bribery


Our next president is set on maintaining involvement in his business interests, which have a large international footprint.  So.......how can we, the people, square that with a door being open to bribery by foreign interests.  Regardless of what trump "says", the POSSIBILITY exists.  If it were any, and I mean ANY, other person being considered for security clearance; having major business dealings with foreign countries would be an immediate disqualifier  for any level of security clearance,  The President of the United States is not above the law.  In fact as the leader of our country, she or he, must be held to the highest standards of the law and morality.  It is not possible to be the President of our country and not have security clearance.  Therefore, based on the above simple and easy to follow logic, donald trump cannot be the President of the U.S.


 Days after the election on November 8th, approval was given for at least two trump tower projects, in two foreign countries.  One which was stalled for a long time in the former Soviet Republic of  Georgia is now "back on track" per a Washington Post article on 11/26.  Per that same article,  another trump tower project, in Buenos Aires, also long delayed,  is now "moving ahead"  three days after after President Elect trump spoke with Argentina's President. 

These are just two of many involvements trump's companies have in other countries. If trump refuses to relinquish his involvement in his companies, then he is obviously open to the POSSIBILITY of coercion and bribery.  Again, this means that per the current laws involving granting security clearance, trump is not eligible. 

security clearance

Because I  strongly believe that security clearance for the office of  President of the U.S. is crucial, critical, to the holder of that office to function, I am breaking out a portion of yesterday's posting to repeat again here. This is how trump can be removed from office.

First let's look at the criteria for all levels of federal security clearance.  One of the criteria is that the person for which clearance is intended, cannot  be in a position where foreign governments can  possibly bribe them.  An example would be, the person being considered cannot have declared personal bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy obviously leaves a person open to being bribed, coerced to provide information in return for money.  This is simply an example of being a target for bribery.  There are other ways a person can be susceptible to bribery


Our next president is set on maintaining involvement in his business interests, which have a large international footprint.  So.......how can we, the people, square that with a door being open to bribery by foreign interests.  Regardless of what trump "says", the POSSIBILITY exists.  If it were any, and I mean ANY, other person being considered for security clearance; having major business dealings with foreign countries would be an immediate disqualifier  for any level of security clearance,  The President of the United States is not above the law.  In fact as the leader of our country, she or he, must be held to the highest standards of the law and morality.  It is not possible to be the President of our country and not have security clearance.  Therefore, based on the above simple and easy to follow logic, donald trump cannot be the President of the U.S.


 Days after the election on November 8th, approval was given for at least two trump tower projects, in two foreign countries.  One which was stalled for a long time in the former Soviet Republic of  Georgia is now "back on track" per a Washington Post article on 11/26.  Per that same article,  another trump tower project, in Buenos Aires, also long delayed,  is now "moving ahead"  three days after after President Elect trump spoke with Argentina's President. 

These are just two of many involvements trump's companies have in other countries. If trump refuses to relinquish his involvement in his companies, then he is obviously open to the POSSIBILITY of coercion and bribery.  Again, this means that per the current laws involving granting security clearance, trump is not eligible. 

Conflict of interest

This is a simple, yet at the same time complex subject.  The first way I want to approach this, is to look at the criteria for all levels of federal security clearance.  One of the criteria is that the person for which clearance is intended, cannot  be in a position where foreign governments can  possibly bribe them.  An example would be, the person being considered cannot have declared personal bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy obviously leaves a person open to being bribed, coerced to provide information for money.  This is simply an example of being a target for bribery.  There are other ways a person can be susceptible to bribery.

Our next president is set on maintaining involvement in his business interests, which have a large international footprint.  So.......how can we, the people, square that with a door being open to bribery by foreign interests.  Regardless of what trump "says", the POSSIBILITY exists.  If it were any, and I mean ANY, other person being considered for security clearance; having major business dealings with foreign countries would be an immediate disqualifier  for any level of security clearance,  The President of the United States is not above the law.  In fact as the leader of our country, she or he, must be held to the highest standards of the law and morality.  It is not possible to be the President of our country and not have security clearance.  Therefore, based on the above simple and easy to follow logic, donald trump cannot be the President of the U.S.

There are many examples how trump is already behaving improperly.  The law reads (see below) that " [as] a public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official" he cannot "directly or indirectly demand[ ], seek[ ], receive[ ], accept[ ], or agree[ ] to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such official or person."  Some of the examples are as follows:

      - The U.S. Secret service is considering renting a floor at trump tower for approximately $1.5 million dollars per year.  Per the law, noted above and below, there is a conflict of interest that is not permitted for any other person working for the Federal Government.  trump is benefiting financially in order to receive Secret Service protection.

      - The Secret Service has paid the trump campaign $1.6 million in order to protect him, while he was a candidate.  This, in and of itself, is standard operating procedure.  What becomes an issue is that that $1.6 million went to a trump company which owns the jet he used.  Still being involved in that company means that he has benefited from this transaction.  This may or may not be legal riight now (although it still smells pretty bad).  Now, as president, he will use Air Force One, but if his wife or children use a trump jet and he still maintains legal or financial ties to that company, then he will benefit from the Secret Service protecting his family.  This is simply not a tolerable arrangement.

      - Days after the election on November 8th, approval was given for at least two trump tower projects, in two foreign countries.  One which was stalled for a long time in the former Soviet Republic of  Georgia is now "back on track" per a Washington Post article on 11/26.  Per that same article, the other trump tower project, in Buenos Aires, also long delayed,  is now "moving ahead"  three days after after President Elect trump spoke with Argentina's President (sounds fishy to me).  As noted in the law below, this is illegal behavior right now!.  At this point it is completely outside the bounds of law and he is also open to the possibility for bribery by these foreign governments.

There are many other instances that are or clearly will be a conflict of interest.  These are but a few.

Just one Federal Misdemeanor statute that will come into play is as follows:

18 U.S. Code § 201 - Bribery of public officials and witnesses

For the purpose of this section—

(1)

the term “public official” means Member of Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, either before or after such official has qualified, or an officer or employee or person acting for or on behalf of the United States, or any department, agency or branch of Government thereof, including the District of Columbia, in any official function, under or by authority of any such department, agency, or branch of Government, or a juror;

(2)

the term “person who has been selected to be a public official” means any person who has been nominated or appointed to be a public official, or has been officially informed that such person will be so nominated or appointed; and

(3)

the term “official act” means any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be brought before any public official, in such official’s official capacity, or in such official’s place of trust or profit.

   

Whoever—

(1)otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty—

(A)

directly or indirectly gives, offers, or promises anything of value to any public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official; or

(B)

being a public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act performed or to be performed by such official or person;

(2)

directly or indirectly, gives, offers, or promises anything of value to any person, for or because of the testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by such person as a witness upon a trial, hearing, or other proceeding, before any court, any committee of either House or both Houses of Congress, or any agency, commission, or officer authorized by the laws of the United States to hear evidence or take testimony, or for or because of such person’s absence therefrom;

(3)

directly or indirectly, demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of the testimony under oath or affirmation given or to be given by such person as a witness upon any such trial, hearing, or other proceeding, or for or because of such person’s absence therefrom;

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.

So.......as of this moment, trump is outside of the law and is so, in many more ways other than what is noted in this posting.  This is the clearest of all that I have already posted.  As of January 20, 2017 at noon, after taking the oath of office, donald trump must be impeached!!  No 'ifs' 'ands' or 'buts'!!

Populism

This morning,while driving down 95 to D.C.,I heard an article on NPR's Morning Edition regarding populism.  It is said that trump is a "populist" president (elect).   The article went on to describe the the origin of American Populism.  I'm including a link to the article so you, the reader, can hear the discussion that was in the article.  This way, I will not be 'whispering down the lane', and you, the reader, will have a  clear understanding of my thoughts about the declaration that trump is NOT a populist president (elect).

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/25/503316538/after-2016-s-presidential-election-examining-what-populist-means

Near the beginning of the article the person being interviewed (Paul Gilje of The University of Oklahoma) noted two crucial points:

     - "The Populist Party really emerged out of the Midwest and the South, mainly agrarians and people who were reacting to a world they felt they no longer controlled."

      - "....... there was a sense of - that this larger world was impinging upon them. Railroads were charging them extra money to bring their produce to the market. Banks were charging excessive interest - that they just were no longer in control."

Now, I understand that many of the people that voted for trump feel that they no longer control their world.  Truth be told, none of us 'control' our world completely.  We do have the ability to change ourselves, but to change anything or anyone outside of ourselves, from my experience, doesn't work  The well known Serenity Prayer reads:

Lord give me the serenity to accept what I cannot change,
The courage to change what I can
And the wisdom to know the difference

Excuse me, I went off on a tangent.  The question to me still remained, is trump a populist president (elect)?  The article moved forward to a recording of a Huey Long speech.  Now, of course Huey Long was a bad and completely despicable politician  in almost every way, but this speech made an impression on me.  The quote is as follows:

How many men ever went to a barbecue and would let one man take off the table what's intended for nine-tenths of the people to eat? The only way you'll ever be able to feed the balance of the people is to make that man come back and bring back some of that grub he ain't got no business with.

Well this makes simple sense to me and I do not limit it to trump, it applies to all of the "one percent".  I do make this point, though;  donald trump is a part of the one percent (although I haven't seen his tax returns, so I'm not convinced),and as such is not a populist, but rather just another person that places the average person in the position of feeling out of contrl.  This is a guy that has taken way more than his share and must be made to "come back [to the table] and bring back some of that grub he ain't got no business with."  This asshole is nobody's' populist president! 

Thanks

Dear family, friends & readers,

Happy Thanksgiving.

Many of my initial postings, since just after "the election" have been about the unfortunate & unpleasant outcome of that election.  With this post, I want to step back and look at what I have to be thankful for.

The first thing I have to note, is that I'm thankful for having been born in America.  We are fortunate to live in this country.  In many other countries on our planet, we would not be afforded the opportunity to vote freely or to speak our minds freely.  To congregate and protest.  When I think about the conditions that other humans live in, I feel, truly feel fortunate.

I am thankful that we govern ourselves.  Democracy is not always pretty, but it is the best system of government that is or has existed on Earth, from my view.  There are many in our country who are less fortunate than most and there are others in our country who have vast amounts of wealth, but if any one of us were to go and live in one of many less fortunate countries on our planet, for a while, we would see, feel, experience just how thankful we are to live in America.  This is not to say that we don't have a lot to "fix" in our country, but I, for myself, am taking today to get in touch with all that I have that is "good".

I, we live in an amazing time, where technological advances are occurring at such a fast pace.  Let's face it, we Americans love all the "stuff" that we have, and much of that is due to technology.

We live in a time when due to the speed of communication, our planet is shrinking.  Our people on our planet are acting more and more like one planet.  It is not a perfect planet, and that is because we are human and not perfect.  Whatever we are involved with will not be perfect, but the fact (and it is a fact) that our planet is acting in a global way, for the first time in human history, is extraordinary.  We are living during the beginning of a truly global perspective.  My fervent hope is that we continue to move in this global direction.  Due to it, I envision a world where all humans are treated with kindness by other humans, and do not want.

There are many other things I could list, that I am thankful for, but as a friend of mine often says, "it's a good start".

Happy Thanksgiving!

trump foundation = impeachment

"And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on ..........."  In an article I read this morning in USA Today (on line), it was reported that " President-elect [d]onald [t]rump's charitable foundation transferred assets to a disqualified person, possibly [t]rump himself, according to a 2015 tax filing submitted to the nonprofit information center GuideStar and posted online Tuesday."  The article goes on to note that "[t]rump has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months for using tax-exempt foundation money to pay for personal expenses, such as legal settlements with governments and personal expenses, including paintings of himself."  

Whether or not trump was a recipient of the 'self dealing' funds (as this type of activity is known) or not is inconsequential with relation to impeachment.  If trump was in fact the recipient, though, it will make the case even that much stronger, in my opinion.  

The preparers checked two boxes "yes" on the filing, that the organization had transferred "any income or assets to a disqualified person....."  Sounds illegal to me!  So, I looked up Federal Misdemeanors and found the following:

http://ms.fd.org/other/4_Table_Federal_Misdemeanors.pdf

   - Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure
     Bribery, Graft, and Conflicts of Interest
 
     18:§203-209 These apply where the defendant "engages" rather than ''willfully engages" in prohibited conduct

The above may only be applicable if the person committing the crime is currently a Federal employee, so I dug further and found an  IRS document on "self dealing" from non profit organizations to disqualified individuals:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicq85.pdf

   - IRC 4941 - THE NATURE OF SELF-DEALING

     IRC 4941(d)(1)(E) provides that the transfer to, or use by or for the benefit of, a disqualified person of the income or assets of a private foundation is an act of self-dealing.

Certainly trump and the tax filing for the trump foundation fall under this law.  Therefore, it becomes very simple, IMPEACH the asshole!   He's a self admitted criminal.  To reimburse the foundation does not excuse him from criminal activity.  If a person admittedly steals a car and then returns it, that person is still subject to criminal prosecution  and after pleading guilty will still be subject to penalty, as provided for by the law.

Health Care in the U.S. and the 'S' word

The stated purpose of this blog is to explore what works and what needs to be "fixed" in our country.  In that light, I want to to take a broad look at health care in the U.S. and place the filter of Socialism (the 'S' word) on the lens of that light.

I have thought about this for many years, many.  My first thought is always 'in a country that is as filthy rich as ours, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should not be able to obtain health care, regardless of their ability to pay.'  I also remind myself that one of the goals of the Constitution is  to "promote for the general Welfare".   With this as a starting point, the question then becomes, how can we accomplish this goal?

The way to NOT accomplish the goal has been proven to be involving health insurance companies. The common mantra of private enterprise is that it will conduct business in the most efficient ways in order to remain in business and maximize profit.  I propose that the insurance industry certainly does anything it can to maximize profit, and thereby looks after insurance executives' and share holders' financial health.  This is counter to caring for people as far as physical health is concerned.  There is a clear conflict of interest.  Believe me when I tell you that the Constitutional directive to "promote [ ] the general Welfare" is being accomplished for the executives and share holders in a financial way.  Believe me when I also tell you that for many in our country, their "Welfare" is not being attended to with reference to health care.  So, what conclusion can I reach from this portion of the conversation........private health insurance companies do not & will not help us, as a country, to reach the goal of making sure that every person has access to health care.

Now, a possible solution.  It is a three part solution with the starting premise that our country is FILTHY RICH, FILTHY!!!!

 

- For all individuals that report income of less than a certain defined amount (X) on there annual tax return, a health insurance card is automatically produced and sent to that individual & all members of the family and dependents listed in the return, They receive the same health care benefits that health insurance companies provide, but the payment will come from the Federal Government.




- for individuals that work for a company that generates less than a certain defined (Y) amount of revenue on their annual tax return (not profit), a health insurance card is automatically produced and sent to that individual & all members of the family and dependents listed in the return. The determination occurs because the employer i.d. number is listed on the the individual's tax return. This number is cross referenced to a data base which will check it against the employers tax return. As with the first solution, above, the individual & all members of the family and dependents listed in the return, receive the same health care benefits that health insurance companies provide, but the payment will come from the Federal Government.




- for individuals who make over the X amount and who work for companies that report higher than Y revenues, the company will be required to provide health insurance and the individual employee will be required to pay their portion of the health insurance. This will be done with a private sector health insurer of the company's choosing.




If you read this carefully, you will see that every person in America has just received health insurance. The last question is why would anyone find this disagreeable? Republicans will scream "SOCIALISM" (the 'S' word) and their sheep will echo the word as though it was like saying the 'F' word or the 'P' word or the 'C' word or the 'N' word. BUT, let me go to any one of the "99%" and tell them that their Social Security was being taken away from them and watch how loud they scream bloody murder. We already practice Socialism. It is a good thing. It is "promot[ing] [ ] the public Welfare" and so will the plan, detailed above.

trump university

On Friday, 11/18, trump did something completely out of character (for him), he settled the trump university law suits for $25 million.  The question then becomes, why?  Anything I write in answer to that question is speculation.  I can think of two reasons though; one is that he wants to clear up distractions prior to taking the oath of office, I think this excuse is slight of hand. This has already been said and I think that it will continue to be said.  I think that this excuse is to distract from the real reason.  What I believe is going on, is that trump and his advisers think that by settling this case out of court, it will remove this as a reason for impeachment.

I also believe that trump has been attempting to use an old magician's trick; getting the audience to focus on one hand, while the other hand is doing something else off to the side.  Over the weekend trump and pence set up a little theater of their own (and their theater is certainly not a "safe" place).  I believe that trump's tweet tirade about the cast members of Hamilton exercising their First Amendment rights was a ploy to have the American people not notice the trump university settlements.  This, to me, seems to be an attempt to remove an issue that could easily result in impeachment and to do so as quietly as possible.  I do not believe any of this accomplishes that goal.

I am not a lawyer, but I believe I understand the law in some basic ways and I have read the constitution many times and believe I have a basic understanding of it as well. There is nothing in the Constitution that limits impeachment to crimes committed only while in office.  There is nothing in the constitution that requires impeachment only after criminal activity has been determined by a court of law.  Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were all impeached, but never convicted of a crime in a court of law.  I will be urging Congressional leaders to launch an impeachment investigation and procedure as soon as possible after  trump takes office.

A roadblock that I would anticipate is the claim of executive privilege, with reference to having documents subpoenaed involving trump university.  This alleged crime (he has not admitted guilt and has avoided admitting guilt), occurred prior to trump taking office, so he has no executive privilege with reference to any documents involved with trump university.

Now, if, if mind you, trump is found guilty on criminal charges (what was settled out of court were  civil suits) in any of the now 74 legal actions he is involved in or with reference to the trump university issues, then the Senate would have no option, but to impeach him. To that end I need to address Eric Schneiderman (New York State Attorney General) and Kamala Harris (California Attorney General).

Mr.Schneiderman was instrumental in settling these suits out of court. One was a civil suit that was in New York State, while the other two were Federal class action (civil) law suits.  I will be urging Mr. Schneiderman to pursue criminal charges in New York State. As I see it,  it  is necessary that he launch such  an investigation to determine if this case warrants criminal charges and if evidence supports criminal charges, they be filed.

Because the suits in California were Federal law suits, be assured that the incoming Attorney General of the U.S. will not be pursuing criminal charges on a Federal level.  In light of this, I will be urging Ms Harris to determine if criminal charges are warranted by the sate of California.

An analogy is, if someone allegedly steals a car and then gives it back, that does not preclude the possibility for and probability of criminal charges and appropriate punishment if found guilty. trump has the same situation.  he allegedly stole money and gave it back.  Therefore the same scenario needs to go forward for him, as it would for the alleged car thief.  No one is above the law and guilt or innocence on criminal charges is to be determined in a court by a judge or a jury, not by buying oneself out of the criminal charges!

Elected Officials are Elected to Serve All Americans mr. pence & mr.trump

I'm truly amazed.  Yesterday, I saw a tweet from trump that read:

         " The Theater must always be a safe and special place.  The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence.  Apologize!"

I imagined the cast lining up and giving pence the "finger".

As I started to research and write this posting, I thought to myself:

          'These two guys need to understand that they are not here to be treated in some special way.  They are here to serve ALL Americans.  They need to find a way to meet the needs of ALL Americans, not just the 50% of Americans that voted for them.'

Then I started researching.  I found another tweet from trump reading:

           "The cast and producers of Hamilton, which I hear is highly overrated, should immediately apologize to Mike Pence for their terrible behavior."

Wow........what did the cast of Hamilton do.   It must have been something awful, something completely egregious, something outside the bounds of decency.  So I researched what happened and found the following in a New York Times article:

As the play ended, the actor who played Vice President Aaron Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon, acknowledged that Mr. Pence was in the audience, thanked him for attending and added, “We hope you will hear us out.”
“We, sir — we — are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights,” he said. “We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us.”
Those bastards, those SOBs, the gall ....... Not the cast of Hamilton, they get a BRAVO!

First of all pence goes and 'whines', 'cries' to trump......'oh no, the cast of Hamilton treated me very badly.  They exercised their First Amendment right and used their stage to point out that you and i are elected officials and as such are supposed to represent the concerns and interests of all Americans. They owe me an apology.'  Then trump has a mini tirade on twitter.  These two assholes have to be kidding, right?

mr.trump and mr.pence need to read the First Amendment.  The theater is protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech (unless someone yells 'fire').  What was noted by Dixon at the end of the play was done so in a polite way.  Whether it was polite or not makes no difference, but is certainly to his credit.

Not to pat myself on the back, but it turns out that prior to learning what the cast of Hamilton did that was so bad, I thought exactly what they said.  Imagine that.  This is not a pat on my back, it is an understanding of our country and our Constitution, that these two BOZOS do not understand and most likely will never understand.

Again, BRAVO to the cast of Hamilton and especially to Brandon Victor Dixon for giving a polite and dignified voice to their hope that these these two BOZOS conduct themselves in the interests of ALL Americans, while in office.

Why We Grieve Grieve, By John Pavlovitz

John Pavlovitz has the amazing ability to express what this election was about and what the results are saying about the tenor of our country.  A friend shared this with me, last week.   Today, I want to share with you.  

Just a quick note about John Pavlovitz; he is a pastor and speaks from yhat perspective at certain points.  I am not a religious person and do not subscribe to religion, but I was very touched and am in full agreement with what he is saying below:

I don’t think you understand us right now. 
I think you think this is about politics. 

I think you believe this is all just sour grapes; the crocodile tears of the losing locker room with the scoreboard going against us at the buzzer.

I can only tell you that you’re wrong. This is not about losing an election.This isn’t about not winning a contest. This is about two very different ways of seeing the world.

Hillary spoke about a diverse America; one where religion or skin color or sexual orientation or place of birth aren’t liabilities or deficiencies or moral defects. Her campaign was one of inclusion and connection and interdependency. It was about building bridges and breaking ceilings. It was about going high. 

Trump imagined a very selective America; one that is largely white and straight and Christian, and the voting verified this. Donald Trump has never made any assertions otherwise. He ran a campaign of fear and exclusion and isolation—and that’s the vision of the world those who voted for him have endorsed.

They have aligned with the wall-builder and the professed p*ssy-grabber, and they have co-signed his body of work, regardless of the reasons they give for their vote:

Every horrible thing Donald Trump ever said about women or Muslims or people of color has now been validated.

Every profanity-laced press conference and every call to bully protesters and every ignorant diatribe has been endorsed.

Every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation Mike Pence has championed has been signed-off on.

Half of our country has declared these things acceptable, noble,American.

This is the disconnect and the source of our grief today. It isn’t a political defeat that we’re lamenting, it’s a defeat for Humanity.

We’re not angry that our candidate lost. We’re angry because our candidate’s losing means this country will be less safe, less kind, and less available to a huge segment of its population, and that’s just the truth.

Those who have always felt vulnerable are now left more so. Those whose voices have been silenced will be further quieted. Those who always felt marginalized will be pushed further to the periphery. Those who feared they were seen as inferior now have confirmation in actual percentages.

Those things have essentially been campaign promises of Donald Trump, and so many of our fellow citizens have said this is what they want too.

This has never been about politics.
This is not about one candidate over the other.
It’s not about one’s ideas over another’s.
It is not blue vs. red.
It’s not her emails vs. his bad language.
It’s not her dishonesty vs. his indecency.

It’s about overt racism and hostility toward minorities.
It’s about religion being weaponized.
It’s about crassness and vulgarity and disregard for women.
It’s about a barricaded, militarized, bully nation.
It’s about an unapologetic, open-faced ugliness.

And it is not only that these things have been ratified by our nation that grieve us; all this hatred, fear, racism, bigotry, and intolerance—it’s knowing that these things have been amen-ed by our neighbors, our families, our friends, those we work with and worship alongside. That is the most horrific thing of all. We now know how close this is.

It feels like living in enemy territory being here now, and there’s no way around that. We wake up today in a home we no longer recognize. We are grieving the loss of a place we used to love but no longer do. This may be America today but it is not the America we believe in or recognize or want.

This is not about a difference of political opinion, as that’s far too small to mourn over. It’s about a fundamental difference in how we view the worth of all people—not just those who look or talk or think or vote the way we do.

Grief always laments what might have been, the future we were robbed of, the tomorrow that we won’t get to see, and that is what we walk through today. As a nation we had an opportunity to affirm the beauty of our diversity this day, to choose ideas over sound bytes, to let everyone know they had a place at the table, to be the beacon of goodness and decency we imagine that we are—and we said no.

The Scriptures say that weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning. We can’t see that dawn coming any time soon.

And this is why we grieve.

Deportation

Deportation.  There are approximately eleven million undocumented people in the U.S.  Undocumented; that sounds like a dehumanizing description of a person.  Almost like they don't exist.  trump, if he can be believed, plans on deporting five million of these people in his first year or two in office.  So.....I want to look at the logistics needed to perform this "feat", the cost and I want to discuss the value these people have for the U.S.

Let's give trump the longer time frame of two years.  That means 730 days if deportations take place on every day.  We can remove the six basic holidays and another 104 days, which represent 52 Sundays per year.  he now has 620 days to get this despicable task done.

   - Five million divided by 620 equals 8,196.75 people every day.

   - Just by way of example, a Boeing 737 at maximum capacity holds 215 passengers, therefore 38 flights per day, therefore one flight every  37.8 minutes  over the course of a 24 hour day

   - A typical school bus holds 72 passengers therefore 114 school buses per day.

To perform this operation, a minimal level of humane treatment would be necessary.  Where would the planes land.  What foreign government is going to permit the disruption of air travel at their airports.  What foreign government is going to accept this constant stream of people with nowhere to go.  If school buses are used, where are these people going to be dropped off.  In either case what country is going to accept these people, using either one of these forms of transport, without passports.  trump obviously thinks a great deal of himself, but he will quickly learn that other countries will not be bullied by him.  Certainly, he will attempt to use something as leverage, for example trade, but I do not see that working.  WalMart has too many products that are made in, for instance Mexico,  that the very same people that elected him, want.

What we have here is rhetoric, campaign rhetoric.  I sat down to write this posting with no idea what the numbers were, and figured them out in 5 minutes.  I then took another 5 minutes to explore how those numbers would play out in the real world.  As we say at my place of employee, I call shenanigans!

The cost?  Let's throw some real basic concepts out there and then assign resources & a low ball theoretical dollar value.  trump will need a much larger work force in the Immigration Department.  he will also employ local law enforcement departments who will not be assigning resources to this task out of the goodness of their hearts.  he will clog up the court system.  he will need to "impound" these people until they can be transported out of the U.S.  Vehicles, fuel,.  I am sure there are more items I'm not thinking about.  I'm going to assign a dollar value of $20,000 per undocumented person and multiply this by five million people equals $100,000,000,000.  That's 100 billion dollars.  I believe that $20,000 per person is a low number and that we are really talking about a cost in the trillions.

The value of these people that trump claims he will deport?  Believe it or not, these people pay taxes.  The Immigration Department will get the locality of many of these people from the IRS.  Their employers paid their taxes and they filed returns to recoup some or all of that money.  They helped fund the U.S with their hard work.  They do jobs that Americans do not want and at wages Americans will not tolerate.  The only way these same jobs will get done, if Americans are willing to do them, is by Americans at higher wages thereby increasing the cost of goods.  The cost in human suffering will be unimaginable.  As I type this, I am reminded of the River of Tears, in the early 1800s.  Native Americans were forced from their 'homes' and militarily forced to move west so that room was made for 'whitey'.  History repeats itself and humans do not learn.

 

Taxes

OK........here's a big one, TAXES.  Small word, big impact (psychologically).  At its core, this is really a simple subject.  Before I express my thoughts on the broad picture of taxes, I do want to note that I believe that the tax code does need simplification.

Taxes, why?  Why, because WE the people need to pay for the "stuff" we want & need.  WE need to pay for the ways in which WE fund what the Constitution mandates.  The streets, the bridges, the sewer systems, the parks, the military, the police, the federal, state and local workers that make it all happen, the schools, etc.

Well let's start with the size of government. You might say, it's too large, it needs to be paired down.  Be assured that in a country as large as ours, WE need a large government to steer the ship.  Also, think about the level of unemployment that would occur if WE were to eliminate government jobs.  'No', you say, those same employees will be picked up by private industry which will be contracted by US, the government, to do what the government did, inefficiently.  The government, WE,  will still need money to pay the contractors and there are examples of private contractors being "efficient" by skirting regulations; e.g.'s Black Water, during the Iraq war and the recent federal prison system issues when run by contractors.  Therefore, in order to make sure that these functions are administered properly by contractors, the government, WE, would need to hire a large number of employees to monitor & enforce regulations.  Who needs regulations, you say.  WE do, to protect ourselves from basic human nature......GREED.

Next, I want to reinforce the fact that  government is necessary to give US a cohesive country, rather than a large number of individual "fiefdoms".  Let's suppose that the government, WE,  did not provide funding for roads and bridges and uniform specifications and regulations for these pieces of infrastructure.  Well WE still want this 'stuff', so where is it coming from?  The states?  WE'LL still need to pay taxes to the state WE live in to get it done.  When WE drive from one state to another, there may not be consistency in the roads, the signage, the quality of materials & construction.  There are  others that say they want to only use what they pay for and only pay for what they use.  In this scenario the possibility exists for individuals to build roads and bridges & charge tolls for any vehicle that wants to use them.  Not a great picture, is it?

Taxes are not some punitive function of some over arching government.  WE are the government.  WE govern ourselves through our elected officials and the human resources that our elected officials fund and administer.  Any person in OUR country who does not want to pay for what they already use; the roads, the police and armed forces that provide us with protection, the public schools and so much more, needs to stop using these resources.  Of course these people won't stop using all of these 'things' that WE pay for, they'll just continue to complain that they are being sorely used by having to pay taxes.

Now......who's paying & who's not paying taxes is another discussion!

America's workers & consumers and their desires

What follows is something that I have given a great deal of thought to over many years.  I believe these are basic, basic issues that our society simply does not want to come to grips with.

I'll start by saying that I see the issues as circular in nature and it is difficult to see how the circle can be broken.

   - Americans cry out 'buy American products only'.  Of course we all want to "support" American products because that employees Americans.

   - We all cry out that we want "raises" in pay, that we want more money.  We all keep striving to make more money.  Again, all well and good.

   - Increases in wages, of course, means that in order for businesses to continue to be profitable; businesses have to increase the cost of their goods and/or services.

Therefore in order for workers to continue to increase their wages, the cost of purchasing goods & services continually rises.  Now let's look at the next part of the circle:

   - Americans go shopping and cry out 'everything costs too much'. So.....what do they do?

   - They go to WalMart.  WalMart does two basic things to keep their prices low.  They use their size as leverage to buy at the lowest possible cost to them and they buy a large amount of their products from China.  Woooooooooooo.  China has the worlds 2nd largest economy (the U.S. economy is still # 1........USA, USA, USA).  I do not believe that anyone will disagree that the very people who want jobs, money and American goods to be purchased are all going to WalMart....... a lot!

So, let's review.  Americans want high wages and jobs.  Americans want low prices.  How's that working out?  This is where it is difficult to find a place to break the circle.  I will tell you this, this is not an issue that will be solved by our government, tariffs or economists.  This is an issue that will only be resolved by Americans backing off of there sense of entitlement.  This does not mean giving up all of our fun stuff.  It does mean making choices because we can't have "everything all the time".

I am not here to preach or place myself on a pedestal.  Having said that, I do want to share my life style.  I do not have a dishwasher.  I do not have central air conditioning,  In the summer, we barely use our window AC units, we use fans (we are north of Philadelphia.....it gets hot & humid).  We keep lights off, except when needed.  We only use the clothes dryer for about two to three months during the year, otherwise we hang our laundry outside on a clothes line to dry.  I wash plastic bags & re-use them until they get a hole.  I shovel snow with a shovel.  We buy 95% of our clothes at the Salvation Army.  We do have lap top computers, smart phones, cable TV, one television and used cars.  We live in a twin with a postage stamp back yard.  We have a hodge podge of old furniture, but the house is clean.  I make approx $40k per year, but with OT it's about 50k (if some of my co-workers are reading this, I'm sorry, but the picture is important to the story).  My life is comfortable and i do not want.

Lastly, I am not ignorant to the fact that consumerism drives the economy and what I am suggesting will cause the economy to shrink, to go into recession.  There is no perfect solution.

Stay tuned.  Tomorrow's subject, taxes.

Top Security Clearance

This morning I was going to write about the possibility of trump having the Department of Justice bring charges against Hillary Clinton, but something else has presented itself that requires immediate attention.  At my place of work, we have a large lunch room w/a flat screen television.  When I walked into work and into the lunch room to put my food in the fridge, I was greeted by the following:

trump has requested that his children be given top security clearance.

In case you are rubbing your eyes in disbelief, I will repeat what trump has "requested", he wants his children to have top security clearance!  From my perspective, there are three issues to be addressed in reference to this "request":

   - Is there a precedence for a person not part of the U.S. government to have top security clearance?

   - It seems to me that this would be tantamount to insider trading.  trump's children will be taking control of trump's businesses.  Many of these businesses have dealings in other countries.  If trump's children have access to this most sensitive material, they will have a completely unfair & illegal advantage in the market place.

   - Upon viewing the U.S. Department of State web site I found the following criteria for security clearance:

Eligibility for access to classified information, commonly known as a security clearance, is granted only to those for whom an appropriate personnel security background investigation has been completed. It must be determined that the individual’s personal and professional history indicates loyalty to the United States, strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and sound judgment, as well as freedom from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion, and a willingness and ability to abide by regulations governing the use, handling, and protection of classified information. A determination of eligibility for access to such information is a discretionary security decision based on judgments by appropriately trained adjudicative personnel. Eligibility will be granted only where facts and circumstances indicate access to classified information is clearly consistent with the national security interests of the United States. Access to classified information will be terminated when an individual no longer has need for access.

So, let's look at these requirements and the items  marked with a bold font.  "Strength of character, trustworthiness [and] honesty";  if trump's children were any of these, then they would not want top security clearance and would tell their father as much.  Next, "conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion"; trump's businesses have many loans from sources inside of Russia.........enough said.  Next, "consistent with national security interests....."; you'd have a lot of convincing to do, to prove to me that his kids have a darn thing to do with national security interests.  Lastly "need for access"; If a person is not working for the government as a contractor or a part of the government, then they have no need for access, period!!

No one is above the law, NO ONE!  This is the type of action that needs to be put out for public consumption on a large scale and protested against.  We cannot allow any of these attempts of illegal and questionable practices to go by the wayside, it will only reinforce more of the same.  Protest on line!  Protest to your elected legislators!  Protest in the streets! Protest peacefully!

trump & law suites

So......there are at least 75 open law suites involving trump.  mostly civil, with some that could lead to criminal action, from fraud to rape of a minor.  Yes, until a jury makes a decision, each one of these illegal activities is "alleged".  I, for one, have no difficulties believing that he is 100% guilty.  I am not a lawyer, but I can't see how, if found guilty, that he could not be liable for impeachment.  The constitution simply reads "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."  It doesn't say when these crimes have to occur.  I does not note that the crimes need to occur during the President's time in office.I am calling for Attorneys General to immediately investigate any findings, based on a guilty verdict in a civil law suite, to determine if criminal action is warranted.  If criminal action is warranted, trump should immediately face criminal charges.  He should be afforded a speedy trial as called for in the sixth amendment to the constitution: "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy trial".  There can be no legal maneuvering allowed by a judge for the purpose of delaying a trial.  I am calling for all Senators, to immediately petition for trump's impeachment upon a guilty verdict on any criminal legal action in which he is found guilty.  The above is not "crazy" talk.  If you think that Richard Nixon was a crook, "you ain't seen nothin' yet"!  This blog will be following the law suites involving trump and will report accordingly.

protests

Sixty years old, and I do not recall seeing anything like the past five days after an election.  People are not only "Takin' it to the Streets" in our country, to protest the election of donald trump (name spelled w/lower case letters quite on purpose in order to denote complete lack of respect for this schmuck), but in other nations around the globe as well.  Our globe is smaller than ever and therefore more interconnected than ever.  What affects one, affects all, no matter what side of the schism (see post # 1) an individual is .on.

trump, has written that the protests are "very unfair" (waaaaa waaaaaa waaaaaa) and that the protesters are "professional protesters" (who is paying all of these "professional protesters"?).  This was the MO during his life to this point and we can expect the same for the rest of his life.  At 70 years old, he is not changing.  he may even think that protests in other nations are meaningless,, but he is wrong.  Xenophobia is not a viable choice for any country on our planet, and I'm positive that we will learn this lesson the hard way.

The protests we are seeing the past six days are important, but they are a reaction, a catharsis to the results of last weeks election, a expression of anxiety based on the immoral & foul rhetoric that came out of trump's mouth prior to election day, a beginning.  The planned protests for "inauguration day" and the Million Women Mach the following day are absolutely important next steps, but they cannot be the only steps.Those of us who truly have a moral compass must continue to protest in every way possible for the next four years.  We must do everything that we absolutely can to block the dangerous, backwards thinking, racist, immoral agenda that will be put forward by trump and what is now a rubber stamp congress.

The following are thoughts on protest, moving forward:

   - FLOOD congress and the white house w/regular mail & email each and every day.  make it impossible for all of these offices to do anything except focus on mail.  Supposedly they read mail in some way.  Even if it is to count the mail, FLOOD them,  Weigh them down.  Work to divert their attention from their agenda!

   - URGE all Democrats in congress to use every and all governing rules and procedures in order to obstruct any and all business that is not up to OUR standards.  Whether or not the representatives will be re-elected to their posts depends on their actions over the next two and four years!

   - WATCH and respond to ALL actions taken by the executive and legislative branches.  When any action is not up to OUR standards use as many forms of protest as possible.  Make sure to not protest if the legislation or action will ultimately injure legislators that support the executive branch and the executive branch itself. Let them shoot themselves in the foot.

   - BE in it for the long haul.  DO NOT give up.  WE must keep constant pressure on trump and all  the chumps.  trump has great difficulties letting any slight towards him, any criticism of him, go.  he is compelled to respond.  MAKE him respond.  DIVERT his attention

Keep the pressure on and don't let up.  PROTEST!!!!!

The Schism

Friday, November 11, 2016

So many emotions & thoughts passing through my heart & mind since about 2:00 am on Wednesday, 11/9.    Certainly, I will not list them all now.  My purpose is to use the blog platform to share my thoughts about the state of our country, and to listen to those that wish to share.

With that being said, the first thought that I want to explore is the schism, the divide in our culture, in our society.  I am not presenting myself as a SME (subject matter expert).  I am only able to write about what I see.  It may be possible that we over-analyze social dynamics instead of going with our guts.  I understand that analysis presents a picture based on a large sampling and gives us the ability to view societal issues with more accuracy then can be had w/anecdotal evidence.  I respect that, but still I choose to start this discussion with my gut.

There are a few divides that I see in our culture, in humans.  First is the intelligence divide.  From my perspective I see one group as being thoughtful and concerned with human growth and embracing progress  in a forward thinking manner.  I see the other group as being short sighted, fearful, unwilling to explore, unwilling to grow.  The differences between these two ways of viewing the world is not new.  I believe the schism started when Darwin put  forward his findings re: evolution.  You might even go so far as saying it has been a culture war, that started with Darwin's writings, had a pause during WW II, and started again in the 1950s, with a continued building towards a crescendo that I do not believe has yet been reached.  Yes, even this election cycle is not the final resolution of this culture war.

Maybe, a large portion of humans in our country and world wide, are not yet capable of moving forward.  Maybe progress puts these people under too much stress, and they do not have the ability or tools to experience that stress and move through it.  Maybe, people do not see the social good in a woman terminating a pregnancy, because she knows she will not love the child and sees the negative social consequences of bringing a child into the world that would not be supported as a child needs to be.  Maybe, people do not see the human decency in using the best possible medical research options to develop cures for diseases that  would enable those that have them to have a better quality of life.  Maybe, people, while embracing technological advances, don't know how to use them responsibly and maybe this causes them stress.  Maybe, it is time for a pause.  If so, then the American electoral system has provided that pause.

Donald Trump, besides being a complete asshole, with a complete lack of morals, is simply a refection of the large number of Americans that are incapable of embracing progress.  Four years from now, America will see that Donald Trump was a mistake, but I doubt highly that Americans will have the fortitude to look at themselves, as individuals, and see that the mistake was theirs.

Instead of thinking for themselves, Americans have been led around by the nose and have been told what to think.  This has been done by political parties, churches and those with enough money to literally purchase the ability to influence.  The media is not without responsibility, in that they are driven by the profit motive.

We have much to explore, much inward focus that needs to be worked through, much to discuss and much to understand.  My hope is that in some small way, this blog becomes part of that process.