Trey Gowdy, Poor Guy.

       Uh-Oh, look out Trey, the conspiracy theorists are out for your hide. The Special Select committee on Benghazi was supposed to find the smoking gun in Hillary Clinton's hand and you blew it. You were chosen to lead this, the ninth witch hunt in the effort to find Hillary guilty of something big enough to cause her to lose the election this year. You were given ample time to get the goods on her. To bring her down. But you, Trey Gowdy, you failed miserably.
       So the folks in your home state of South Carolina will forever be haunted by the knowledge that  one of its Congressmen failed in his sworn duty to uphold the best interests of South Carolina not to mention all conspiracy enthusiasts everywhere. You didn't even entrap President Obama in your two year, seven million dollar investigation. Well, one thing you'll never see is a draft Trey Gowdy for President poster.
       Eight hundred pages and you can't shoot Hillary or Barak in the foot. Turn in your gun. The delusional idea that anything could have saved those four State Dept. men has been put to rest. At least until they find some other fool to take up the chase. Shades of the dog chasing his own tail around a tree. Give it up folks. Hillary and Barak did nothing wrong, broke no law. It was a terribly unfortunate situation, but nobody broke the law.
       Its like this latest screw up of Trump's when his campaign solicited campaign contributions from foreign politicians. When it was pointed out to them that such requests are illegal, they backed away. The difference is that what they tried was illegal. But as long as they stopped before somebody actually sent them a donation all is forgiven. Its okay to hate Hillary and Barak, but its not okay to keep harassing them.

Sue The Bums!

       Imagine for a minute Donald Trump as president. America finds itself at war with China over the south China Sea. The fight is growing in intensity and the costs are escalating alarmingly. Mr. President what should we do? "Sue China and declare bankruptcy both at the same time. It will so surprise China to be sued by the best lawyers in the world and frighten them over the loss of our debt to them that they'll capitulate."
       Now that may sound sarcastic, but when you come right down to it, Donald Trump's whole life business experience revolves around these two tactics. Well those two tactics and his persona, his interactions with competitors and employees. His position has allowed him to be overly forceful in his dealings. And anyone who has the temerity to disagree or fail to succumb to his demands finds themselves under withering attack by non other than 'The Donald.'
       That may work in his business world, but here on this earth, it won't work with the leaders of countries who see themselves as very important personages. Can you imagine Mr. Putin listening to this or any of a hundred or so other world leaders?  I can't imagine the fallout from those leaders being subjected to such talk. America is great and powerful, but Trumps trash talk would so alienate these leaders and their countries from America that I'm not sure we could handle that many fights either militarily or financially.
Our world leadership depends on our good relations with many other countries. We can't afford to lose the advantages of that leadership or those good relationships. Our economy depends on them. Anyone who thinks we'd be better off in isolation doesn't understand this world and our place in  it.

Hey, Wait A Minute.

       I just saw a political ad for Pat Toomey. According to the ad, Senator Toomey sponsored a bill to require all employees of schools to have background checks. Of course I thought in Pennsylvania the schools are already required to have such background checks. Even daycare schools, and any business charged with the care of our children.
       It's great that Mr. Toomey wants to protect our children in school. What I can't understand is why our Senator Toomey isn't concerned about people who might want to break into a school like Sandy hook and kill 20 kids? Maybe gun toting terrorists aren't as big a problem as child molesters. To my mind both are a serious threat to our kids.
       Mr. Toomey, why do you cow-tow to the NRA against the people you were elected to represent? Don't you feel we're as important as gun manufacturers' profits? Maybe you should get a job with the NRA and leave us alone. We'd be a lot better off without you. Between the NRA and Wall Street, you seem to be too busy to care about us anyway.

Its Just A Game.

       Here's a new question & answer game. So contestants, the question is; If a blind person can buy one, what is it? Now here's the first clue, if a terrorist can buy as many of them as they want, what is it? OH contestant #1 was first to ring his bell. So contestant # 1 what is your guess? I think its a jet plane. ZZZap. Oh sorry contestant #1, you were so close, but no cigar. Oh rats.
       Yes contestant #2? What is your guess? Your own country? ZZZap. Oh, contestant #2 that was such a great guess, but you're wrong too. That leaves contestant #3. What's your guess #3? Hm? Well #1 and #2 guessed what I was gonna guess. So let's see, could it be an electric shaver? Oh, so sorry #3, but that was racial profiling. however you get to have another choice because you seem to have a good mind. Oh good, then my second guess is a Sports Car. Oh, such a good idea, but you're wrong.
       Since non of our guest contestants won, the proceeds go to a terrorist, they include the correct answer, namely an assault rifle! And the name of the winning terrorist is ----- Anonymous!  So Mr. Anonymous, you can pick up your winners assault rifle at any gun show or over the internet. Just present your credit card or cash and you've got a wonderful gift. Just one request. Please do not use it for its intended purpose, namely killing people.

Let's Give Everybody A Break.

       We should talk more about the minimum wage. If we were to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, I think the Republicans would secretly be happy. I think business and industry would quickly find out they're happy too. How could this be? They've all been fighting the idea of raising the minimum wage for years. You'd think they all believe that $7.25 per hour is enough. If you poor people can't live on that much, go get a second or third job.
       We should talk more about all the anti-poverty programs for the poor like Food Stamps, Housing Subsidies, Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credits. You don't suppose that business and industry are happy with those programs do you? Well they must not be too unhappy because companies like Walmart are training their employees how to access these programs. Of course I suppose that's because their minimum wage employees can't survive on those wages.
       One of the big complaints I keep hearing from conservative acquaintances is that these programs are boondoggles and don't help the poor anyway. Well, what if they raised the minimum wage and eliminated some of those programs or cut them back and then gave a tax cut to the wealthy? I'll bet that would peak their interest now wouldn't it. They'd still hate the idea of giving those worker drones that pay raise, but would they hate that more than they'd love another tax cut?
       The thing is, the ultra wealthy have seen their income go up so high that they've come to be a little dizzy at those heights and they just can't comprehend that everybody's income hasn't kept pace. So when someone starts talking about doubling the minimum wage, they wonder why nobody's talking about doubling their wage. But their, the ultra-wealthy, wages have been doubling every couple of years while the worker drones haven't gone up at all to speak of.
       Really what it boil down to is whether or not the average worker has a right to expect a living wage for a days work. If that worker drone can't afford to support a family on what he earns then how can the CEO and the rest of the management team justify their mega paychecks?

The Brexit Unwraped.

       The Brexit. What in the hades is the Brexit? Well to an Englishman or Scot and even for nearly all of Europe it means that Great Brittan would be leaving the European Union. Now some say that would be good for England and bad for all of Europe, some say just the opposite and some say it would hurt everybody including America. Sounds to me like nobody knows what England's leaving or not leaving the union means to anyone's short or long term future.
       One thing's for sure. It's got most English and French and German and pretty much everyone up in arms. Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you what it's going to do, but rest assured there're plenty of people who are prepared to do just that. On both sides. I will say this though, everybody got along fairly well before the Union, they got along better with the Union so they'll decide for better or worse and we can't do anything about it.
        What I can't figure out is why it matters so much to us. One way or the other life will go on. Except for the big banks and the 0.1%, the ultra rich. For those folks, I guess there's some hurt in store or an opportunity to make some real money. But for the life of me I just can't conjure up any sympathy for those folks who are losing sleep over it. Well except for the poorer class across the water who might suffer because of the outcome of the vote.
       Look at it this way, if Texas were to vote on seceding from our United States of America. No! Wait! That's a bad example, I guess everybody would be happy with that. Well think of it this way; if Donald Trump were to go up against Hillary Clinton for president? Okay I guess that's not s good example either.
       I hope this short, simple discourse has helped you to better understand the Brexit and its potential impact on you and your friends on the other side of the Atlantic. Now stay tuned for the Onion report.

Its Not Just The Hair.

       There has been talk about how much blame to place on the Republican party for Trump's success in this campaign. But however much blame is found to be the party's fault, you can almost double that amount and place that amount at the feet of the media. It's not so much that they like him and secretly will vote for him in November, although there are a fair number who probably will, its that they make so much money off him.
       Donald Trump is thee number one media darling. He's gotten more attention than all the other candidates in both parties combined. The reason for that is because the media drools over the thought that he'll say something outrageous, again. And the reason is that if they catch him spouting some new slanderous pronouncement, all the more people will want to tune in. And that means more money and higher ratings and higher ratings determines how much they can charge for commercials.
       I'm surprised that Trump hasn't demanded fees for the privilege of recording him speaking. But then he is getting paid by owning the airwaves. Now, how does all this help him? All the media coverage handed him more votes and more delegates than his opponents in the primary campaign. Enough the hand him the nomination. But perhaps even more important to Donald is the increase in value to his brand. That's where he makes real money. Win or lose in the election, afterward can you imagine his speaking fees? UGE, UGE.
       People think he's crazy, out of his mind. Well, when you think about it in this light, he's a whole lot smarter than any of us thought. He's positioning himself to make more money than ever, far more than he could possibly make in public service, like the presidency. Public office would become an interesting sidelight, a toy, compared to his real business. That of grooming his personal image.

Truth Be Told.

       I have a friend whose name is Truth B. Told. Truth B. Told is a quiet man, he rarely speaks out, but is known by many. Now Truth B. Told has a firm belief in not accepting lies or exaggerations. Truth B. Told has little respect for those who, especially in positions of authority, say one thing and do another. Of all those in authority, the folks he most disapproves of are politicians. And among politicians, the truth be told, Truth B. Told reserves his greatest derision for the newbies.
       Political newbies are those individuals who, later in life, decide to run for high office. But have never had any experience that could be construed to be relative to the responsibilities of that high office. Some are even in office and running as incompetent incumbents Yet, in order to appear more suited to that high office, will endlessly point out the failings, real or imagined, of his or her opponent. Truth be told, its not the real that bothers Truth B. Told, but the imagined that he finds troublesome.
       I'm sure you'll find examples of such people in many election campaigns across the country. Someone decides he or she wants the attention afforded them by such a campaign. Some see such a campaign and high office as a means to increase their personal or business value and as being even more important than the office and responsibilities themselves. For these people, truth be told, Truth B. Told finds no value to society. Truth B. Told considers such a candidate to be a cancer on the soul of a society.
       While it seems to be standard operating procedure for politicians to puff up their own capabilities and run down their opponent's, other politicians go far beyond this and begin the childish game of name calling. Truth be told, this is exactly the worst behavior possible, and in Truth B. Told's mind disqualifies them for any office. Truth be told, Mr. Truth B. Told is right on.

Shame on Rep. Marsha Blackburn!

       Perhaps the worst, most despicable blemish on the integrity of the U.S. Congress has been perpetrated by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R) of Tennessee and some or her fellow members of the House select investigative panel on infant lives. As chair of the committee that has been trying mightily to prove that Planned Parenthood has illegally profited from selling body parts, an accusation that has not been proven in any way to be true, she exposed a group of people to danger, I believe, intentionally.
       First they promoted a video purported to show the accusation was true until it was debunked and in fact the producers of the video have been prosecuted. But now Ms. Blackburn has apparently leaked information on names, addresses and phone numbers of University researchers and Doctors to FOX News, as well as the panel's own website. Including a Doctor who has already been threatened and when and where he must testify to the panel. This last which she and her colleges assured they would protect their privacy.
       When a member of Congress, no matter who, intentionally places a citizen in danger for no reason other than the Congressperson doesn't like what they do, is or should be criminal and should also cause automatic dismissal from Congress. Of course the easy answer is that a staffer made a mistake. But multiple times to multiple people??
       This can only happen when that congresswoman is so sure of her position and so unconcerned for anyone else. The shame that Ms. Marsha Blackburn brings to the U.S. Congress and to our country is unforgivable. Whether or not you agree with women's rights, this has nothing to do with what she did. Sorry, but there is nothing about this act that I can find humorous.

I Just Can't Help It.

       I just can't help but think, that late at night after a long hard day on the trail, that when The Donald gets back to his room or home or wherever, he sits down and quietly smiles and then breaks into loud boisterous laughter and asks himself how in the world did I pull that off? He then must think: Why in the world do these people actually believe all that guff? Is it possible that all those people actually do believe it?
       Then the next thing he does, after he stops laughing, is to sit in a recliner and ask himself what silly thing he can say next. Its got to be something really dumb. Something so unbelievable that finally all those people will realize 'I'm not serious'. I'm getting tired of this grind day after day and I wish it was over. Still, everything I say backfires on me. Instead of losing more and more voters, I gain more and more voters.
       Maybe what I need to do is start to be serious. You know, like telling them I'm gonna cut taxes for the rich and increase taxes for the middle class. Heck, with my luck it would bring out more voters for me. I blame that on Reagan. He's the one that suckered all those conservatives on that 'trickle down theory'. All those knuckleheads actually bought it. That's when I realized there's more than just one sucker born every minute. Its more like ten a second.
       But hey, I've already got what I set out to get. All my businesses have increased in value and profits. My brand worth has increased more than ever. Yet no matter who I insult, they seem to vote for me. What can I possibly do to get folks to stop voting for me? Its getting so it ain't fun anymore. Well anyway it looks like there may be some small light at the end of the tunnel. Even some Senators and Congressmen are not being as friendly of late. I think its that judge.

Most Jobs Require Different Skillsets.

       What's the difference between being a successful businessman and a successful president? For starters a successful businessman needs to focus almost exclusively on expanding the bottom line, and the bottom line is almost always money, profits. A president, to be successful, must focus on the people, they are the bottom line. If the businessman loses profits he regroups and works to rebuild profits, but if a president loses profits, those are peoples lives.
       A businessman cannot become too wedded to any particular product line. If the line is not successful, he needs to drop it in favor of a line that is more popular. A president cannot drop a segment of the society for any reason. A businessman needs to consider offshoring production in the search for profits. A president cannot offshore anything, but must look to bring more onshore.
        A businessman might find it necessary to declare bankruptcy to save his business, and can do that multiple times in his career and still find willing investors if he's got a plan for success. A president simply doesn't have that option. America survives and prospers because it is the safest investment in the world. To lose that distinction would be disastrous to our economy and our ability to borrow in the future. For the successful businessman its just a bump in the road. There is little in the experience of a businessman to prepare him for the presidency.
       A president must negotiate as does the businessman, but the businessman can easily walk away from an unpleasant negotiation because there is almost always another option, but for the president, most often, there is no other acceptable option but to negotiate or face unwanted conflict. The businessman negotiates for profit, but the president negotiates out of necessity. That's why no successful businessman, elected to the presidency, in our history, has ever been a successful president.
      


































































a businessman can

The NRA's Children's Story.

       Little known fact. America already has gun control, including gun registration. So why is the NRA crying so loudly not to allow gun control legislation? News flash, NRA, its already here. That's right, since 1934 its been illegal to own one of these firearms without registering it with the ATF. The registration costs somewhere around $200 and includes make, model and serial number and your name and address among other requirements.
       And guess what America. No registered gun owner in the entire 82 years has ever had his guns confiscated by the government other than, perhaps, for using it in the commission of a crime. A New York Times OP-ED, points out that this safe and effective law continues to register such weapons as machineguns, missiles, mortars and hand grenades and its a law that works. Even the head of NFA Trade and Collectors Association, himself a manufacturer of machineguns, states that there's nothing to fear from gun registration.
       By the way, the law is the National Firearms Act, but you didn't hear that from the NRA. Nope, what you hear from the NRA is that if you register your guns the government will be knocking down your door to confiscate them. But the proof is a different story. If its worked for over 80 years without a hitch, including with the backing of the NRA (back then, when the NRA was a gun owner focused organization rather than a gun manufacturer's front group) and in fact they suggested all guns be registered and owners licensed and if it's worked that long without a hitch it'll continue to work as designed for another 80 years..
       Ya know what else? NFA gun owners almost never are involved in gun violence. That's a fact. But you didn't hear that from the NRA. All Wayne LA Pierre  keeps saying is that with gun control legislation, the sky is falling. Unfortunately Wayne has most legislators quaking in their boots. After all, they need Wayne's approval to get elected.

Taking On Wall Street!

       There's a new initiative afoot and it's bi-partisan. Well at least folks from both sides of the isle claim to be in favor of action on this front. It has to do with curbing Wall Street. Sort of pulling Wall Street's fangs, you might say. Ideas like eliminating the carried interest deal whereby hedge fund traders get to pay much less in taxes than you or I do.
       Now every group or industry has the right to have lobbyists to plead their cases in Washington, but nobody is more successful at it than Wall Street. Why is that? Its because that's where the money is. Just look at the record. After the recent blowing up of the economy, aka "The Great Recession", the record stands at 47 bank employees from the ten largest banks were charged with crimes but of those only one was a boardroom level employee. But the banks did pay fines. Its the cost of doing business, I guess only banks break laws, apparently not bank executives.
       So anyway, there's a new push to reign in these financial cowboys. Elizabeth Warren is leading the charge for "Take On Wall Street", a plan and call to action to force some common sense into the banks and real oversight over them. Split up the banks. Let the gamblers have their fun, but not with your or my savings. Savings banks would have to behave as though they were acting as protectors of our savings by investing in home and auto loans and the like and let the cowboys gamble with their own money.
       Making bankers responsible for their actions instead of simply paying what amounts to a petty fine, and believe me when I tell you that a couple of billion for these huge banks is nothing more than a petty fine. Such fines are more of an incentive to do more of the same than it does to discourage bad deeds. But it'll take a lot of hard work to pull this off. The question is do we want some honest reform? Are we satisfied with bankers getting away with financial murder or do we want our economy protected from them? Remember 'Taking On Wall Street' isn't just a slogan, its a real need for protecting ourselves.