The Making Of The Rich.

       Donald Trump is a multibillionaire, that's a fact. Just imagine how someone becomes a multibillionaire. It can't be easy. Its gotta take hard work. I can just imagine young Donnie starting out in life packing his overnite bag and trudging off into the cold cruel world with nothing but the million dollars Daddy gave him as a starter gift. But how does one parley a paltry million into several billion?
       Well, our government helped somewhat. It invented a process called bankruptcy. Oh, how to explain. Let me give you an example. Suppose you were to call your bookie, Fat Willie, and tell him to put $5000 on the first horse in the first race tomorrow to win. But the horse loses the race. Fat Willie calls and wants to know where his $5000 is. You tell him you don't have $5000 so you're gonna declare bankruptcy. So Fat Willie sends Freddy Fingers and Big Luther over to break your legs. Hmm, I guess that's not a good example.
       Let's try this one. You take out a loan for four million to buy a building for two million and spend the rest to renovate the building, but when you're finished the building is only worth one and a half million because there are structural problems. So you declare bankruptcy. Now the workers and suppliers and contractors and the bank get stuck with nothing. Then you sell the building for the one and a half million, which is all clear profit.
       Nobody comes around to break your legs and Fat Willie invites you over for steak and lobster tail. Now do that a few times and the pennies start to add up after a while. Then build a casino or two that go out of business and declare a tax loss throwing thousands of good people out of work and the pennies keep on piling up. Send jobs overseas to save on production costs and the pennies are hip deep. It all makes good busyness sense, but how would that prepare you for being President? Think you can declare bankruptcy for America? How does sending citizenship overseas save on costs?

E-mails Aren't All The Same.

      
       Exactly what's the connection (s) between Trump, Putin, DNC e-mails and Clinton? Let's work backwards. Clinton had nothing to do with  any of this so forget that angle. The DNC e-mails showed a preference for Hillary by the staff of the Democratic National Committee. They were hacked open and then given to Wikileaks by official Russian computer spies. Putin fears Clinton, and favors Trump for President. Trump has been trying for decades to do business in Russia and has shown unusual admiration for Putin of late and that admiration seems to be mirrored by Putin.
       Now its one thing for a foreign official to have preferences in our elections but its quite another thing to get involved to the extent of this releasing of pirated e-mails in order to sway voters without them knowing that the e-mails were being released by Russia, our sworn enemy by the way.
       Now, no one is suggesting that Trump had anything to do with either the spying or the release of the e-mails, but it does play into Putin's plans. And certainly it has the effect of helping Trump, although nobody knows how much. My guess is that some Bernie supporters could decide to sit home come November. A sad state of affairs.
       The bad guys here are the DNC staff and Putin. We should expect this kind of action from Russia and Wasserman-Shultz lost her chair of the Democratic party over it, but the rest of the DNC staff had best learn from their stupid mistake. I'd also suggest the RNC staff take note of the problem and clean up their act because we both know they were doing the same thing as the DNC.
       So what's the outtake for us in all of this? Politicians and the folks who work for them can't really be trusted all that much. And Russia can't be trusted at all, but then we already knew that. Too bad we can't find a better way to govern without politicians or dictators. Maybe a computer, but then somebody would hack it.
      
      

"Gloom And Doom" AKA Chiken Little.

       Well after last week I almost did believe the sky was falling. But no, Donald, the sky isn't falling. It was simply twilight. It happens every day, but don't worry, it'll rise again in the morning. I promise. And then what about America? Has it fallen so far that it'll take a dictator-like leader to make it great again? Is there no hope that a free America can make it on its own? Or is America already great? Is it true that the Great Recession is all over? Are we truly well on the road to greatness without you?
       That Kenyan who was elected President twice has helped lead us out from under the frightening weight of the Great Recession and with the help of The Hated, Hillary, we've once again become a nation our allies can have confidence in and our enemies disrespect us only to find their path forward blocked in many ways. Its a far better way than war. We're no longer starting wars because our V.P. wants some country's oil for his company, we're just not starting them.
       And while I'm at it, Pres. Putin is not someone to admire. Better to keep a close eye on him, but not out of respect. You seem to place admiration of political strongmen who are in fact brutal dictators, high on your list of folks to emulate. Please prove to us that I'm wrong. And hey, a huge wall between us and Mexico? You don't seem to understand how much that kind of structure would cost. Even if Mexico wanted to pay for it, they couldn't afford it and neither could we.
       And did you know that violent crime has been decreasing over the last decade or more? No we haven't eliminated crime, but it's not as dark a picture as you paint. Nor is our economy so bleak as you claim. Only income and opportunity inequality are holding us back. Jobs are beginning to return, yes even from China.
       So stop running around and shouting at the top of your lungs, the end is near. The end hasn't been written for us as yet. Unless you're talking about your chances.

BOO!!!! Did I Scare Ya?

       Have you personally been attacked by a jihadi terrorist? Any family member been attacked by one? Has anyone you know personally been attacked by a jihadi terrorist? How many of the over 350 million American citizens do you know of who've been attacked by those terrorists? Yes there have been radicalized terrorists and yes some have killed some Americans. But if you want to be worried about something scary, think about drunk drivers. They kill a lot more Americans than terrorists do.
       Do you think crime has gotten completely out of hand? Then how come violent crime has continually dropped annually over the last decade or more? It can't be both ways. Either statistics are wrong or a political scare tactic is wrong.
       Is our military completely depleted? Is it unfit to protect us from any enemy? How can that be if we have the most expensive military with the best and newest, and most hi-tech equipment in the world. More fighting ships then any other navy or group of navies in the world. The best planes and best pilots in the world? And do we have the best prepared military in the world? It can't be both ways.
       Is our economy in free fall? Are we having uncontrollable inflation? Are we experiencing expanding unemployment? Are wages tumbling towards zero? No, the exact opposite is happening. The scare tactics being used to scare voters doesn't expect people to stop and think for a moment. And realize that, HEY, we're not in as bad a shape as these clowns are suggesting.
       That's not to say there isn't room for improvement. There's still inequality. Inequality of educational opportunity and healthcare opportunity and employment opportunity. And there's the opportunity to be represented by people who are more interested in what's good for our country and our people and not what's best for themselves.
       The idea that scaring our citizens into voting for some loudmouth isn't in our best interests. That approach is one that most often leads to a dictatorship. What we need is someone who can lead us toward a free society. Its true, we don't have the best choices this time around, but one will surely harm us while the other will be unlikely to harm us.

Where are We Toto?

       In this extremely heightened political season we find that there is gross misinformation coming from every corner of the spectrum That's why I get such a laugh out of a fairly new commercial on TV. It's about a young man on the rings in gymnastics competition. It shows him doing several flips and then lowers himself into the Iron Cross position where his two arms are outstretched using his body and arms to form as perfect a cross as possible. 
       It requires unbelievable strength, but then he removes his one hand from its ring without moving an inch in order to answer his phone. Of course it would be completely impossible for any human to perform such a feat. That's what makes it so funny. No one could remain so perfectly upright. The laws of physics wouldn't allow it.
       That's exactly what politicians are asking us to believe though. In speech after speech candidates make claim after claim which couldn't possibly be fulfilled. Always besting their opponent's  promises. If one candidate promises free college, the next promises free college and a brand new car or breakfast at Tiffany's They click their bright shinny red heels and you're off to Kansas, like it or not. We need to remember that promises are cheap, its the doing that's hard. 
       Nobody can fix what ain't broken and most things that are broken can't easily be fixed with a few magical words. You can't turn your back on allies and expect them to help you and its a lot easier to claim to build a wall than to actually build it. Let's stop blaming others for our own faults, in fact let's stop blaming all together and try working together instead. If you stop promising, I'll stop pointing out the impossibility of you promises. Ah, probably not.

It Takes Real Genius To Do It Right.

       Ever heard of the Zika virus? There's an article about it in today's issue of the Washington Post opinions. The article suggests only America is equipped, financially and with the expertize to quickly solve this problem. Fortunately we have a Congress that has taken this threat to so many people so seriously that it felt it was necessary to take a month and a half off for vacation without funding any research into solving the Zika threat to thousands of families. Well done U.S. Congress.
       Of course we have to remember that this is Convention season. Both political parties are either enjoying the season in picturesque Cleveland or will do so in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. So they won't be in their home districts and states, except for a very very few. But they will be congregated in just two small spaces. Well except for one of the parties. That party will have more than a few missing from the gala celebration. No word on the other as yet.
       The point is they'll all be celebrating with little to celebrate. But what they won't be doing until after Labor Day is doing anything to fight the outbreak of the Zika virus until nearly the end of the mosquito season. Now this is a great idea that Congress has come up with. Ya see, when the mosquito season is over, there'll be no imagined reason to rush, until next year's season, and then we'll be on to more of the same. At least that's the case unless the electorate actually decides to un-elect the current crop of legislators.
       Not to worry though, the upper class, the one percent, is furiously working to see that all the legislators worthy of their largess will have ample funding for their individual reelection campaigns. Now, as for those few legislators who are in receipt of the one percent's ire, well, they'll be forced to dip into their meager slush funds to fund their own campaigns.
       Meanwhile, Zika will continue to advance but hopefully will not morph into something even more dangerous. If that should happen two things will undoubtedly take place. First, Congress will investigate the CDC and secondly, they will blame it on whomever gets elected to the White House. Well done U.S. Congress, well done.

What's Afloat?

       Have you been reading about the South China Sea? Well, here's a bit of information for you to consider. China considers almost all the waters up to the beaches of the various countries bordering the SCS. Actually they only claim up to a mile or two of these countries. It includes islands close to them and that these countries consider their own. No matter, China calls them their own. China is even building islands on reefs in these disputed waters.
       So The Philippines, as one of the border countries, through the U.N. took their case to The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. The Court decided that China's claims are not correct and that China has no right to claim the whole thing for itself.
       To wit, China said the court is not recognized and it's findings hold no effect and therefore is not binding on China. China is also threatening to militarize the SCS, something it had already begun. They have now claimed to be setting up an Air Defense Zone for their protection. And have stated they hoped that "all countries would work with China to protect the peace and stability of the South china Sea and not let the SCS become the origin of a war." This according to the BBC.
       The SCS is an important trade route for commerce and has been for a very long time, with shipping using that route to reach countries around the world. Of course none of the countries bordering the SCS are large enough to confront China which is why they went to court in the first place. The thing is though, most of these countries have a treaty with us promising to support and defend them from aggressors. So, as usual, we're confronted with the idea of war if somebody doesn't back down.  Most of the neighboring countries depend on these waters for their economic health.
       The odd part is that China barely borders the South China Sea. It simply and flatly states that it's historic dominance in the region gives them the right to make their claims. So the next time you hear someone talking about the South China Sea, you will know enough to pray he or she isn't talking about war with China.

Who Caused It?

       Oh my, did you hear about this truck killing more than 80 people in Nice, France? We've got to stop recruiting people to be terrorists. I don't mean just America, although we certainly are one of the biggest supporter of ISIS and Al-Qaida. We and much of Europe are the best recruiters for terrorist groups, even bigger than their own people. Think not? Listen to the speeches of one of the major contenders for the White House sometime instead of bobbing your head like a little dog on the dashboard. There are even Democrats sounding like that.
       Don't you think young middle eastern refugees and Muslims here in America hear that? How would you feel if a serious candidate were to suggest that every Catholic or Methodist or Jew or any other religion were to hear that they were no longer welcome in America. Hey, Catholics did hear similar words about a hundred years ago. How would members of your family feel about such pronouncements? Think any would take exception to those words?
       I know a number of Muslims, good people. Muslims aren't the problem. The problem is that some are mad as hell at us. You don't think we could have done something to cause them to be mad at us? If you don't, you're living in a dream world. Why don't we ask them what we can do to soothe their hurt feelings. Seriously! We need to get over ourselves. We can and have harmed their world. They may not want to be us. They may want to be a better us. We should too.
       If we want to be great again, we need to treat people with respect. Even people who don't look like us or even speak like us. We should be mad as hell at us. We need to let our leaders and those who would be our leaders that we demand they too treat everyone with respect. The old adage "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" really does work if you give it time, time to prove we're serious. Fight terrorism, yes, but calm down the rhetoric.

Yes! There Is Evolution!

       In the not too distant future beachfront homeowners will stand on their front porches, knee deep in salt water and shout out that global warming is a hoax. The world is 6000 years old and Americans, who are the original humans, kept herds of diary dinosaurs while fighting Crazy Horse the hated Indian. And like Davy Crocket, we still fight the honorable war for independence for all true lovers of the Constitution around the world.
       For many Americans, the truth ain't in us. We listen to politicians make promises that they can't possibly deliver on. After the election, those same politicians smile and do almost exactly what they accused their opponents of conspiring to do. Then we Americans turn around and applaud those same politicians for doing right by us. Even if it hurts us. So long as it helps the donor class that buys the election for those same politicians.    
       Why should we worry about that donor class? Why, because that donor class are the very self same people who create the jobs available to you.  You know, those high paying jobs that only the donor class can or will create. Why would the donor class create such wonderful jobs for me? Because after they have all the money they want they will allow any excess money to filter down to us in the form of great, high paying jobs.
       But what if they don't have all the money they want, what then? Well then you're just going to have to work harder for less pay so they can get enough more money to have enough. Remember, only job creators can create jobs.
       Way back in the dark pre-history of time the people didn't have these kinds of problems. Back then the strongest member of a clan simply took over. Everyone had jobs because the politician/ruler simply told the people what to do. He was the leader and the job creator. It was a simple way of life. But over time we evolved into societies that seemed to want a separation of power. That's why politicians now ask us to do something and the job creators tell us what to do. A better way?
      
         

Please Help.

       The shootings in Dallas, Texas were apparently a misguided attempt at revenge for the shootings in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights. But weren't those two shootings misguided as well? Look folks, a single shooting of a black, white, brown or green person by a police officer would be considered a tragedy. But the vast number of shootings of black boys and men by police officers with painfully few consequences reflects an unsolved problem with little attention being paid to the problem.
       The shooting of 12 police officers in Dallas with five dead is a tragedy and an extremely serious problem. One of several outcomes are likely. Either policemen around the country will become far more alert to the danger posed by black men and boys resulting in ever more blacks being shot by police and the real danger that more black avengers will act out their twisted approach to the problem.
       Either that or police departments around the country will  begin crash courses on how to defuse problems with black men and boys and begin to build trust in their communities. Now this approach can, over time, result in the kind of police department Dallas has built where police killings have dropped to nearly none. That's not by accident. And trust in that community seems to be at an all time high despite this lone exception.
       The alternative would wind up in all out war between the races. How would that help anyone? It's not a political problem, but politicians must lead the assault on this problem. It's not a religious problem but religious leaders need to speak out against this distrust. It is a race problem and everyone needs to tone it down. It's not a second amendment problem so the NRA needs to speak up for sanity for a change. So what are you doing to help?

Founding Father.

       The first liberal in America may have been James Madison, one of the founding fathers, "and who in the Federalist Papers made the case that democracies, by their nature, endanger the rights of political minorities and must design institutions that protect those rights," according to James Traub. By the way, the Federalist Papers were written by several of the Founding Fathers as guidelines for following the Constitution.
       In other words just because the majority wants things handled in a certain way doesn't give them the right to trample minorities under foot. Still don't get it? Well let me put it this way, if the majority of legislators in a certain state don't want minority voters to have access to polling places or even the right to vote, they can't just make it too difficult to be registered. To the contrary the legislature must make it as easy as possible.
       So, how's that working for you? Still don't get it? The example I gave in the last paragraph is exactly what's happening in the majority of states, and the Supreme Court is finally stepping in to rectify those shameful and inappropriate legislative decisions. Still don't agree? If you still don't agree or understand, you are exactly the reason Madison wrote those statements in the Federalist Papers.
       The majority simply does not have the right to deny the rights of the minority and that includes voting rights. The suggestion of potential voting fraud is a sham. No state has been able to prove fraud in more than one or two cases and most can't even show a single example of fraud. Such numbers do not present sufficient reason to deny the voting rights of millions of people.
       And such suppression of the minorities is almost exactly why we had the American Revolutionary War. Remember your history book? The Colonists were being taxed with no say in how they were governed. Sound familiar?

Go Toe To Toe.

       It surprises me no end that so many Republican legislators hate the idea of a $15 minimum wage. Why you'd think we were trying to pick their pockets and send them to the poor house. Of course raising the minimum wage to more than double would hurt business, maybe, but it would actually help the Congressmen. They could fulfill their everlasting dream of cutting entitlements, at least some.
       Ya see, by raising the minimum wage they could eliminate entitlements like the Earned income Tax Credit and most of the bothersome Food Stamp program. Hey, they'd be heroes in their own minds. The reason they'd  be happy is all the savings they could boast about. Heck they could give away another tax cut for the wealthy, which would make the rich happy.
       Of course business and industry would be unhappy because they'd have to raise prices on their products. But then way more people could afford to buy their products since they'd all be making more money. More demand would require more employees or more companies making those products. The dilemma could be solved by lowering the income of the management class. In fact that would begin to solve the inequality problem. Seems like a win-win-win solution.
       It would even make companies like Walmart somewhat happy because they could phase out their department that trains their employees on how to get funds from government entitlements. Add another win to the win column. Still there is that hurdle of Congressional conservatives to get past. No matter what the advantages there's no way Congress will allow something that's good for Americans to get past their blockade.
       It's a lot like a man who shoots off his big toe. He won't be happy until he shoots off his other big toe so he ain't lopsided. They complain about entitlements but they won't do something that will solve the problem. They'd rather lose two big toes.

Were Our Troops Recieved With Open Arms?

       Ya gotta love the British. The Chilcot report was just released and it pulled no punches. Sir John Chilcot, chairman of the committee who did the report on the Iraq War for the British said it like it was. The intelligence used to justify and promote the Iraqi war was deeply flawed and what's worse it was reported to the Prime Minister and his staff and presumably, the White House, that it was flawed. Never the less it was sold to the two governments as necessary and that immediate action was called for.
       The report also points out that the Weapons Of Mass Destruction (WMD) never existed and that  the assurances of an easy victory were poorly thought out and grossly misleading. The report also points out that no comprehensive plan for the aftermath was considered.
       It's too bad that America doesn't have a John Chilcot, or perhaps that no such person was allowed to give so complete a report on a war that has caused so much upheaval in the Middle East. I think we can lay the invasion to kill Saddam Hussein in which our troops would be greeted with open arms, squarely in the arms of an administration hell bent on getting their hands on Iraqi oil.
       We've seen no publication that has squarely laid the blame where it belongs. Our massive indebtedness and the loss of so many soldiers and the even greater number of injured, many who's lives are twisted and tortured for life are all a direct result of that war and the leadership who intentionally misled our government.
       The failure to bring such a report into being almost certainly opens the way to repeating the same mistake some time in the future. Forget that those who so cavalierly chose to send our youth into a war that should never have taken place, they were never officially chastised for those decisions. Which means that somewhere in the future leaders will believe they can do as they please without fear of reprisal. Ahh but then that's the American way.

Success At Last.

       This morning on Morning Jo, I heard what I think is the best explanation for Donald Trump's success in this presidential campaign. It has nothing to do with his name calling, his thin skin or any of his attributes real or imagined. It has everything to do with his promise. His success in business and his failures are only sidelights that illuminate his experience.
       Every other candidate he's campaigned against has undervalued his promise. They all have stated they would do everything in their power to improve our lives, to bring back and create jobs, higher paying jobs, or something to that effect. Donald Trump hasn't fallen into that trap though. He has stated flatly that once elected, great jobs, higher paying jobs, WILL come back and America WILL be great again, greater than ever. He, Donald Trump, will make it happen because he knows how.
       Never mind that he has no experience at running a government, he exudes certainty. He will, he can, he knows, he does and he does all these things with no proof other than his word. He has and is giving his word that all this good will come to pass if only you will vote for him. Its not unlike the televangelists of old. All you have to do is pray and give them money and all your ills will be cured, you'll be rich and healthy. In other words. its snake oil folks.
       But to people who are struggling, who are in debt, homeless, unable to care for your family as you had hoped, for these folks, they've heard the promises before. Politicians who promise to do their best to make things better if elected. But once in office, nothing changes. Jobs continue to disappear, wages seem to get lower, promises unfulfilled.
       Then along comes Donald Trump. He assures people that he WILL make things better because he knows how, it WILL happen. He doesn't sound like the promises of the past, his are the assurances of the now. He can make things better because he's so very successful. Snake oil! But it sells because he's sure and those long suffering folks are buying that snake oil because they need to believe.