The Trump Iron Curtain.

       Our President wants a wall along our southern border. Well, now he is willing to compromise. It could be a steel slat structure. In other words, now President Trump wants an Iron Curtain. Remember what that was all about? The old Soviet Union separated the east from Western Europe. Do you remember how that worked out?

       The Soviet Iron Curtain was meant to keep Eastern defectors from escaping to the West. Mr. Trump's Iron curtain would be designed to keep Hispanics out. Do ya wonder how that'll work? The Great Wall of China didn't keep enemies out, The Soviet Iron Curtain didn't keep easterners in and the Trump Iron Curtain won't work either.

       People desperate to go somewhere, who fear for their lives and need to move on, will do it even if it endangers their lives. If we Americans don't see that and the uselessness of Trump's Iron Curtain, it will only cause more and more refugees to lose their lives, and their children. That's not what America is about, right from the beginning.
       Should we have border security? Of course. But we need to take advantage of technology. And we need to defend all our Ports of Entry. Sea ports are especially open, where every ship and boat needs to be inspected carefully. While we worry about desperate refugees, real bad actors can slip in in many ways.

The Wrong Gut.

       In spite of my wish that we would pull our troops out of foreign conflicts around the world, I have to say that doing it with no real rationale other than a phone call from Turkey seems to be more than a decision to pull troops out of combat situations. It seems like a more likely reason is a case of Wage The Dog. Pull one bad trick to draw attention away from another. Look at what's going on around the country.
       President Trump has had more aids convicted or indicted of criminal acts than any other president in history. He's got more top aids leave or been fired by him than any president. And it's not unlikely that he will be indicted himself. If not soon than as soon as he is no longer president. The only reason he won't be impeached and convicted is that there aren't enough Republicans in the Senate willing to go against him.
       We're stuck with him until at least 2020. And in those two years., we're in for a rough road. Trump treats our allies like he treated dishonest property owners in New York. Kick them around and if you lose a friend, so what. There are others to choose from, even enemies will work. He can't see beyond the city and doesn't want to.
       That's why he isn't interested in reports and analysis from trained aids. He doesn't want to hear why it's a bad time to pull troops out or not. He only goes by his gut feelings and promises from anyone he looks to as a strong leader. In the course of two years, either the past two or the next two, Donald Trump is likely to get us in deep trouble, if he hasn't already.

Why Is It?

       Why is it that Russia can blockade a Ukraine city and attack the Ukraine navy and America does nothing. But China tries to take over the South China Sea and America challenges them on a regular basis. Now don't get me wrong. I agree that we should keep the South China Sea open. Its an important trade route. But what is Ukraine? Chopped liver?
       It appears that President Trump doesn't understand the idea of consistency. I get it that for some reason nobody can fathom, Trump loves Putin and seems to think Russia can do no wrong. But he seems to think, perhaps rightly so, that China are a bunch of stinkers. China is a bunch of stinkers, and always have been. I'm glad we're doing something little about the South China Sea, we could and should do more.
 But what about Ukraine? What about Russia? Does anyone think the Kremlin is not a bunch of stinkers too? They're trying their best to screw us over and all of Europe too. We've got the ability to put a stop to the blockade by simply sailing a couple of our own warships into that port city. Anybody think that Russia would harm our ships? Not likely.
       We could even run interference for some commercial shipping if need be until Russia backed off. As for the South China Sea, one of our allies in that region, with our financial and military help, should take over an uninhabited island and build an installation. Maybe a military hospital for rehabilitation. China would have difficulty explaining how that would be a threat to them. I'll bet lots of people would apply to spend some rehabilitation time there. I might even apply myself.

Gerrymandered Walgreens.

       I mentioned Minnesota a while back. Well, they're in my mind again. It seems that Walgreens among other major corporations is funding the Republican power grab in Minnesota that, even though the elections clearly show a desire to have a divided government, with the financial help of Walgreens, those Republican leaders won't allow the new Governor to have much power.
       Now why would corporations like Walgreens support such moves by the Republican legislators in Minnesota? Tax breaks, that's why. Under highly gerrymandered districts, the Republicans rule the legislature and support lower taxes for Walgreens et al. All at a cost to private citizens and small businesses. But, hey, it means substantial savings for Walgreens.
       Unfortunately Minnesota isn't the only state using this governing scam. Look at Michigan and North Carolina who are doing the same and even Ohio and Missouri, all of whom are trying to subvert democracy even though they won't admit it. And companies the likes of Micro Soft, Dr. Pepper Snapple, J P Morgan Chase and Humana are all supporting these crafty politicians. But these companies are saving $millions. It's easy to see why they don't care about democracy. It's not as profitable as a gerrymandered state.
       Gerrymandering is anti democracy, no matter who's doing it. So if you live in a state that's fairly evenly divided among the population, but the state legislature is heavily weighted to one side or the other, you're losing your democratically governed society. It won't be good for you in the end.

Slick Is As Slick Does.

       Isn't the Wisconsin state government slick? They're passing new legislation stripping the incoming Governor and Atty General of way too many powers. Then in just one day, they approved 81 appointments, presumably that the new governor won't be able to undo. Eighty one! In one Day! That's more work then they did all year.
       It seems that the Republican Governor and Attorney General were defeated in the elections so the state legislature which is still in the hands of the Republicans want to make sure that only they, the legislature, can do anything. Which means that not much will get done until either they are replaced in the next election or the new Governor and Attorney General are.
       These are moves worthy of the slickest con man in Los Vegas, or some banana republic. Now I can understand feeling bent out of shape at having lost in the election, and I understand that lame duck sessions are a chance to correct some mistakes and approve some needed legislation, but this seems to be a bridge too far. I can't imagine any judge letting that slip by.
       I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised though, after all states all over the country are trying to ban this group or that one from voting or having a say, or in Michigan, I think it is, cutting back on the minimum wage, and others trying to cut out medical care. You'd think these governments are against the people instead of friends of the people. Why do so many politicians dislike the people they represent?

Emails

       In spite of the big stink her father made of Hillary Clinton using a private email server, Ivanka went ahead and did just about the same thing. Now why do you suppose she did that? Do ya think she didn't know better? Or maybe she knew better, but after all, she's the President's daughter, and a favorite to boot? Was it necessary or just a convenience? Maybe she just didn't think of the legality of it. Or maybe it was a combination of all of the above.
       My guess is that she didn't care enough to bother to use an appropriate government server. I think she's a very clever woman, but not all that bright. Did she get good grades in college? Well, with a billionaire father, you can bet she did. My point is she is the beloved of her father and can do no wrong. So why bother doing anything the right way? Why bother to be sure to use the right server?
       His is a family of privilege, accustomed to getting their way on anything, no matter how important or minor. Daddy can fix it and certainly will. He's convinced he can kill somebody on the street and nothing would happen to him. He either actually believes he's untouchable or he likes putting on a big front.
       A good idea would be to "Lock Her Up." Or even better would be a public shaming. And how about taking away her privilege to enter the White house. It would be nice to do the same for dear old dad. A better theme would be to "Change The Locks." And do that to all of Washington. Well, we can dream, can't we?

F. E. C.

       Did you know about the Flat Earth Conference? It actually does exist, right along with the idea that Free Market works. This latest Flat Earth Conference was held in Denver and these people actually do believe the earth is flat. And if you take a long, straight beam and place it on the ground, you will see that the earth is flat. At least I think that's what helps them think the way they do.

       As for the Free Market bit I mentioned, there are those who think that left completely alone by government, a free market will police itself. Now isn't that just as silly as thinking the world is flat? You'd have to believe that everybody in business is honest and fair. We are talking about human beings, right? Honest and fair are terms not generally used by boards of directors and even small businessmen. Somebody has to set some rules. That's what governments do.
       Getting back to the flat earth people, they don't believe anyone went to the moon and looked back at earth. Heck, they don't even believe anyone went, or looked back. They don't even believe that you could sail around the world, I guess. I wonder how they explain that every other body in the Solar System or universe is round, but earth is flat? Maybe they think of Earth as an asteroid. But then asteroids aren't flat either. It's a dumb idea, like free markets.

The Flames Of Calfornia.

       President Trump checked out the fires in California. Sure enough he has blamed the forest fires on trees. And he's right. You can't have a forest fire unless there are trees. What you would have is a brush fire. Unless of course you didn't have any brush, in which case you'd have a parking lot. Actually he blamed the state government for the fires. I suppose if you didn't have a state government, you'd have what? A really big National Park? Then Congress could sell it off to oil and coal companies.
       At least the citizens wouldn't be voting Liberal. The point is those fires out in California aren't the result of global warming. they can't be because our President doesn't allow the term to be used in his presence. There is no such thing as global warming and it isn't caused by human activity.That's called hedging your bet. It doesn't exist, but if it does, it's not my fault.
       Well since global warming doesn't exist, let's sell more coal and lets lease or sell more federal lands and parks to allow digging for coal and drilling for more oil. Those would be acceptable, but whatever you do don't even think about solar farms in place of those more polluting activities. After all, forest fires are preferable to clean energy.

The Smart Way.

       The new U. S. House of Representatives will be led by Democrats. They're gonna be torn between going after the president and getting some work done on infrastructure, education, student loans and a whole host of important legislation. My suggestion is for the House to concentrate on all the things Americans need and hold off on the hammer over the president, that's assuming he allows them to do that.

       Already he's placed a guy who hates Mullen's investigation and thinks it should be ended, as interim Attorney General. That might force the House to go after Trump immediately, but let's suppose he stays away from Muller, then they've got to work on what's important to Americans. Like bringing our infrastructure into the 21st century and infrastructure includes a whole host of issues. We all have our favorites and they're all important.

       Another problem area is education. I don't know what you may think of Betsey DeVos, but as Sec'y of education, she's slowly killing public education instead of retooling it and bringing it up to 21st century standards. Privatizing education isn't the answer for any but the wealthiest. Shame on her. We need someone who wants a better outcome for all students.

       Now, if the president proves that he isn't interested in moving these things forward, then it would be time to look at impeachment. Of course, should Mullen turn in his report with damning evidence of Trump's wrongdoings then they'll have to move sooner, but they can do more than one thing at a time. I have confidence in their ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Tax The Lies.

       There is great need in this country for funding on infrastructure and education. Roads, bridges, water treatment, electric transmission, the list is long and we need these programs in order to continue to be a leading nation. I would even include internet security as a failing.The costs to resolve these problems are overwhelming.
       Then along came the 2018 election cycle. The money being spent on this campaign is also overwhelming. So for starters, I suggest that any donation to any campaign, over, oh say $250. be taxed by 50%. And that means an annual total, not separately. So in this multibillion dollar election campaign it would give us at least a couple of billion in tax revenue, all of which must be earmarked for infrastructure or education. After a few years we'd finally begin to get a handle on our problems.
       But the real beauty of the idea is that billionaire donors and even smaller gifters would have to rethink their gifts and candidates would have to rethink how they spend the reduced money they get. Instead of a constant din of pounding the opponent, they might have to actually say something about themselves.
       Now I'm not suggesting we wouldn't hear bad things about opponents that we know aren't true, we'd just have to put up with half as much or maybe even less. And that would be a true blessing. When did the order come down that all candidates had to lie about their opponents? Wouldn't it be nice to hear nothing but pronouncements of the greatness of the candidate and nothing about the opponent?
       In the meantime,  VOTE TOMORROW !!!!

No Good Citizen.

       What s it with Trump? Everything is going his way. The economy, pretty much anything a president could ask for. So why is it that he's likely to loose the House to the Democrats? What is it that keeps him the most disliked president since Nixon? On the one hand he's thin-skinned but on the other hand he seems to take delight in doing things that make his detractors show him as a low life.
       For one thing, I think its his show of dislike for women. He has no respect for women, of course he seems to have little respect for anyone outside his family. He lies incessantly, even when he has no good reason to lie, even when he has no reason at all. He even lies about his lies. He uses hateful name calling even against friends.
       But its the disrespect for anything or anyone that will be his downfall. He ignores our most basic principles, our Constitution, our laws our reputation as a leading nation. Fairness, a staple of our country is of no use to him. He uses his position for personal gain. No law has any meaning to him unless he can use it to his purposes.
       Normally we Americans see these traits as despicable, and anyone demonstrating them as outside the norms of our citizenship. Honesty and integrity have always been the hallmark of our democracy, but to Trump, they are trash to be swept away. Charity and goodness are against his instincts, to be used and abused, not enjoyed. He claims to Make America Great Again, but he destroys that which has always made America great.

The Enemy Is Us.

       There's a caravan of refugees headed towards our American south western border. It's made up of mostly women and children. Some men too. And yes, possibly someone or several intent on doing us harm. Out of three or four thousand. That's a pretty small fraction, but a concern anyway. To combat these, the president was to send 500 to 700 military troops, which expanded to as many as 15,000 and we near election day.
       Just think of it. 15,000 troops to combat one or two people who don't like America. Do ya think that's enough? The timing is everything. This caravan is about 1,000 miles away from our border. They're walking. I'll bet they're averaging ten to twelve miles a day. So why is it we need these troops there now? Or at all?
       You don't suppose it's because election day is only a couple of days away, do you? If nothing else seems to be working, if it looks like you're about to loose the House of Representatives to the other party, what do you do? The answer is easy if you're Donald Trump. You distract the voters. Make them think you're protecting them. How can he do that? Make them think your protecting them from these frightened women and children and some men too.
       Donald Trump is master of the art of distraction. Are you going to allow him to fake you out again? These people aren't our enemy and while I'm on the subject, the press isn't our enemy either. The only enemy is the distraction that makes you think they're all your enemy. Wake up to the truth. Throw the distraction back in his face.

Not The Same.

       Abe Lincoln did something amazing. He split the country in order to free the slaves. It was a necessary and wonderful thing. But he caused a split that evolved into a civil war. In the end his emancipation of all slaves in this country was upheld. History has proved it to be a wise decision. And Lincoln has gone down as one of our greatest presidents. His image is on Mt. Rushmore and he sits in the Lincoln Memorial.
       Donald Trump has split the nation once again. Not for such a monumental and moral deed. But rather, his immoral deeds have split the country. His is an administration built on lies, mistrust and the striving to enrich his and his family's personal fortunes. And do it at the expense of the country he swore to put first. He has not shown any interest in doing that. He has made America Alone Again. You will never see his likeness on any mountain.
       What we need is a change of face in Congress. Our current Congress is so fearful of Mr. Trump and being primaried that they will not disagree with him even to the detriment of the country, states and districts they have sworn to serve. Since they won't serve and protect, they need to be replaced.
       If we were talking about a Cub Scout or Brownie troop leadership, they would already have been kicked out. Without badges, in dishonor. We who love this country find it unconscionable that anyone would lie so often. And for our President to do so is all the more despicable. I truly hope you plan to vote on Tuesday next. And if you do, I hope you will consider voting for anyone but an incumbent.

The Switcheroo.

       Who cares if the Democrats or the Republicans win the mid-term elections? I mean in the scheme of things does it really matter? Well for one thing, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, they all matter to a whole bunch of us old timers.
       The thing is, the Republican leadership in the house and even the Senate are focused on cutting Social Security and eliminating Medicare and Medicaid. Not all at once of course, that would be too obvious and would cost them in the 2020 elections.
       But they would like to begin to lower the monthly stipend folks get from Social security. They look at it as a giveaway of government money. They hate to admit that you and I and everyone else paid into it so its not their money its ours. Same for Medicare. Now Medicaid was designed to help people who just don't have the money to pay for insurance and copays.
       Here's the reason the Republicans want to slash these programs; they need to pay for that tax cut they gave to the one percenters. Its simple. They gave away too much money so now they've got to pay some of it back. They think Retirees won't mind. That's where they're wrong. I'm mad as all get out. I hope you are too. 

Tax Cut Again?

       Remember that tax cut that got passed last year? Remember how it saved your financial lives by increasing your pay checks so much? What's that? It didn't increase your paycheck enough to even pay for the higher taxes you had to or will have to pay to cover the increase to our deficit and debt? Huh! Well it more than paid for those pesky taxes for the wealthy, and then some. In fact it paid for a big, WOW.
       It was so popular with the I% that they're asking for seconds. So Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan is trying to push through another tax cut for the wealthy, although on the sly. Unlike the last one that got so much publicity, this time it's being quietly pushed through and the hope for the Republicans is that nobody will find out or at least not until after the midterms.
       So the question is: Do you approve of the one percenters getting another huge tax break leaving you and I to contend with the increase in our debt and deficit? Or would you rather see a tax increase on the one percenters to help pay down that debt? After all, the rich are the ones responsible for the deficit and debt in the first place.
       I don't mean to be picky, but isn't it time for the one percenters to start paying their fair share?
And their idea of a fair share for them is to pay the same number of dollars in taxes as homeless, penniless, poor people. In other words they want a tax system that requires them to pay nothing at all and they think that's fair. I don't.

Making America Alone Again.

       Can you imagine? President Trump and his friends in Congress and around the country are still touting that slogan "Make America Great Again." Make America great again? Its hardly happening. A more appropriate chant would be "Make America Alone Again."
       A country's greatness is measured by how much it shows leadership and in that arena Trump has transformed America into a country without a plan to lead, but a country to stand apart and belittle anyone willing to take up the standard. You don't lead by calling foreign leaders nasty names. You don't lead by pointing out other country's faults. Especially when you've got far too many of your own. Disparaging another hardly makes you a leader.
       While Trump may have helped some Americans with his misunderstandings of how to deal with countries, it has hurt others, some immeasurably. And it has caused such unpleasantness among our own people that it borders on violence. That's not greatness. It's not great to constantly beat up on the other guy.
       He won the election. The economy is doing well. Its fair to mention you've done what you promised, even if what you promised wasn't what America needs, but to suggest Americans treat other Americans harshly isn't great. Just like treating other countries harshly isn't great. But it will make you lonely. He's Making America Alone Again.

The Big He Bull

      So you think Donald Trump is in charge and responsible for all the problems. You guessed wrong. There's a guy you know very well. Mitch McConnell is the Majority leader in the Senate. He's the guy that decides what legislation gets a hearing and what legislation dies in committee. Nothing happens in Congress unless He gives it the OK to proceed.
       So when a liberal gets nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice, he just doesn't even recognize the man exists, but when two conservative nominees come before him, he puts his arms around them and they proceed to the court. Now, I think its okay that there are conservatives and liberals on the court so long as they can be fair and honest about their opinions. It remains to be seen whether or not Kavanaugh can be such a justice.
       But the real problem is that Mitch McConnell is not an American Senator, he is a Republican Operative. He appears not to care about our country, he only appears to care about the Republican party. He will bend any rule and destroy any historical precedent to reach his Republican goals. And the people of Kentucky still elect him. I recall vividly when he was the minority chairmen. He was the biggest whiner in Washington.
       Now that he's the big he bull in Congress, he's thrilled to be that Republican Operative on everything that comes from the White Housie as long as its ruled by a Republican. When we didn't have a Republican in the WH he didn't allow anything to get past him that he didn't absolutely have to. Its a sad state of affairs.

Flying While Drunk.

       With everything else going on in America wouldn't ya just know that the bird population in Minnesota is inebriated. You heard that right. Birds in Minnesota are flying around drunk. It seems that an early frost has caused local berries to ferment. The birds eat the fermented berries and what would you expect? Happy hour in the trees and on the bushes.
       We've got Supreme Court troubles, trade war with China, Nuclear threats from  Iran, the Interpol president has gone missing in China, and Putin has again posed topless. Friends the world is indeed in dire straits. Drunk birds? Really? Isn't there some way to explain to the birds involved that unless they're 21 years old, they can't eat fermented fruit.
       Next thing you know, Minnesotan police will be handing out FWD arrests. Don't laugh, flying while drunk is a dangerous pastime. They're recommending you put decals on windows. Like Don't, Don't, Don't Eat The Berries. I hear Oregon has a tank for drunk birds until they sober up. I wonder how many repeat offenders?
       The next thing you'll hear is bad drunk bird jokes. Three birds enter a bar. A Robin, a Blue Jay and a Cardinal. No berries, so all three leave. I told you, bad jokes. Actually, the birds just might be onto something. With all that's going on in the world maybe they've got the right ticket.
      

Alternative And Truth.

       I wonder how many law professors there are in America? I ask because 650 of them have written a letter to suggest that Brett Kavanaugh lacks the judicial temperament to sit on the Supreme Court. Yet he is the chosen one of the alternative leadership of our fair country. An alternative leader who started out in life with a paltry $400 + million from his father. And through subterfuge, bankruptcy, and some might say, cheating on his taxes, an accusation which is as of yet unproven, has parlayed this paltry sum into some unexplained Billions of dollars.
       Here is an alternative leader who has surrounded himself with like minded second level alternatives to leadership. The truth of these second level alternative leaders is that they suggest that such truth is not truth. So now not only do we have alternative leaders, but we also have alternative truths that may not be truths at all.
       So just when is a truth not true, when is a fact not a fact at all? When our alternative leader states unequivocally, that they are not true or factual. And when he changes his mind this afternoon, what then?" Climates don't change and drier droughts and stronger storms and rising temperatures and more rain are simply changes in weather over a longer period of time, also explained by some as Climate Change.
       The new brainstorm of the alternate universe is that there is no other place in the universe but America and we'd best be getting used to being alone. No trade, no nuclear agreements, No allies, no enemies. The best of everything. We've made America Great Again by making America alone again.

They're Just Kids.

       I wonder if or how members of the ICE department of the federal government have any idea how toxic their work is towards little children? They take these children and after ripping them from their parents, they send them to detention centers. Then, some time later, they take these children in the middle of the night, place them on buses and transport them to a different center. The fact that the new center is close to the Mexican border means nothing to them. They don't know where they are or where their parents are.
       It brings to mind what German Jews must have thought and felt when they were taken to interment camps. And in the war crimes trials after the war, the Nazis and soldiers who imprisoned and guarded them and sent them to their deaths, these guards claimed they were "Just following orders." I wonder how these ICE "guards" feel about what they are doing? Is their answer "I was just following orders?" The war crimes courts usually found those folks guilty. What might our own courts decide? What must other countries think? What will our closest allies think?
       But most importantly, what will these children think years from now? How will they think of America then? Time may heal all wounds, except the wounds of the soul. How many ICE soldiers will have nightmares in their future? How many of those children will have nightmares in their future?
       I get it that illegal entry into our country is a criminal offense no matter the reason, but that's our problem to work out. The forced separation of children from parents is unconscionable and it is our national shame. The time to resolve this inhumane practice is past due.

Sarah Oh Sarah

       Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it right when she said "Every Supreme Court nominee deserves a vote." Just like Merrick Garland got in 2016. Unfortunately such appointments are mostly political in that the nominees are generally ultra- this or that. The reason is that they are nominated by presidents who are pro-this or that. Now Merrick Garland was far less politically motivated than Brett Kavanaugh, but I can't say he wasn't a democratic choice as nominee.
       The question is: do we want someone on the Supreme Court who believes that a sitting President can pardon himself? Or that a sitting President shouldn't even be investigated or tried while in office? And especially not if he or she is delivering on campaign promises the majority in Congress like.
       But how about that Sarah Sanders? She will swear to anything Trump says and then the next day she'll swear she didn't say that because the President has just said the opposite. What must she be thinking about herself when she has to stand there in front of a group of very well informed reporters and say things both she and they know are untrue?
       And what about this Kavanaugh? All these allegations of misconduct. True or not true. How come he doesn't want there to be an investigation into whether or not they are true? Wouldn't you want an investigation, assuming you were innocent? It makes me wonder why. Why doesn't Kavanaugh and the President and the Republican leadership in the Senate are all against such an investigation? The last time anything like this came up and it was under a Republican administration, they did go ahead with an investigation. But then they weren't under the gun of an election. I guess that's the answer.

$$$$ v $$$$$

       Pennsylvania's eighth congressional district typifies what's wrong in America. Two millionaires go at it to represent the folks in this northeastern part of Pennsylvania.  The incumbent is worth somewhere near $4 million. The challenger is worth somewhere near $24 million. Although it could be near 14 million and $80 million, but that doesn't matter so much as the fact that they are both very wealthy and that's pretty much true all around the country.
       The only people who have any chance of winning in the political sweepstakes of the elections for Congress are the very wealthy. If you're not wealthy or don't have a very wealthy backer, you're gonna get pushed aside in the early stages of the primaries. So what? Do you think that was the plan by the founders of our country? Were the founding fathers all sure they wanted only very wealthy people to lead our country? I don't think we'd be any worse off if only paupers were allowed to run the country.
       And if that were the case, at least we wouldn't have nearly as much graft. That's because poor people don't have the connections that rich people have to play so fast and loose with OPM. That's Other People's Money (OPM). So the best way to eliminate the problem is to get all the dark money out of politics. Put the ceiling back on donations and no secret gifts. But that's unconstitutional. Then we need to make it constitutional. But it would interfere with peoples right to free speech.
       So there you have it. Speech is money. The more money you have the more speech you get. And that's why only rich people can win in elections. But getting back to Pennsylvania's eighth district. It's also between an Pennsylvanian and  a resident of New Jersey and he's the richer one. Can he buy this election? Let's hope not.

Texas State Board of Education.

       Ya gotta love the Texas State Board of Education. Are you familiar with its work? You should be, your children and grandchildren will likely be using textbooks the TSBE designed and approved of. For instance history books have changed and will likely change again this December. Right now it looks like Hillary Clinton never existed.
       That's right poor Hillary is just a vision of our imagination. She must be, there will be no mention of her in the new textbooks unless something changes. Poor Bill will likely have had no wife to call his First Lady, an opportunity for Monica. New York will have been short one Senator for a time and Trump never had an opponent in his campaign for President. How come Trump spent so much money to defeat nobody what-so-ever. And I suppose "Lock nobody up."
       And Helen Keller. She will disappear as well. She will never have existed if TSBE has its way. A fine woman like that, just suddenly never existed, too bad too because she was a fine lady. But neither of them made the cut. See, the TSBE which is made up of 15 elected members invited a group of people to vote on a list of people as to whether they should be in the new textbooks. On a score of 1 to 21 those people were voted on. Helen only got 7 and Hillary got 5. So, out the door.
       The problem is that Texas State Board of Education must approve all textbooks in the state. Because of the large number of students, book publishers use those books for almost if not all school districts in the country. Take it or leave it. What if Hillary runs in 2020 and wins. People will say nobody ran against Trump and he still lost.

What's a Little Deficit?

       The budget deficit for the first 11 months of this fiscal year is $900 billion. So we are on track to have a deficit of $1 trillion according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). A tidy sum, don't you agree? It's not that we can't overcome that amount over time, but that's an increase over last year by $222 billion. Which means that last year the deficit was $680 billion. So over Trump's first two year period we added over $1.5 trillion to our debt.
       Really folks don't you think that's enough? Of course to listen to Congressional Republicans, you'd think its clear that all that debt would magically disappear if only they were allowed to cut back on wasteful programs like Medicare and Social Security and Medicaid, don't forget Medicaid. Now when they say "cut back" what they're really saying is that they want to eliminate all three.
       The problem is, doing that still wouldn't erase that kind of debt. Unless they have in mind billing recipients of all three for past years receipts. But fair is fair. They gave a huge tax cut to the wealthy so to balance things they have to give a huge tax increase to the middle and lower class. They just wouldn't call it a tax increase. More like a tax adjustment. Now, ya see how nicely that all works out?
       And ya see, as long as they talk soothingly and explain how its all the fault of Obamacare, people won't notice the problem until those checks stop coming and the hospital starts asking for cash. And the beauty of it all is that if they get just one Democrat to go along they can call it bi-partisan. Two would be better, but one does the trick.

Lock Them Up?

       According to the New York Times our government has a dismal record regarding migrant children being held in detention centers. In May of 2017 there were 2400 children being held in detention. Compare that to the 12,800 being held this month. These numbers show that the Trump administration has not relaxed its inhumane practice of separating children from their parents.
       If Mr. Trump is concerned about terrorists entering our country, he needs to consider how many of those 12,800 are becoming future terrorists, not because they came to America with their parents, but because of the inhumane way America is treating them. Think about how you would feel, as a child, about a country that did this kind of thing to you. Would you harbor bad feelings toward that country? Might you want to get even?
       But forget the terrorist part of this tragedy, we need to look at how we are permitting our government, in our name, to mistreat these children and these parents. Placing children, who have done nothing wrong in prison is unconscionable. The kids have no idea where they are. They have no idea where their parents are. Their parents have no idea where their children are. The government has no idea where most of these children are.
       There was an old time movie, before sound was introduced, called the Keystone Cops. It was very funny ciaos. This situation is very similar except it just isn't funny at all. And Americans are becoming ignorant about it. Not by choice but because the Administration keeps drawing their attention away from the problem. But the problem of incarcerating these children is growing. We need to send a message to Mr. Trump. Our current Congress hasn't the will. We need to elect Democrats who do have the will.

Never A Hole In One.

       I remember back a few years when Obama was playing too much golf, in the opinion of Trump. Actually, Obama played 333 times in his eight year presidency. At the time, President Trump found fault with his playing too much golf. He spends too much of the peoples money playing golf.  Fast forward to these days and we find that our President Trump is on track to play more than twice as much golf as President Obama.
       But, not to worry, he's playing at his own golf courses. Of course the people are still paying for it. The difference is that he's pocketing the money. So far, just the golf cart costs to Americans is $300,675 according to an article in the National Memo. Of course some of those golf trips are strictly business. Like when he golfs with sports athletes. Now the White House won't reveal how often Trump plays, but a good guess is that it's about 25% of the time.
       One of the odd things is that you don't hear anyone complaining much about how much he's spending on golf. Probably because people assume he golfs for free at his own clubs. Maybe he does, but his entourage doesn't. And that includes his secret service guards. And remember, he's on track to play 745 days of golf, if he were to serve a full eight years in office. Imagine the costs to us.
       If he mocked Obama for all the time he spent on a golf course, just think how much mocking Trump would be entitled to. We could spend a lot of time complaining about Trump's golfing. But actually, I think its probably the best thing for the country. Maybe we should suggest that he spend twice as much time on the courses. Or even three times as often. Heck, why not all the time?

Self-Pardoning?

       Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court doesn't know whether Trump could pardon himself if convicted of a crime. Or perhaps I should say that he hasn't made up his mind if that would be possible. Really? Do you think that anyone could be so unsure of such a thing as self pardoning? Should any president now or in the future be allowed to forgive himself of any crime? Even if it were to endanger our country?
       Can you imagine that answer on the court? Its no answer. It means that if some member of the mafia got elected to the presidency, problems would start very quickly. "What do you mean you don't like the way I'm doing things? Bang, you're dead. Okay, next?"
       Seriously, our country is close to crises and a nominee for the Supreme Court, a lifetime appointment, doesn't know if a president can pardon himself? I think he needs to be told to go sit in a corner until he has an answer. The only explanation is that if he told his opinion, he'd never get approved by the Senate. At least I hope he'd not get Senate approval. Such a thing as self pardoning would make a mockery of our judicial system.
       If it is actually constitutionally correct that a president could pardon himself, then we need a constitutional amendment and we need it sooner than later. Like next week. I can't imagine that any thoughtful American could consider that to be an appropriate right for any president to have. And I do hopefully believe that a super majority of Americans agree with me.

Wages

       Tomorrow is Labor Day. Time to rejoice. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. You averaged a 2.7 % increase this year. Of course goods and services have increased 2.9% so you all have, in effect, taken a cut in pay. Ain't that the way? How's a body supposed to get ahead. I guess the only way to do that is to get hired as a corporate executive of some big company. They're pay has increased about 18% this year. Think about this. Starting from your very first paycheck to the last pay you will ever receive, your total of all those years won't equal just one year's paycheck of one of these CEOs.
       Your whole life isn't worth one year's pay for a big shot corporate executive. Is that the way things are supposed to work out? Does anyone think these corporate executives work harder than you? No! They work smarter than you. And they have the money. Just remember this, when they say our economy is humming along great, what they mean is the top execs and stockholders are making boatloads of extra money but there just isn't any left for you guys.
       How come, you may ask. Well, back when there were labor unions and they were strong in membership, they could force the corporations to share the wealth a little bit. Now the corporate execs don't want to admit it but the unions actually helped the workers. After all, that was their job. But then unions fell out of favor with workers. Partly because some union leaders were less than honest. And then states started "right to work" rules that said they didn't have to pay dues for the benefits the unions brought them.
       Unions aren't the only help workers got, but the long and the short of the story is, you lost .2% of income this year and the boss got an increase of about 17.98%. A good deal for him, not so great for you. Just saying.

Grateful Or Great?

Let's help MAKE AMERICA GRATEFUL AGAIN. What do we have to be grateful for? We are a free people. We listen to, watch and read the news we choose. We elect the people we choose to lead us, for better or for worse. Across the world there are few people who can say the same. No one can tell us how to vote or for whom. That would be illegal. We can be swayed and there is the devil in our democracy.
       A candidate for office can explain how he, or she, wants to make life better for you and that's how we sway voters some of the time. But most of the time candidates lie about each other and about what they can and will do for you. And far too often those are lies. Promises which the candidate knows full well cannot be delivered.  And what's worse, they do it on video and audio.
       The same is true for the lies told about opponents. Told on air, lies are ignored when they are held up for public scrutiny. It's not what I said. It was misinterpreted. But there they are for all to see. And the list goes on and on. And then we begin to get into the rhelm of criminality. Laws get broken and covered up which is a crime in and of itself, and the faithful follow. Some because they see a financial reward if only they allow the crimes to be overlooked.
       It's time to MAKE AMERICA GRATEFUL AGAIN. Grateful to live in this free society Grateful to have a nation of laws. Respect for the rule of law. Grateful for the right to choose who you will vote for without the lies. Lies can never make America great. Gratitude will make us great.

The Rule is The Rule.

       What happens when the Trump Administration decides not to follow a ruling of the Supreme Court? What consequences are there for the Administration? Suppose the Supreme Court decided in an 8 - 1 decision that a notice of a hearing  that does not include the time, date and place of the hearing is not a hearing at all. Now suppose the Administration ignored that decision and continued to hold such hearings for the purpose of deportations.     
        Just what can or should the Supreme Court do in order to have its decision obeyed? Who told the Administration that it could ignore the United States Supreme Court? Would you consider this to be a crisis? One of the co-equal branches of our government ignoring the rulings of another branch? When a President of the United States ignores a ruling of the Supreme Court of America is there any way to force him to acquiesce? If it means that the Congress is required to act on this problem, and refuses to do so, what then?
       Just remember that our Congress is in no way strong enough to flex its muscles and show it believes in the Constitution. What then? People, we are approaching a point in our history when a President becomes a dictator. If he can ignore the Supreme Court and if the Congress is too weak to force him to adhere to the SCOTUS's ruling then we are no longer a democracy.
       The Department of Homeland Security has been ignoring that exact ruling in its hearings on deportation, according to an article in the National Memo, by Sarah Okeson. Can it be that our Congress will ignore this transgression? Might the Supreme Court just shrug it's shoulders and go on to the next case? Emperor Trump will make America (not) Grateful Again.

Sleight of Brain.

        What's this sleight of mind have to do with draining of the swamp? Well as near as I can determine our President, having promised to drain the Washington swamp has, instead, used his skill at sleight of mind instead of sleight of hand. Instead of eliminating corruption in Washington, he has changed it to adding corruption in the White house, and his many haunts.
       Now normally to increase corruption that much would bring too much attention. However by cleverly bringing his skill at sleight of mind into play he can keep everyone confused all the time. As soon as questions of behavior come up, he quickly brings up another subject that seems even more important than the last. By the time you begin to realize how this headline holds other implications, his sleight of mind has drawn us to yet another potential tragedy.
       In fairness he has drained the swamp some small amount. He goes through good people turned swamp monsters, by telling them they're fired. Or having some new 'swamp monster to be' to do the firing. Now we all understand that political appointments to White House leadership positions is a temporary employment situation at best. But under our present President it is no more than a call from a temp service. With one exception. The person relieved of duty will almost always have his or her reputation savaged. This too is part of the sleight of mind order.
       Even an investigation into collusion with Russia offers opportunities for sleight of mind. To fire Mueller or not to fire that is the question. Anyone who is called to testify before Mueller will surely be fired, but Mueller, himself. has yet to get the ax. Aha, but as long as our President can use him as an object to be pointed at as an enemy of his leadership and as a sleight of mind, Mueller will remain.

What Happened?

       Ya know how you can tell that America is a democracy? Easy, America is a democracy because we allow peaceful dissent. Not only do we allow peaceful dissent, but we appreciate it. We invite it. We consider it and if we agree, we act on it. But if we don't agree with it, we still accept it. That's what you do in a democracy. Sometimes you wish that peaceful dissent would go away, but we never attack it, and never viciously.
       Take, for instance, the idea that a president would think to belittle someone publically just because he, or she, might disagree. No Congressman would dare consider turning his, or her back on an investigation simply because the one being investigated was of the same political party as the Congressman. And nobody would threaten any other person just because of that person's views on any subject. The rule of law would be respected in a democracy.
       These are some of the reasons you can tell that America is a democracy. No wait, that's not what's happening in America. Peaceful dissent often devolves into violent confrontation. We refuse to consider the suggestions of the other side. The left is so far from the right and the right so far from the left that agreement can never take place on too many subjects. Belittling and lying about an opponent is the norm.
       This is not the way we used to be. We're damaging our democracy. We're allowing our leaders to become lying, cheating criminals and we show our admiration for them. We need to stop it. We need to change the way we treat each other. We need to get back to being a democracy again.

Unspeakable Decision.

       Do you realize that 528 children are still being held in detention centers because their parents tried to cross the border into America, no matter what the reason? 528! That's as of August 20. The court required they be reunited with their parents on July 28th as a deadline. the administration said the "ACLU should be the one to use its resources to handle the reunification. Problem is it was the Administration that separated them. Maybe the Administration should quit fooling around and get the job done.
       If I were to take your kids away from you and then tell you that if you want your kids to be able to stay in America, but told it to you in a language you don't understand, you would have to turn them over to me, the whole world and the whole country would come down on me, and rightfully so. Well, how come the government, the administration doesn't seem able to move its carcass on this problem? Are you telling me our government can't do this? Why? Because its not in its budget?
       I'm sure it will most likely be a difficult tack, but our government should be up to that task. If not, then they should be incarcerated until they find a way to return those children to their rightful parents and no games about that parents turning them over. That's just sloppy workmanship for not doing the job. Here's a solution. Every parent of one of these children, along with the children, be given permanent residence  with a green card in America.  I'll bet they'd find every parent in about two days.
       The problem is simple. The administration just doesn't care about these children or their parents. They don't care because the parents brought the children illegally here. Even though it was a new policy that suddenly was enacted. These parents, in all likelihood, didn't know it was going to happen. Shame on this administration.

Vote Your Pocket.

       If there was any doubt about how I will vote this November, let me clearly state that I plan to vote Democrat for all candidates for national office. And I highly suggest that every senior citizen do the same. Representative Steve Stivers, Chair of the GOP Congressional Committee, in other words, the guy in charge of defeating the Democrats in Congress this November admitted to a CNBC reporter they would be forced to cut spending for social programs including Social Security and Medicare.
       Let's face it, you can't have these huge tax cuts for the wealthy and still pay for Social security and Medicare. It's all too much spending. So the obvious solution is to slash Social Security and Medicare. After all, who's more important: the elderly or the wealthy?  Old people can easily be swayed and the wealthy have the money to give to campaigns to try to sway those old voters.
       I also suggest that folks who aren't yet old enough for Social Security and Medicare, strongly consider voting Democrat. Because they will someday be old enough and may need that support. It'd be a shame to finally retire only to find out the money you paid into Social Security, which the government faithlessly spent on other things over the decades, no longer exists. And so you're out of luck.
       Makes more sense to vote for the people you know will fight to keep the social programs and if necessary tax the rich instead. I suppose most if not all Republicans will tell you they want to keep the social programs, but the party rules. So if they continue to rule Congress, they'll get their way, not yours. The Democrats have always fought for the social programs. Here endeth my voting plans.

Wind And Rain.

       Alas it appears the wall along the Mexican border seems less and less likely to be built. But there is a wall that has been proposed to be built and it's far more likely to happen. A sixty mile "spine" of concrete and steel along the Texas Gulf Coast. What for, you may ask? As protection from larger fiercer storms. You know, like the ones caused by global warming. This "spine' would protect lands from the Louisiana border to south of Houston including "most of Texas' thirty oil refineries."
       Does anyone see the most interesting part of this wall? It's going to protect nearly thirty oil refineries. The very refineries that are a major cause of global warming causing these storms to be more fierce. After all, we can't have oil refineries getting shut down again by the storms they are responsible for. Didn't this happen once before? Hurricane Harvey shut down about a quarter of those refineries causing gasoline prices to go up about 28 cents a gallon.
       I'm surprised the oil companies aren't cheering for another hurricane to hit and knock out even more refineries. They could then raise the prices up, oh, maybe 50 cents a gallon and then ask for federal help to rebuild the refineries. This could become an annual price slam as long as the Hurricanes cooperate.
       And guess what, friends? The price tag for this wall along the gulf coast would only cost taxpayers a measly twelve billion. They've already approved 3.9 billion for three separate barriers for the refineries. Does anyone understand the costs of global warming yet? What's a little wind and rain.
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Truth Or Consequences

       The one thing I never knew but now have learned? The truth is not the truth. By golly that could be useful in a lot of situations and to a lot of people. Just think, if you get caught speeding and at your trial the police prove that you were speeding, you can always say "Yes your honor, that's the truth, but the truth is not the truth." You just might be acquitted. After all, if its good enough for the council to the president, it should be good enough for you.
       There are often two sides to every argument. Your side and the other side. When your wife accuses you of being out drinking last night with your friends, you can accept that as the truth but the actual truth might be that you were also playing poker. It would be the truth but it could get you in even more trouble.
So which truth do you ascribe to? Drinking or gambling? Or could you say, you were merely attending a rally on the dangers of not telling the truth. But what happens if she says you were not there because she didn't see you. The truth is not always the truth. She was out playing bingo all night.
       Think about how many times or how often the truth is not the truth you want to adhere to. What about your college graduate daughter who you believe to be too young to be dating. The truth is, you've been neglecting the truth that she is an adult now. Ya see? The truth is not the truth.
       So when a politician tells you the truth about his or her accomplishments while in office, that truth is definitely not the truth, and when that same politician tells you its the other guy's fault, well you guessed it, that's not the truth either.

What? No Regulations?

      Now there's an idea worth exploring. According to an article in the New York Times, President Trump is planning on overhauling  the nation's climate change regulations. His idea is to allow states to set their own regulations or even not have any regulations. It certainly makes sense if you happen to have lots of coal and lots of coal burning plants. Just think, West Virginia could allow manufacturing within their state to pollute the air with no emissions regulations.
       And if the wind is just right, which it mostly is, all that pollution would move east over Virginia and other states in it's path. Even better would be more industrialized states deciding to do the same. That way the medical profession could prosper much more in states east of those unregulated states. I'll bet that if we wanted we could create smog at levels never seen before.
       Look, it took decades for us to eliminate or at least cut back on the kind of pollution that kills people. It's the kind of pollution that also is killing our planet. You may not believe in Climate Change, but that doesn't mean it's isn't happening, whether you believe it or not. It doesn't mean that emissions regulations aren't saving untold numbers of lives, just because you don't think so.
       Now I hope I'm preaching to the choir, and I think that most of my friends and relatives would be against this brainstorm Trump is having on emissions, but I also know that some few of you just don't get it. Those folks will probably go to an early grave still thinking that coal dust is good for the veggies.
      

The Enemy.

      Just who is the enemy of Americans? Is it really the news media? Is your local newspaper your enemy? How about the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or the Washington Post? How about MSNBC or FOX News? If you don't like what these news outlets have to say, does that really make them enemies of America?
       You need to understand that news outlets were what helped our nation become an independent democracy. They kept us informed about our successes and failures in wartime and in peacetime. They told us of how Nixon had done wrong and how Lincoln had done right. They told us why some wars were just and others were not.
       Without news media to keep an eye on government, a criminal element could easily take command. We may not like the views of the opposing parties, but its the only way to learn the truth. Because both the right and the left are right part of the time and both are wrong part of the time. It's the media that tells us when both are wrong at the same time.
       To suggest that all news media or even a very few are our enemy is dangerous to our democracy. The very first amendment to the Constitution gives them the right to warn us of government overstepping its authority. To make us aware of disasters and even good news from time to time. We are informed by the news media whether we like it or not. And we need it whether we like it or not. The real enemy is the one who tries to get us to believe that the media is the enemy.

Climate Ain't Just Your Weather.

      Climate change isn't the daily weather, but the daily weather makes or breaks climate change. It takes years, decades of years to make our climate change from what it was to what it is and what it will be. Can you make or break climate change? No. It's bigger than you or me, its about what all of us do that can change what will happen to our climate. But one thing's for sure. If we don't change, then the climate will continue to change, for better or for worse.
       So, I live in the Northeast. We're accustomed to fairly cold, hard winters. It might be nice to have milder winters in the future. Except it'll mean more bugs in the longer, hotter summers. And life in the south will become very unpleasant in the summers. But what about droughts and too much rain? Are we ready for those kinds of changes? Storms that keep getting worse and worse, and hot dry lands and wildfires more dangerous each of the passing days.
       The thing is, we can guess and try to understand what climate change will mean to our children and grandchildren, but we can't know for sure. So which is the wiser course; just shrug and go on as usual as if nothing bad will happen or fight the change by cutting pollution and doing without a very few non-essentials. Do you really need that huge, fuel hog SUV as your second car? Why not a somewhat smaller size? Let's all drive a little slower.
       It's either that or invest in much more powerful air-conditioners. And think about giving up those SUVs all together in favor of ark style boats.

No Trust.

       Ya know, our forefathers were not a trusting lot. They didn't trust presidents to act in the best interest of the people. They had had a king and didn't like it. That's why we have a Congress. In theory the Congress would put a hold on the President. And if that wasn't enough, they put a judiciary in place to keep them all honest. They didn't envision a single party in charge of them all. Congress was supposed to be politely against what the President wanted to do. And the judiciary was supposed to tell them all if they weren't following the constitution.
       The thing is, our founding fathers just didn't trust presidents to do the right thing. They trusted Washington because they knew he didn't want the job. They would have loved Lincoln and FDR and Ike might have been a favorite. JFK certainly would have been in their hearts. Even Reagan and Obama would have met with their approval, but some would have proven to them that they had been wise in having three separate but equal divisions of government.
       Our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves to see those separations becoming one. When a Congress becomes an apologist for the President and a judiciary becoming the yes men we're in trouble. The only thing that can save our democracy is an election. This November that election comes about. The reigning party must be committed to a minority status if we are to have a strong democracy again. If you don't believe me, ask one of our founding fathers by reading about him.

557 And Counting.

       Hey, need a number to bet on? Try 557. Its the number of migrant children still being held while their parents are out of the country or otherwise not available. Out of the country? What exactly does that mean? Did they go on a cruise or are they visiting royalty in Denmark? Most likely they were deported out of America to their homeland, which they just recently fled. Meanwhile the American government still wants to punish them by keeping their children.
       But what about those children? Are they still keeping them in summer camp for fun and games? Or are they keeping them in cages like unwanted pets at the Humane Society? Ya know we have to show the world we're serious about protecting our border. So criminals and terrorists and babies are being held in prison. That'll teach the world not to mess with us. Just use a different border.
       I'm just not sure about the babies. How are they a threat to America? Do they plan to undo our constitutional right to freedom of speech? Or is it the Second Amendment? Maybe some other amendment is in jeopardy from these children. Surely we're not punishing children for the crimes of their parents, real or imagined. And I can't bring myself to imagine we are punishing them because they are not like us. Of course that's true.
       These children and their missing parents are not like us, are they? After all they came from a central American country. They didn't come from any European country. There you have it. What better reason does our government need than that they're not just like us.

Bless Them.

       Good Lord please forgive the evangelicals for forgiving all the sins of their favorite President. He's working on the Ten Commandments. He's got over half committed. He's closing in on three quarters. But the evangelicals are still in his corner. How come you may ask? It's because of the most important promise he's keeping. Most important to evangelicals, that is. He's appointing hard right conservative judges which the U.S. Congress is rubber stamping like the good little puppies they are.
       Now why would a Congress full of supposedly intelligent representatives of the entire country jump at the chance to do the President's bidding. Of course the Republicans do hold majorities in both houses, but that's not the main reason. The main reason is that if they don't do as they are told, evangelicals might not vote for them.
       Now you can't say the same thing for the Catholics of Methodists or any other denomination. These denominations don't march in lock-step like the evangelicals. Your not supposed to think for yourself apparently, if you're gonna be an evangelical. I'm told, they're told how to vote by their church. To me that seems to fly in the face of separation of church and state, but if you've got the ear of the President, well, you know.
       We should start a new church. One that requires every member to vote their own heart and mind. Let's call it America. You can belong to any church you wish, but the church can't tell you how to vote. Only that you should vote in every election and that you should take the time to understand who and what you're voting for. Come to think of it, that church already exists. We call it America. Problem is, too many folks don't try to understand who or what they're voting for. There should be a law against voting a straight party. Because no party fields all the best candidates. Just look at the President.

Presto, Chango.

       Hmm. My last post, I suggested Mr. Trump was like a magician. But I've given it more thought and have decided that calling Trump a magician is unfair to all magicians around the world who work hard at their calling in order to better perform their mysterious acts of magic. Magicians work hard and that's the difference between them and President Trump who doesn't seem to have any interest in becoming knowledgeable on any subject except making his personal wealth grow.
       A far better representation of him is a wizard, as in the Wizard of Oz. He stands or sits behind a curtain and shows a grand personage. One of remarkable ability. But behind the curtain is a small handed, small minded individual trying desperately to appear great. But true greatness eludes this person with a fake hairdo.
       From his largest ever inaugural crowd to his fair and friendly zero tolerance order he exaggerates. While in actuality his was among the smallest of modern day inaugural crowds and his zero tolerance program has proven to be a disaster where we steal children from their parents and then deport the parents to their homeland without the children. Meanwhile what do we do with the children?
       This was and is an embarrassment to America. The Wizard of the White House is an embarrassment to America. He needs to be on a leash and collar and only a change in Congress can provide that restraint. Because the current Republican controlled Congress ain't getting the job done.

Now You See It, Now You Don't.

       Every great magician needs to be able to distract your attention in order to pull off his or her stunt. He needs to keep talking about and pointing to another subject so that he can take your wallet from you and then surprise you by giving it back. That is unless he's something of a criminal and his intention is not to give it back at all.
       Some politicians are adept at such magic. They enact legislation in opposition to the best interests of his constituents by constantly pointing to and talking about something that is far more unpleasant, or some imagined enemy trying to do far more harm to you or himself. In the politician's mind, he has convinced himself that he's doing you a kind service by taking your rights away from you in order to better protect you from dangerous alien invaders from the south.
       At the same time he's causing foreign allies to find dealing with him to be nearly impossible while long-time enemies are befriended. Then again in order to distract you once more, he names news media to be the enemy because of the fake news they point out, such as the deeds and promises he has previously done and given. Any other magician, or politician who does not pledge allegiance to him will find that he's a mean spirited foe. He can get almost any politician who is not for him fired for being against him.
       Such a person lives only in our imagination. He does not exist. No such person could rise to such a lofty position as to be able to cause such disruption. Such a person would have to be a superb actor, filled with greed and self adoration. Such a character would be named Donald Trump.

Walls, Walls, Walls.

       Remember that Mexican wall along the border with America? You remember, the wall that Mexico swore they could get America to pay for? Oh, no,wait, it was the American wall along the Mexican border that Mr. Trump swore he could get Mexico the pay for. Why haven't we heard any more about Mexico paying for it? Could it be that Mexico convinced Trump that they definitely would not pay for it?
       But if Mexico isn't going to pay for it, who will pay for it? Oh, that's right, Trump has threatened to shut down the government unless Congress agrees to pay for it. So what does that mean exactly? Well for starters, if Congress agrees to pay to have the wall built, you and I are gonna have to pick up that tab. That's because Congress can't pay for anything. All they can do is borrow the money which means our taxes would go up. Either that or just go ahead and raise our taxes to pay for the wall.
       The thing is though, Trump is talking about another tax cut. Must be that the wealthy folks are in need of some new cars and vacation spas. But if he gives out tax cuts again and still wants Congress to pay for a wall to be built, where's all this money gonna come from? Maybe we could place some tariffs on the builders of the wall. Of course my guess is that its in their contract that no tariffs can be levied against them.
       Let's hope the government finds some gold veins in some of our most treasured national parks. A whole lot of gold veins and maybe some diamond fields too. On the other hand if Congress refuses to fund his wall and he shuts down the government, who's gonna pay for that? And then what about our credit rating? It was reduced once before. Then it'll cost more for us to borrow the money to run the government and even more to pay for that damn wall.

Trump Policies

       President Trump tells us he "gets along great with Vladimir Putin." Putin loves Trump. You would too if he did everything you wanted him to do and say. Trump likes Kim Jung-un too and Kim loves him, for pretty much the same reasons. Hey, even Rouhani of Iran is offered the friendship of the President.
       Its easy for these guys to like Trump and to express that likening. After all, Trump seems to go along with just about anything they say. Putin tells Trump, why no, we didn't interfere in your 2016 elections. Trump thinks 'well good enough for me'. Kim says we're done with nuclear, even though they're working on bigger and better models, but Trump says 'mission accomplished'.
       Then he tells Iran's Rouhani, hey if you want to get together for lunch, I'll buy. All these bad guys, who would sell us down the river in a heartbeat, are Trump's friends. But our allies, the folks who have sworn to help protect us as we have sworn to protect them, well, hey, this NATO and this EU? I'm hitting them with tariffs, the losers.
       And then there's all those criminals trying to get into our country to work at jobs that Americans don't want. Trump's idea of punishing these people is to take away their children and then quick deport them back to their home country. Now as to the whereabouts of their kid? Who knows, check the cages. It may be a low point for his daughter but for Donald Trump, its just another promise kept.

Didja Know?

       Here are a few "Didja knows." Didja know that Trump has averaged 7.5 lies or misrepresentations per day since his inauguration? Didja know that he has escalated his scorn for the news media the closer Mueller's investigation gets to him? Didja know that Russia really did try to manipulate our elections in 2016 to favor Trump? And may have succeeded.
       Didja know that Trump not only punished parents who tried to enter America and were caught, but he also punished their children for being brought here? Some as young as infants? Didja know that Trump's 4% economic growth was matched four times during Obama's presidency? Didja know that only the wealthy are enjoying this economic growth? Didja know that income for the vast majority of Americans is not growing?
       That's just a few didjas, just a few of the very many. If you're already wealthy, you're likely to get even richer under Trump's lack of leadership. But if you're not already wealthy you're not likely going to have a chance to become wealthy under Trump's time in office.
       You're not likely to get healthy under Trump either. He has broken with so many rules to help all Americans be safer and healthier that, given his way, we'll all be breathing coal dust and smog, even in the countryside. Environment seems to be a nasty word in his mind and environmental safety seems to mean firing coalminers. We're not firing coalminers, the lack of demand for coal is doing that. And we'll be drinking water unfit for human consumption. Those are just some of his goals.

Inflation My Foot.

       Now why would you suppose President Trump and his minions feel it's important to make the very, very rich even richer? There's a plan afoot to tax capital gains only after inflation. Now that sounds perfectly harmless, doesn't it. But in fact all it really does is make the rich even richer. How can I say that with a straight face? Easy, because it's the truth.
       The way it's currently taxed and has been since the late 1920s is you buy for one price and sell at a higher price, the difference is taxable. But the plan is to allow for inflation. So if you buy some stock for $8,000 and sell it later for $16,000 then you deduct for inflation at let's say $4,000 then only $4,000 is taxable.
       It wouldn't make anyone wealthy on that one deal, but for the very wealthy, such a deal would be small chump change. See, in order for this to amount to anything like a windfall, you'd have to be trading in the millions. And that's exactly what the super-wealthy do. So what you say? So it means that much less is being paid in taxes overall. Which means the government has to cut out programs. That's something the government hates to do. They prefer to expand programs. The only way to accomplish that would be to raise our taxes.
       I hate to say it, but this is exactly the kind of deal a super-wealthy real estate developer dreams of. Someone like Donald Trump. But certainly not people like you and me. The last time he cut taxes the wealthy made out like bandits while the rest of us saw very little. If he pulls this off, he should get an award. The screwdriver award. But he'll get a whopper of a deal for himself.

Ineligible Children.

       The deadline for the U. S. government to reunite children separated from their parents at the border. You knew about that, right? But did you know that over 700 children have not been reunited yet? Government lawyers said they are not eligible to be reunited with their families. Can you imagine? Ineligible! Not that they can't find the parents, but ineligible.
       So what makes a child ineligible to be reunited with his or her parents? Oh, things like criminal records or communicable diseases, those sorts of things. Oh and 431 cases where the parents are no longer in the U.S. I wonder how come so many sets of parents aren't in this country anymore? You don't suppose they were kicked out, do you? Certainly our government wouldn't kick a family out without first reuniting them with their children. That wouldn't be the kind of thing our government would do, is it?
       Just what kind of a government would pull a stunt like that? Certainly not a Christian way of doing things, so I assume they were not Christians, those folks who did it. But even so, didn't they give any thought to what was the right thing to do? I mean come on. who takes, no, who steals a kid from his parents and then kicks the parents out and takes the kid somewhere where the parents can't find them? I can only think it must have been cruel criminals.
       Whether you like these Hispanics or not, whether or not you think they should not have entered America illegally, is that the kind of thing you'd want someone to do in your name? The next worst thing they could do is start selling these kids. Of course they would never call it selling. But there would be costs for someone to adopt one of these kids. I'm ashamed of my country, aren't you?

1% or Scoialism?

       Ya know, back about forty years or so a company's owner could expect to earn somewhere near thirty five times what his employees earned. They felt they deserved it and maybe they did. But now-a-days heads of corporations aren't satisfied unless they're making 300, 400, 500 times what their employees make and they're convinced they're entitled to make that much. And if it means those employees have to take a cut in pay or get bypassed on pay raises, then so be it.
       These are the folks that are screaming about $15 an hour minimum wage being too high. Now why do you suppose they hate that idea? Could it be that they fear they may have to take a little less? But they're making way more than they can spend as it is.
       It's not about socialism. They're not worried about socialism, they're worried they'll have to work for a little less than they've become accustomed to. Oh, they point to anyone who poses the idea that everyone should earn a living wage and claim that person is a socialist. But what's really got their goat is having to work for a little less. You know, like instead of the 10 million or 100 million they might have to work for 9,990,000 or, well you get the idea.
       The thing is, most, if not all, 1%ers have more money than they'll ever need. So what's wrong with sharing a little bit of it with Americans who are struggling? I'm not suggesting that they have to give it all back to the people. Just not take quite so much from now on. I suppose that if I had more money than the All Mighty, maybe Id be a little reluctant to give some back, but I hope I wouldn't be like that.
       So the next time you hear somebody say that $15 an hour is socialism, take a look at that person. He's either a member of the 1% club or he's been brainwashed by one. Because everybody deserves to earn enough to live on.

Earth Shattering News.

       The 2017 tax cuts and jobs act didn't help much for most people. Why is that? When does a tax cut fail to make a difference in your income? When you don't make much to start with. Its true that jobs have been created and anyone who wants to work can probably find a job. The problem is that you can't support a family on what you can make at one of these jobs unless you're a college graduate in one of the most important fields.
       Here's the problem: some of the richest men in the world own or run some of the largest employers, but most of the employees have to depend on food stamps to get by. So where's all the profits going? Well of course much of it goes to the owners the rest goes to the stockholders. Only a tiny bit of it goes to employee wages.
       So the question is: Why are the shareholders and owners more worthy of sharing in the profits than the workers. After all, the workers do the hard work. Because the people who control the funds decide who gets what and its the rich who say it should go to the rich and shareholders, Now some will say but the workers will benefit because their retirement funds are receiving part of the profits. To which the workers say "what retirement funds." and "how do I survive in the meantime?"
       When you make little you can't afford the luxury of putting money into retirement savings. You have to pay for your daily needs and on low incomes that doesn't leave anything for savings. The rich will ask why you aren't saving, that's inexcusable. You can't get the rich to grasp what it's like to be poor, even working poor. You just can't get ahead no matter how hard you try. It would be like the rich finding out they can't join the country club. It would be downright earth shattering.
     

Job Creators.

       Just who is it that are job creators? I know you've heard its the rich that create jobs. I'll bet you've also heard its the corporations that create jobs. But I'll bet you've never heard that its the middle class and poor that create jobs, have you. But actually that's who create jobs. The rich don't, they just pocket added profits. The same with corporations. They turn it over to shareholders or just hold on to the profits.
       Now why would I say that the middle class and poor are the job creators? It's because demand for products and services are the driver that forces corporations to modernize and ad jobs. So who creates demand? Well it's not the corporations and it's not the rich, except in small quantities and if the corporations had to depend entirely on the rich, they'd go broke. But the poor and middle class are the big buyers, the job creators.
       So if the middle class and poor are the job creators, how come all the profits go to the rich? There's no good reason except that they've convinced too many people that they are indeed the job creators. No! No they aren't. You are. So it's time to increase the minimum wage so that a person can actually live on it without food stamps and the like. Raise the taxes on the corporations and the rich. If they don't want to pay those high taxes let them invest in higher wages for their employees and modernize. If wages went up for everyone, demand would increase by leaps and bounds and profits would soar. Everyone would make more including the rich.

Wages

       I heard an encouraging and discouraging report this morning on TV. Since the 1970s employees income rose an astounding .02%. So, after forty odd years, workers are making two tenths of a percent more today than they did in 1978 after inflation. I guess you could say that workers income is up.
       From 2016 to 2017 workers wages fell .02%.Well, there goes that two tenths of a percent increase in wages. Now I said encouraging but I meant it sarcastically. I said discouraging because it was all discouraging.
       What I find unfair is that with the economy rising so fast and with the tax cuts in full swing where is all that extra profit going? Now some will say it goes to everyone with a retirement plan.
But some don't have a retirement plan because their pay check doesn't cover the cost of a retirement plan. What with food, and rent and car payment and health insurance, there just isn't anything left for retirement. And there were some one time bonuses too.
       So who's getting all that extra profit? The top 1% of Americans. But wasn't that going to trickle down to the middle class and poor? Oh, wealth was always supposed to trickle down to the middle class and poor. But a funny thing happened on the way to the bank. It got deposited in the accounts of the one percent of Americans and they sort of kept it.
       But that isn't fair. How come nobody ever complained? Well, some people do complain, but there aren't enough to make the politicians see the problem. After all the politicians are, in many cases, part of the 1%. So to get change you have to start shouting very loudly and get all your friends to do the same. It may not be fair, but that's what is needed.

Foot And Lie.

       Have you noticed some TV stations, I mean local stations, around the country are becoming FOX type and even FOX related because of new ownership? Well, its supposedly true. The unfortunate part of that is that they're supporting Donald Trump. Now its one thing to support conservative thinking and quite another to support Trump thinking.
       I think that conservatives are strange enough without going all Trump on themselves. They don't seem to realize The Donald is not the Messiah. In fact, he's not even the messy. Anyone who pats himself on the back as much as he does must have shoulder problems. Some people suffer from what's called 'trigger finger a case where a person loses control of that finger, The Donald seems to have trigger tongue.
       Growing up, I was always taught that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. Well, let me say Mr. Trump has two nice feet. There, I've met my duty. Now where he puts those two feet is the real question. I've never known anyone who could walk on one foot and keep the other foot in his mouth.
       Then we come to the question of ; is it (lay or lie) on the couch? I'm told that lie is the proper word. Well, The Donald can do that on the couch, in a chair or on his feet. Even with one foot in his mouth. And please children, don't try this at home. Or church, or school, or anyplace else

Stable Or Stumbling?

       A Stable Genius indeed. His stability in Canada, Belgium and now in England is called into question. There are several reasons for his actions. First he is a man with the mind of a ten year old and not all that stable of a ten year old. Second, he is a fiercely loyal follower of Putinism. A damn the world, full speed ahead approach to running the world. Third, he is beyond the Peter Principal. He doesn't realize that his actions and words have real world consequences. He just doesn't understand how to show respect where it's due and meet threats where they exist.
       Personally I go with the Peter Principal. Oh, he's done big deals and he understands the court system. He must, he's a top flight bankruptcy expert. But trying to run America and its relations with hundreds of other countries and their leaders is just over his head. I suppose if I wanted to get out of an agreement to buy tons of concrete, he could probably help me, but he just doesn't understand how international relationships work, and what's more, he's not at all interested in learning.
       Yep, the Peter Principal, that's where my money is. He'd rather speak off the cuff than follow any advice from the people he hired to advise him. His greatest fear is that he would be seen as weak and indecisive which is exactly how he is viewed. When someone calls himself great and smarter than anyone else, better able to extract concessions and all those boasts, you can be fairly certain that person can't accomplish any of them.
       Not knowing about a country isn't so bad so long as you're willing to learn about it and take the advice of those who do know that country. But not knowing and not caring enough to learn doesn't make you a Stable Genius it makes you a Stumbling Dufus.  

What To Do.

       What does it take to embarrass a judge? Recently a one year old child was brought before a judge without his parents. Now why would anyone force a one year old to appear in court? The judge was required to ask the infant if he understood the proceedings. That's what embarrassed the judge. The boy was one of the very lucky ones because he had a court appointed lawyer. I wonder if he approved of the lawyer appointed to his case. What crime did he commit?
       There are about one hundred children under five who are being held and only a very few have a court appointed lawyer. Altogether there are about three thousand children being held. What are the chances of even a twelve year old understanding court proceedings in a language not his own?
       The child's name is Johan. He was separated from his father at the border with Mexico. His father has already been sent back to Honduras. That's the crime the infant committed. What  dastardly evil, career criminal this one year old is. Why, I'll bet he even dirties his diaper on occasion. Prison is too good for him. 
       The thing is, if we don't send this child to jail, what to do with him. What's that? Did someone say reunite him with his father? But that's all the way in Honduras. We can't just UPS him home, ya know. If we have to send him back, we might have to send an agent with him. They may not like our agents down there. Maybe one of the Trump family could go. After all, it was daddy's idea in the first place.

For Friendship's Sake.

       What is it that makes president Trump disrespect some of our best friends in the world? Countries that fought by our side in two world wars and all the wars that can't be called wars. Countries who have stood by our side through thick and thin. How come all these countries are now being hammered by our president. Breaking treaties, backing out of agreements, making accusations, and threats
       All the while making nice to some of our worst enemies. Russia's Putin, North Korea's Kim, these people are not our friends. Yet Trump continually favors them over our allies and friends. What can he possibly be thinking of? Make America Great Again! It seems like he's making America small again. When the time comes that we need others to join with us  to right a great wrong, who will be at our side?
       Our Enemies won't help us. They're out to destroy us. Our friends? If things continue the way they are, we won't have friends. Isolation won't make us Great, in fact if anything it will harm us. Our own history has proved that. We need to begin to put a bridal on him. Congress with its Republican majorities won't do it, but we've got a chance this November with the general elections. If you're a Democrat, get out and vote, if you're Republican or Independent give great thought to who you're voting for.
       In the meantime we need to pressure our congressmen and Senators to finally stand up to Trump. Force him to cease these terrible wrongs he's inflicting on our friends, rejoin agreements that are in our best interest and the same with treaties. Override his vetoes if necessary. And its past time for the President to cease using his position to increase his personal fortune.

What If?

       What if you were on a ship that began to sink in the middle of the ocean because some fools set off explosions and what if there just happened to be another ship very close to the sinking ship you were on. Just one problem. The other ship said nobody could come on board. So, would you throw up your hands in resignation and drown or would you swim over and climb on board that other ship anyway?
       Now what if the crew on the other ship started throwing you and your friends overboard, but not your children. Then a third ship agreed to take you on board, but it was a prison ship. Then they air-lifted your children to another ship yet so that you didn't know where they were. Might you be upset? Would you think that unfair? To what lengths would you go to be with your children? Might you ever see your children again? What would those children think?
       Those are the problems facing illegal aliens. Their home countries are being destroyed by violent gangs and uncaring governments. They fear for their lives. They try to come to America because they can't swim to England. When our government throws them in jail and takes their children away to who knows where, its just as bad as being on board a sinking ship.
       America has always been a caring, hospitable haven. Do we need to protect our borders? Of course. Do we need to keep criminals out? Of course. Can we do these things in a humane way? You can't convince me that we cannot. More investigators and personnel to process these illegals so as not to make their lives more intolerable than they already are.