JFK

       JFK told us "Don't Ask What Your Country Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For Your Country." It seems we've forgotten that admonition, at least our leadership has forgotten it. If they ever knew it. Why is that? It's a simple statement. It says we must love our country more than our parties, more than politics. But our leadership cares more about their power.
      It's time to exchange our leadership for more patriotic leaders. Leaders who will fight for our country. Who will lead our country toward greatness. We were a good country right up until two years ago. But we needed to be great. The promise fell through. Now it's time to pick up the pieces and put our country back together again.
       We need leaders who will work together across isles, across divides. And do it for the benefit of all Americans. And all Americans need to support those leaders. That's when all Americans will prosper, each in his own way.
       In 2016 greatness was promised our country by a charlatan. He tore the country apart. We need to heal ourselves. No outsiders are going to do it for us. Outsiders can't do it. It's up to us. We need to ask what we can do for our country and then do it. JFK was a smart man. He knew what our country needed then and now.

The Wicked Witch.

       The wicked witch of the west, he keeps thousands of children in cages. He sends the parents back to wherever they came from, even unto death. And the witch's administration doesn't even know where those children are or what their names are. Now why do you suppose anyone would vote for him to have a second term?
       Wouldn't it make sense to elect a less witched witch. One who would have an administration that considers keeping track of children in it's care important enough to know who their parents are? Well, Witch Donald neither knows nor cares. Even a court is trying to make his staff care.
       A judge has required that all children in it's care must be identified and returned to the rightful parents. Three cheers for that judge. And a jeer for the wicked witch and his administration. It's one thing to mistreat an adult, it's quite another to treat children like unwanted animals. And when you don't know their names or who or where their parents are, you're saying these are unwanted animals.
       Not only is Trump unfit to be president, he's unfit to be human. Is this the kind of America we want? One that considers children to be unwanted animals. To cage them up and forget who's children they are? Not in a free society. Not in my America. What about your America?

Aye Captain.

       Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire. It was just a song, but Trump brings new meaning to the phrase. He has so much confidence in himself and so little in anyone else that he had to offer Kevin McAleenan the Customs and Border Protection commissioner a pardon for breaking the asylum law.
       Next he threatens Democrats with sending refugees held at the border to sanctuary cities. The more the merrier. Presumably more than they can handle. And See If They Like It. The legality of such a move would be questionable at best.
       Does anybody see a pattern here? Ask a doctor if they see a pattern. I've found a lot of fault with this guy, but this is far and away from anything I've ever seen or heard of. We seem to have a Captain Ahab at the helm of our country. I hope we don't go down with his ship. What is it that drives him? It's a wall. And if he doesn't get it he's gonna take us all down.
       Some people think he's a clown, but that's not the problem I wish that was all of our problem. No, he's way more than a clown. For one thing a clown has a routine, This guy listens to morning talk shows. Now that's OK for some retired guy like me, but he's the leader of the free world. There are things that he could be doing to improve our lot in life. But no, what's the talk show hosts saying about him.
       Immigrants are the lifeblood of this country. He hates them all. Of course he's not above hiring them for his golf courses and hotels, but otherwise he hates them all. Even those who work for him. He's a whack job. He's a whack job captain of our country. And if we let him, he'll sink us.

Shame on McConnell

       Why is it that Mitch McConnell and the Republicans have blocked any hope of the public or even the Congress of seeing the full report of special council Mueller? You can't say we don't have the right to see it. You can't say we wouldn't understand it. That may be true for many, but we still have the right to see it and read it for ourselves. And certainly Congress has the responsibility to see it in full, not just the right, but the responsibility.
       I guess the real question is why does McConnell think he has the right to use his power in the Senate to block the world from seeing this report. To see how a foreign enemy power has infiltrated our electoral process in order to sway an election to their favor. And did Trump, in any way, ask for, receive, and use any help from that enemy power? And to determine if that broke the law.
       As an American, McConnell has a duty to the country that overshadows any political considerations. Regardless of whether it helps or hinders President Trump, that report needs to be made public. Certain sections would need to be redacted for the public, but not the Congress. The Congress needs to see the whole report and the background files that substantiate the findings of the report.
       McConnel seems to be gambling that the people won't care about it in the coming elections. And probably it won't be the top of the list of things the people will care abut, but it will be high enough to sway an election and McConnell will rue the day he chose to keep it from the people.

College For All.

       I'd like to take this opportunity to talk to rich kids. If you're not doing well in school, that can be overcome. If you're just downright dumb, that can be overcome. If you're not too athletic, that can be overcome. If you've got two left hands and two left feet, that can be overcome. All this can be overcome by one simple fact. Your parents have lots of money.
       Now if you're very, very smart and very athletic too, but you're poor, good luck, you'll need it. We're here to talk about the kids most in need of help. That is to say, we want to help the rich kids get into the very best  of the very best colleges. And there's only one way for that to happen. You're parents are going to have to dig deep and come up with $$$$.
       We're not talking about thousands, we're not talking about tens of thousands, we're talking about hundreds of thousands, or even millions. But that's not enough. You're going to have to do your part. You've got to enter your name as a sports hero. You've got to claim high quality ability at the game of "JACKS" or hopscotch or jump rope or some such sport.
       You don't actually have to know how to do it, just make the claim and then never show up. The best schools prefer people like you. People who count on your parents to get you into school whether you can make it or not. If you can't, so be it. If you sort of can, a little more money will boost you over the top. Sorry, misprint. Should read a LOT more money.
       As for the poor, but smart kids, you likely could have attended a best school, but a rich kid took your space. There are openings in the local community college though.

Take Aim.

        Well, once again someone who wasn't licensed to carry a handgun shot himself. Sure it was an accident, it could have happened to anyone. Well at least any male. The thing is, guns are dangerous. Anyone using a gun and especially a handgun needs proper training. Even a holstered handgun can be dangerous as it was to this gentleman.
       Now something new needs to be taught in gun safety. We need to have safe placement of holsters explained. After all, we don't want more men shooting themselves in the penis as did the man in the case above. He's still in the hospital for goodness sake. I suppose he's learned his lesson, but what about all the rest of us?
       Was it the holster's fault, the gun's fault, was it the placement to blame, or was this the case of a duffus with a gun. Seriously, gun safety is far more important than our government allows. As soon as the word "gun" is mentioned, out comes the 'big guns'  the NRA and an assortment of second amendment kooks.
       How can any of these groups actually have a complaint against requiring a person to have some gun safety training before they can purchase the type of firearm they trained on? After all, the safety in using a flintlock is somewhat different than, say a semi-automatic handgun or a  semi-automatic assault rifle.
       The point is, gun safety can affect us all. Ask that guy's wife, if he has one. She'll tell you, it matters. So let's require that gun safety anyone needs if they have thoughts of owning a gun.

Shame On Us.

       800,000 plus people learned the meaning of being poor. If they didn't know, they learned the importance of charity and the need to care for their fellow man. What's most unfortunate is that the principles of the shutdown, both parties in Congress and the President,did not learn the hard truth. They did not face days of not knowing if they would lose their homes, their next meal could be questionable.
       These leaders carried on as if nothing had changed. Paydays were met, life was good and disagreement was easy to live with. No cost to them. Their daily bread was as sweet as ever. Somehow this isn't right. The next time some leader or group of leaders decides to shut down the government, there is no fair or good reason they shouldn't suffer right along with the government employees.
       Unfortunately, far too many leaders are far too wealthy to be concerned with that loss of income. What a shame that you have to be rather comfortably wealthy to be an elected leader in this country. Smart, successful businessmen don't always make smart, successful government leaders. Some do, some don't. Look at Lincoln. Think he could get elected today.
       Today you can't get elected unless you've got the money to buy your way in. The Supreme Court assured us of that in their decision involving money in politic. It's no longer 'one man one vote' now its all about the dollar. Without it, you can't get a vote. Money will decide who will run for office and who will not be heard above the din of cash flowing.

Just A Few Problems.

       The State Department had to postpone a conference on border security because of the shutdown. The shutdown was caused because Trump wants a wall for border security. The Coastguard is required to continue working without pay during the shutdown. Isn't the Coastguard required to guard our coast, among other things? Isn't that border security too? Then there's the FBI. They would like to get paid before they all lose their homes.
       Isn't it true that the Republican party is,officially, backing Trump in this standoff. All for a border wall that almost nobody along the border wants. It seems that the folks most likely to need a wall say it just isn't needed. And, isn't it true the Democrats say we should reopen the government first and then argue about an unneeded wall.
       Of course Trump realizes that if he reopens the government and gets some 800,000 people paid he would then have no leverage to get that wall built. His only hope for the wall is to starve nearly an extra million Americans. He realizes the advantage of starvation, when it comes to his agenda. Let em eat cake. It's a plan somebody else tried. She failed, but she's no Donald Trump.
       If only he could withhold pay for all the Democrats in Congress. Hey, he could withhold all the Republicans too, even himself. After all, he's a billionaire. Wouldn't matter to him. It might hurt Ruddy but somebody's gotta pay. Maybe he'd stop appearing on TV. That would boost Trump's ratings.

No to Public Takeover.

       The latest wet dream for Republicans is privatizing the VA healthcare system. Send veterans to private healthcare for all their problems. That way they can bankrupt the VA in short order. The advantage to the veteran under this arrangement is much longer waiting times and less facetime with the doctor.
       Sorry Charlie, but America's healthcare system is far inferior to the VA healthcare system. Now I admit, the VA doesn't have all disciplines in all locations, but there is already a solution to that problem. In such cases veterans can transfer to a private specialist and still receive regular care at the VA. And at much shorter wait times.
       Why is it that every so often the Republicans want to eliminate perfectly good systems and institute much more expensive and worse solutions. Could it be that there's more money to be made by the new choice? You do know who pays for these ideas, don't you? It's you, and every other tax payer.
       The only thing the VA needs is more processors. People who process new enrollees. You can't fight two wars for too many years and have far too many new veterans in need of care, and give the VA less money to handle the crush. The public may be slow to pick up on the mess, but we're not dumb. We can see how badly Congress and the Administration are screwing up. We don't need any more nonsense.

An Iron Curtain.

       President Trump is now asking for a steel barrier instead of a concrete wall. Steel or Concrete, what's the difference? The former Soviet Union, Russia, built one, it was called the Iron Curtain. It failed. The question is this; do we want all the world leaders standing on the Mexican side hollering "Mr. Trump, Tear Down this Wall!"
       And all the worlds leaders will do it because we will have no friends left to stand by our side. We won't have friends because Mr. Trump will have alienated them all. Just think back to when President Reagan uttered those words to President Gorbachev. Tear Down This Wall. And the Soviet Union, in shame, tore down the wall, or rather, allowed it to be torn down.
       "Mr. Trump, Tear Down This Wall!" A better way would be to say, Don't build it in the first place. We need border security, that's for sure. We need it along the Mexican border, we need it at all our seaports and we even need it along our Canadian border. Not all to the same degree, but we need it. We can't build walls at New York City, or Boston, and we certainly can't afford a wall all along our Canadian border, but we need security. So lets stop acting silly about a silly wall and start considering smart technology. Build walls in places where they make sense and more 21st century security elsewhere.
       What we don't ever want to see is the whole world standing on the Mexican side yelling "Mr. Trump, Tear Down This Wall." It would be embarrassing. We don't need an Iron Curtain along any of our borders. We're not isolationists and never will be. So Mr. Trump, Stop Asking For an Iron Curtain Wall.

Some Of This, Some Of That.

       Say, Trump has increased the debt by $2 Trillion in two years. I heard it claimed he's running the government like one of his failed businesses. Ya know, he managed to accomplish that by not having half of his staff and all of his departments are half staffed. So I guess, if he fired everybody, he'd be in debt twice as much for the next two years. His plan is to explain that the country can't afford to get rid of him or the debt would double again.
       He seems to be using our country as an experiment to see if he can get away with gutting America. Make America Great Again is his slogan, but he seems to be doing everything he can to make it second class again. Or maybe third class. Which would you prefer 800,000 unpaid workers or a Wall?
       Those workers can stay unpaid for years as far as Trump is concerned, and he thinks they'll like it. I'll bet he would leave them unpaid until the wall is completed. I still think a moat would be better. Even guards in prisons are in that unpaid worker group. What if they decide to go on strike? Maybe Mr. Trumps sons could pull some guard duty.
       Maybe we should charge a tax on every Congressman and woman and every Senator and the President of one percent of their net worth for every day the government is shut down. I'll bet the government would be up and running by Monday morning. It's funny how money makes honey flow. I'm in favor of border security, but walls just don't work. At least not on the scale Trump envisions.

No Border Wall, I Think.

       Well the shutdown continues and no matter who you blame, it's still shut down. I just don't agree with a sea to sea wall and it doesn't matter whether it's concrete or steel slat or a white picket fence. I think it's a dead issue. So maybe we need to come up with some other approach to border security. How about a moat? With alligators in it. That would certainly deter people from crossing over. Of course, if people stopped crossing over, we'd have to come up with a source of alligator food. Maybe a series of chicken ranches or pig farms.

       Okay, bad idea. What about some newer technologies? And more well trained personnel? I suppose there would be some areas where we'd have to put up some walls. Heck, we already have some walls in place. But instead of $5.6 billion, we'd only have to come up with maybe $1 billion. And you can forget about Mexico ever paying for it. If there are as many terrorists as Mr. Trump has suggested, from time to time, maybe ISIS would be willing to pay for a new wall. After all, we're giving back Syria, what more do they want?

       I'll bet a good deal maker could pull it off. Trouble is, I can't think of a good enough deal maker, how about you? Can you think of someone? Okay, so much for that idea. We could put up signs that read COME TO AMERICA. EVERYTHING IS FREE. And in smaller print it would read "just give up your first born." Hey, we're already doing it, this would just make it all legal.

       

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.