He is a brute and a bully but I knew
that from day one. Ms. Johnson was simply a wonderful interview and I
believe she helped her case immensely. Will she and all the other women
who have accused him finally get justice and will he ultimately get
taken down as he so richly deserves? I am doubtful but there is hope!
This is a running commentary on contemporary social, political and religious issues. From the Introduction of James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty -- Truth, Lies and Leadership" "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary" Reinhold Niebuhr
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Alva Johnson accuses the misogynist Trump of harassment--Believable
Great interview of Alva Johnson by Chris Hayes. I am a Trump loather as most
know but before I saw this interview, truthfully, I was skeptical of her
accusation about Trump. It was clear from this wonderful interview and I am
convinced as I am about most of the women who have accused Trump that
he overstepped his boundaries for a change.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Change and the Church
Pope Francis Vows no more sex-abuse coverups.
One will never get rid entirely the
ugliness of priests sexually abusing children and others because there are no women in the church except nuns and they
take a vow of chastity. This is basically, in its hierarchy, a unisex
operation wedded to chastity. The church needs to allow married priests as well as women priests
who can get married. There is still room for the sexless chastity
variety but, in truth, sexlessness is not a normal state for human beings.
One cannot, when one is young, get rid of desire. It is just not
possible. Also, one cannot rid oneself of the desire for companionship
which includes sex. Thus one has a unisex church where there is no
outlet for sexual satisfaction.
Still, pedophiles cannot be, for one second, tolerated no matter which institution or groups of people they inhabit. Religious orthodoxy of all stripes seems to have its fair share. If the institution allows for more diversity in the composition of the church as well as diversity in its hierarchy and the ability to marry I think pedophilia will go down. It will probably not, sadly, be eliminated but at least it will go down and by the way if pedophilia is uncovered call the police! Changes in the composition of the church and the actions of its hierarchy and others must occur.
Still, pedophiles cannot be, for one second, tolerated no matter which institution or groups of people they inhabit. Religious orthodoxy of all stripes seems to have its fair share. If the institution allows for more diversity in the composition of the church as well as diversity in its hierarchy and the ability to marry I think pedophilia will go down. It will probably not, sadly, be eliminated but at least it will go down and by the way if pedophilia is uncovered call the police! Changes in the composition of the church and the actions of its hierarchy and others must occur.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
What I wrote to Mitch McConnell
Neither the
president nor any of his Republican supporters have condemned the most
extreme plans of violence, killing of democratic leadership and media
progressives by a deranged right wing fascist extremist. This is the
most dangerous assassination plot since Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
Yet Trump says nothing but does make critical comments about Alexandria
Ocasia Cortez and other perceived democratic opposition any chance he
gets.
He does come out in outrage when an immigrant kills or an asylum seeker on the border does something illegal even though illegal immigration and crime from it are down on the southern border. He never states that because he only knows lies. One can only imagine if this white nationalist killing machine threatening this dastardly violent act to essentially overthrow our nation were Muslim. Trump would call out the National Guard and more.
This man Trump is oh so dangerous encouraging a race war by his toxic comments against persons of color, ruining our democratic alliances abroad and encouraging a hot war against his opposition -- the press he calls a Stalinist epithet the "enemy of the people."
What does democracy mean anymore?
Republicans who truly love their country should want this monstrous presidency to end, Mueller's report to be transparent distributed to all and impeachment proceedings begun. With a Republican senate I will not hold my breath as Republicans now at least those who have not left the Party are lap dogs for the uber corrupt Trump. Leader McConnell, you could right this sinking ship of state. I implore you to do so. Words matter and the president's toxic comments matter most of all as we see an uptick in violence against Democrats, Jews, Muslims, and many other minorities, One would think the Holocaust would have put an end to that but Trump has raised these horrific right wing ideologies again and given the KKK as well as Nazis a seat at the political table. These right wing groups are violent, mean and armed to the teeth. They mimic the president who gives a green light to them because of his rhetoric. I am asking you to save this nation, forget Party and look to the collective national good!
He does come out in outrage when an immigrant kills or an asylum seeker on the border does something illegal even though illegal immigration and crime from it are down on the southern border. He never states that because he only knows lies. One can only imagine if this white nationalist killing machine threatening this dastardly violent act to essentially overthrow our nation were Muslim. Trump would call out the National Guard and more.
This man Trump is oh so dangerous encouraging a race war by his toxic comments against persons of color, ruining our democratic alliances abroad and encouraging a hot war against his opposition -- the press he calls a Stalinist epithet the "enemy of the people."
What does democracy mean anymore?
Republicans who truly love their country should want this monstrous presidency to end, Mueller's report to be transparent distributed to all and impeachment proceedings begun. With a Republican senate I will not hold my breath as Republicans now at least those who have not left the Party are lap dogs for the uber corrupt Trump. Leader McConnell, you could right this sinking ship of state. I implore you to do so. Words matter and the president's toxic comments matter most of all as we see an uptick in violence against Democrats, Jews, Muslims, and many other minorities, One would think the Holocaust would have put an end to that but Trump has raised these horrific right wing ideologies again and given the KKK as well as Nazis a seat at the political table. These right wing groups are violent, mean and armed to the teeth. They mimic the president who gives a green light to them because of his rhetoric. I am asking you to save this nation, forget Party and look to the collective national good!
Thursday, February 21, 2019
WARNING
WARNING: RACHEL
MADDOW HAD A WONDERFUL SEGMENT ON THE VARIOUS BOTS THAT HAVE BEEN
MANUFACTURED BY THE SAME TRIPE THAT STOLE OUR 2016 ELECTION. THEY ARE
TRYING TO DIVIDE DEMOCRATS AND OTHER PROGRESSIVES AGAIN. BE VERY VERY SUSPECT OF ALL YOU READ ON PAGES
THAT HAVE HAD DEMOCRATIC LEANINGS.
THIS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT THESE SWINE DID IN 2016. DO NOT BE
TAKEN IN AND DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ ON A SITE. BEWARE. IF
I
FIND ANY SUSPECT DIVISIVE POSTINGS ON MY SITE I WILL ERASE OR HIDE THEM
BUT I CANNOT GET THEM ALL. DEMOCRATS AND PROGRESSIVES MUST NOT BE
DIVIDED WE MUST BE UNITED. SCRUTINIZE EVERYTHING YOU READ AS TO WHAT
IS THE TRUTH AND WHAT IS NOT!
BE
CAREFUL WHAT YOU THINK IS TRUTH. GET THE FACTS. THERE ARE BOTS, SOME
RUSSIAN AND SOME REPUBLICAN SO CALLED "CONSERVATIVE" POSTS THAT WANT TO
SPREAD MALICIOUS LIES AND STIR THE POT OF CONFUSION AMONG DEMOCRATS.
FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF FROM REPUTABLE SOURCES LIKE THE NEW YORK TIMES,
WASHINGTON POST, BOSTON GLOBE, THE ATLANTIC, THE NEW YORKER, CNN, MSNBC
AND OTHERS WHAT THE POSITIONS OF THE CANDIDATES ARE. GO TO THE
CANDIDATES' WEB PAGE AND READ THEIR ARGUMENTS ON EACH ISSUE. THEN
LISTEN TO THE MANY FUTURE DEBATES THAT WILL OCCUR BEFORE YOU MAKE A
HURRIED CHOICE.
It
is still very early to make a definitive choice but beware, as I have
said, there are posts submitted by Republicans and probably some by
Russians on Facebook and other social media sites supportive of Trump
that want to sow the seeds of Democratic division and elect Trump for a
second term (God forbid.) Donald Trump's own words are sowing the seeds
of that division. Even Putin has weighed into the fray today as he
tried to besmirch our national security system as "deep state." Yes, I
said Putin. Is this possible? Yes. Be warned!
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Charisma
I spent two days
watching a Netflix Documentary entitled "The Dark Charisma of Adolph
Hitler: Leading Millions into the Abyss." It was a riveting documentary
of the emergence of a man directly responsible for ultimately the
killing of 50 million human beings and the eradication of much of
eastern European Jewry of 6 million men, women and children within a
span of just over a decade. The documentary traced Corporal Hitler's
experience in World War I, one of the bloodiest wars ever fought,
complete with 2 million German war dead including the use of gas and its
direct relationship to his extraordinary rise as Chancellor of Germany
in 1933. From an unknown corporal in WWI he led the world ultimately
into the total war of WWII. I have seen many documentaries of WWII but
still I could not account for the Mesmer-like hold through oratory this
one man held over millions in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland (the
German speaking part of Czechoslovakia.) What was there in this man that
he could cast a spell over some of the foremost intellectually
sophisticated nations in central Europe to ultimately wage total war
decimating Europe and the nation he claimed to love?
German
troops under Hitler's direction and with his generals' apprehension
instructed the invasion of Austria and were met with flowers instead of
bullets. It was called Blum Krieg or war of flowers. In the
Sudetenland German troops again were met with flowers. Hundreds of
thousands of arms raised in Nazi salute paid homage to this heretofore
unremarkable man. He could speak and he could act making the German
people feel worthy again after the loss of WWI and the reparations they
had to pay for it. Germans were humiliated but Hitler made them feel
right again. Add to the WWI reparations the 1929 Great Depression and a
leader was needed to fill the vacuum of leadership and the impotence of
German democracy. Hindenburg hated the Bohemian corporal, as he called
him, but Germany was devolving into violence and Hitler was the big
Nationalist who told the German people what they wanted to hear that
they were better than everyone else. He told them he would lead them
out of the abyss. He told them he knew better than his generals and
overruled their hesitation for war. In the beginning it worked beyond
their wildest dreams even marching into Paris until, against his
generals' advice, he set his sights on the eastern front, Russia, and
endured the Russian devastating winter with clothing not made for it.
Many German soldiers froze or starved to death. Hitler told the
soldiers it was their duty to die for the fatherland and he ordered his
soldiers to march east toward Stalingrad where his fortunes changed. In
1941 the US attacked by Japan declared war on the Axis powers. D-Day
followed with the allied ground invasion of Europe. This nation with
its allies defeated fascism, the greatest threat to mankind ever known
and renewed the face of Europe.
Nationalist
-- Hitler was a Nationalist. Trump by his own admission is a
Nationalist who tells his generals he knows more than they. He lies
consistently. His speeches are short on specifics and long on
platitudes rich with lies. Up is down and down is up, black is white
because Trump says it is and his followers believe him even in the face
of the truth. He they think and as he tells them can be the only one who
can pull the nation up from an abyss and has failed to fill hundreds of
positions making him nearly a unitary executive. Hitler's Minister of
Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels said:
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can
be maintained only for such time
as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It
thus becomes vitally important for
the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth
is the mortal enemy of the lie, and
thus by extension, the truth is the
greatest enemy of the State.” Trump calls the press the "enemy of the
people" especially when it tells the truth about him.
I
thought about the commonality of these two Nationalists. What did/do
they have in common? Charisma is the binding tie. Charisma as defined
means personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or
enthusiasm; a special magnetic charm or appeal. Both took advantage of a
sagging national ego -- Germany of WWI and the US, a nation which
heretofore never lost a war now has. It stalemated in Korea, lost in
Vietnam, endured a nation of protest of its foreign policy, was
devastatingly attacked on 9/11, went to war in Iraq based on lies,
invaded Afghanistan which now reaches the number 17 years as the longest
war this nation has ever fought with no end in sight. Trump talked
national pride, America First and verbally attacks many of our NATO
allies and NATO itself aligning himself with the examples of dictators
he would love to become. He sees enemies where there are none because
he plays to his 38% no matter the hate he spews. Hate was Hitler's
unification message and hate is Trump's secrete weapon used for a base
that is sick of losing, thinks the "other" makes us lose and wants its
national pride back. Appeal to ignorant racists long a factor in
American politics mix in charisma and it has been the recipe for
success. He did succeed beyond even his wildest dreams.
Russia
though, like Hitler, will be Trump's downfall as the media shines a
bright light on Trump's massive corruption and Mueller is about to pull
the curtain away. Is Trump our Manchurian candidate in league with
Russia? We had better find out lest there be no one to pull us out of
the abyss this time and democracy may be lost to the ages.
Chuck Rosenberg -- a sense of calm, class and a giant intellect
My all time favorite
of the MSNBC experts MSNBC commentators call on to explain the maze of
Trump mess is Chuck Rosenberg. He is a refreshing bit of calm in the stormy seas of Trump. He makes my blood pressure go down.
I
particularly liked his explanation today of direct vs. circumstantial
evidence when explaining Richard Burr's announcement that there was no
"direct" evidence of Russian
collusion by Trump. Yes, the word "direct" is important as Mr.
Rosenberg said. A jury can convict on circumstantial evidence and they
so all the time. Convicting on direct evidence is rarer. I breathed a sigh of relief!
Thank you Mr. Rosenberg for restoring the seas of calm!
Monday, February 11, 2019
Winning is everything
Run Beto Run....changing my
mind by the minute: O'Rourke/perhaps Klobuchar ---- Not that I do not
love all the other Democratic candidates but this time I think a woman
on the VP side of the ticket would be just what the doctor ordered. I
think they can win!! Beto is young, charismatic, smart, from Texas and
can go toe to toe with Drumpf. Yes, he's white which matters NOT to me
but to some. Pragmatically I think it is needed.
Klobuchar is young, a woman, strong yet nice and funny too. Plus it could set a Democratic woman up for the presidency in 2028 (yes we think far ahead.) Democrats want to WIN. Winning is everything and another horrific four years of Drumpf will kill the planet and us!
Klobuchar is young, a woman, strong yet nice and funny too. Plus it could set a Democratic woman up for the presidency in 2028 (yes we think far ahead.) Democrats want to WIN. Winning is everything and another horrific four years of Drumpf will kill the planet and us!
Please, Democrats, do not add two extra
parts to the budget bill which will create another
horrific shut down of our government. It is untenable to attach to that
bill a decrease in the amount of beds housing asylum seekers and the
advocacy of criminals at the border to be allowed in included in
the bill. I implore you to stick to the funding of the
wall way below the 5.6 billion asked. We have MUCH more ability to
succeed and win because the American people do not want a wall nor a
government shutdown because of it. They will be turned off and blame
Democrats for including two other impossible-to-now-pass demands of
decreasing beds and allowing criminals entrance. Democrats will become
the goat. Keep the strength of our hand by simply limiting the bill to
the president's intractability of a 5.6 billion dollar wall he can never
get.
Do NOT please let Republicans have the advantage by not coming to agreement because of these additional requests. Millions of people in America are counting on you to save this deal and NOT come to a government shutdown hurting millions again just so Trump can score his political points with Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh especially if the impossible demands of Democrats will be used by them as a rationale. NO
Do NOT please let Republicans have the advantage by not coming to agreement because of these additional requests. Millions of people in America are counting on you to save this deal and NOT come to a government shutdown hurting millions again just so Trump can score his political points with Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh especially if the impossible demands of Democrats will be used by them as a rationale. NO
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Democrats to Howard Schultz don't do it!
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-to-howard-schultz-dont-do-it/
"Democrats have been
supportive of an independent bid by a Republican — for one, John Kasich
said to be weighing an independent run — as it would siphon votes from
Mr. Trump. But Schultz is the first Democrat to weigh a bid outside the
party. And his personal wealth and resources would allow him to remain
in the running for as long as he'd like to stay in the race.
Schultz demurred when asked whether his entrance would be damaging for Democrats. "I want to see the American people win,"
Schultz demurred when asked whether his entrance would be damaging for Democrats. "I want to see the American people win,"
MY COMMENT: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND DEMOCRATS WON'T WIN AND TRUMP
WILL IF THIS ELECTORAL HIJACKER SCHULTZ HAS HIS WAY. HE WON'T WIN AND
NEITHER WILL A DEMOCRAT BUT THE HORROR OF HORROR THE HYPOCRITE DONALD
TRUMP WILL FOR A SECOND TERM. IF YOU WANT THAT YOU WANT SUICIDE NOT
ONLY TO OUR NATION BUT TO THE PLANET.
SPREAD THE WORD SAY NO NO NO NO
TO HOWARD SCHULTZ--RESIST AND BY RESISTING SMASH THE WASHINGTON
SATURATION OF THE CORRUPTION OF TRUMP!
PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE YOU CHOOSE.
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Bastards pure and simple: The theft of your Social Security
Write your congressmen and women and tell them the jig is up! A friend sent this to me. I suggest you read it.
A woman dies at age 65 before collecting one benefit check. She and her employer paid into the system for almost 50 years and she collected NOTHING. Keep in mind all the working people that die every year who were paying into the system and got nothing.
And these governmental morons mismanaged the money and stole from the system, so that it's now going broke.
BEAUTIFUL! And they have the audacity to call today's seniors "vultures" in an attempt to cover their ineptitude. DISGRACEFUL!
The real reason for renaming our Social Security payments is so the government can claim that all those social security recipients are receiving entitlements thus putting them in the same category as welfare, and food stamp recipients.
THIS IS WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ AND DIGEST!
F.Y.I. By changing the name of SS contributions, it gives them a means to refute this program in the future. It's free money for the government to spend under this guise.
The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a Federal Benefit Payment? I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you.
Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it. The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment."
This is NOT a benefit. It is OUR money , paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too ! It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.(This should be enough for you to forward this message, If not read on.)
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social Security. If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social security ($375/month, including both you and your employers contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved.
This is your personal investment. Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month.
That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration. (Google it – it's a fact). And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.
Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did (or Lyndon Johnson).
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They "forgot"(oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them ... and they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. (Isn't it funny that they NEVER say this about welfare payments?)
But is it our fault they misused our investments? And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a benefit, as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. This is stealing!
Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't mean that our investments were for charity!
Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government.
Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of the 92% of our population who need it.
Then call it what it is:
Our Earned Retirement Income .
90% of people won't forward this.
PLEASE! Will you?
A woman dies at age 65 before collecting one benefit check. She and her employer paid into the system for almost 50 years and she collected NOTHING. Keep in mind all the working people that die every year who were paying into the system and got nothing.
And these governmental morons mismanaged the money and stole from the system, so that it's now going broke.
BEAUTIFUL! And they have the audacity to call today's seniors "vultures" in an attempt to cover their ineptitude. DISGRACEFUL!
The real reason for renaming our Social Security payments is so the government can claim that all those social security recipients are receiving entitlements thus putting them in the same category as welfare, and food stamp recipients.
THIS IS WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ AND DIGEST!
F.Y.I. By changing the name of SS contributions, it gives them a means to refute this program in the future. It's free money for the government to spend under this guise.
The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a Federal Benefit Payment? I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you.
Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it. The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment."
This is NOT a benefit. It is OUR money , paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too ! It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.(This should be enough for you to forward this message, If not read on.)
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social Security. If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social security ($375/month, including both you and your employers contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved.
This is your personal investment. Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month.
That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration. (Google it – it's a fact). And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.
Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did (or Lyndon Johnson).
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They "forgot"(oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them ... and they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. (Isn't it funny that they NEVER say this about welfare payments?)
But is it our fault they misused our investments? And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a benefit, as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. This is stealing!
Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't mean that our investments were for charity!
Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government.
Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of the 92% of our population who need it.
Then call it what it is:
Our Earned Retirement Income .
90% of people won't forward this.
PLEASE! Will you?
SOTU -- who is he kidding?
I
was going to boycott Trump's State of the Union Speech because I cannot
listen to his voice, words filled with lies, nor look at his disgusting
"blond" sprayed-into-submission hair but I wanted to see
how the Democratic opposition of women in their white garb reacted.
They along with Speaker Pelosi were inspiring.
If one is a
right wing extremist then I am sure they loved Trump's speech complete with
late term pregnancy anti-choice bull-pucky histrionics.
These
Republican men love to tell women what to do with their bodies and their base roars
in approval. There was, of course, orgasmic praise
for a wall to keep those oh so threatening caravans of brown out. The
true threat, climate change, is not mentioned not even once. I wonder
if he will be alive when climate changed Miami sinks into the ocean I
hope taking Mar-A-Lago with it.
Trump
was, naturally, playing to his base as he does on his stump speeches
all the time. He spends more time on the road speaking to his right
wing extremist supporters, spends more time golfing, and spends more
"Executive" time watching TV. He cannot write nor spell and he has no
patience to read important foreign policy texts from experts. This is
our so called president. His gut does the policy walking much to the
consternation of those who happen not to want the launch of nuclear
war. He says it was he that kept N. Korea from launching a nuclear
Armageddon. Oh the egotism of that ridiculous statement! Sorry, Mr.
Trump, N. Korea is still building nuclear weaponry which he does not, of
course, mention. He bombs treaties and organizations that have kept
the world's peace and threatens his perceived enemy, Iran, blasts away
Obama agreements that were working and indicts all things Obama,
including regulations that kept our drinking water and air safe. He
fires his staff and pays attention to experts if and only if they
reflect what he feels otherwise they are fired. His SOTU was all about
all of that. It was not meant to be inclusive. It was meant to please
his base and lift his base-sagging numbers. He is addicted to love --
the love of his base -- because few of any other political bent love
him. His numbers are falling and he knows it. Perhaps this speech will
temporarily raise those numbers but not for long as his policies wreak
havoc on our nation. Wait for the real biographical tweets soon to come
He
has WWII vets and a concentration camp survivor from
another era, the era of FDR (the opposite of Trumpian politics) in the
audience. It is all staged to evoke volcanic eruptions of praise from
his base. I suspect if he were
president in the WWII era since he is a self-proclaimed Nationalist
and an observable demagogue he would have allied with the Axis powers
(Germany, Italy and Japan) who were also Nationalists and supported
the authoritarian fascists Hitler and Mussolini! Who is he kidding.
Not me!
Monday, February 04, 2019
A Superbowl rationale
Pats win 13 to 3 lowest scoring game ever. Hey, a win is a win. Until
the 4th quarter it was like a baseball game. If it stayed 3 to zip it
is still a win that is all that matters and it was an amazing defensive
superlative.
Such mixed emotions I had throughout the game but in the end I
actually cried. The rationale for the sports
enthusiasm for all things Boston is that it has to do, I think, in large part from where one was born or
the state with which one identifies. For me my dad transmitted his Red Sox uber love and it transferred to me.
I am a northeast person and Boston
is in my bones. I just love the city, I love the politics of the state
and from a child I wore a Red Sox uniform. As an adult I love the Pats
as much. It is just plain fun when they win and heart break, for me, when they
do not. It's hard to explain my own explanation of my
allegiance but it is there and will be always.
One bit of political caveat of sadness: the fact
that Kraft puts his arms around Trump I try to eradicate that from my
Patriots euphoric brain!
Mitch McConnell reportedly linked to Putin, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Russian companies
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/28/1830431/-Mitch-McConnell-now-tied-to-Putin-Oleg-Deripaska-and-Russian-companies-after-lifting-sanctions?detail=emaildkre
Excerpt:
Monday
evening brought a new twist. It was discovered that one of Mitch
McConnell’s major donors, Len Blavatnik, who is tied to Vladimir Putin
and other Russian oligarchs, benefited when Trump and McConnell lifted
Russian sanctions on Sunday.
Blavatnik
contributed a total of $3.5 million to a PAC associated with Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Blavatnik contributed $1.5
million to the GOP Senate Leadership Fund PAC in the name of Access
Industries and another $1 million in the name of AI-Altep Holdings
during the 2015/2016 election season. And as of September 2017, he had
contributed another $1 million this year through AI–Altep.
Blavatnik, whose family emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s, is a longtime business associate of Russian oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, both of whom have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Along with McConnell, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham received hefty sums from Blavatnik as well.
Blavatnik, whose family emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s, is a longtime business associate of Russian oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, both of whom have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Along with McConnell, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham received hefty sums from Blavatnik as well.
Friday, February 01, 2019
Change in our Time Part II
Taken from Rachel Maddow Show on 1/31/19 -- Blue Wave Democrats bring new Productivity to House Committees
Here
is the Youtube below of the Rachel Maddow show last night. There is no
substitute I could adequately duplicate in an entertaining way that
could take the place of how Rachel Maddow explains the change first in
Kansas. I paste it here http://www.msnbc.com/rachel- maddow-show
for your edification and entertainment. The nefarious ways the
Republicans of Kansas helped by Republican corrupt Kris Kobach Secretary
of State running for Governor to suppress the Hispanic vote in the town
of Dodge City is beyond belief but with Maddow and the ACLU's help the
citizens of Dodge won the right to vote in the next election. Listen to
the Youtube and enjoy the rest summarized in part below.
Also
on the Youtube: HR1 Democratic priorities: on voting rights and anti
corruption measures. House Democrats anti corruption proposal to end
partisan gerrymandering in federal elections; make election day a
federal holiday so no one has to skip voting because of work; guarantee
early voting days and same day voting would make it uniform throughout
the nation; creating new national automatic voter registration that asks
voters to opt out rather than opt in ensuring more people will be
signed up to vote; prohibit voter roll purging; Non partisan
gerrymandering; Create new ethical code for the president and the
Supreme Court subject to same ethics and anti corruption rules making
sure all branches of government subject to the new law; force dark money
and super PACS to disclose their donors. Held hearings on it and
Republicans were roasted -- There is a new Sheriff in town at least in
the House. McConnell called it a power grab then Democrat Brian Schatz
shot back "Voting IS a power grab. By citizens!"; requirement for
candidates for president and vice president to turn over tax returns or
they could not run. Republicans heretofore under Ryan pretended not to
care. First tax return hearing. Democrat John Lewis will head the
committee on tax law for Presidential and Vice Presidential tax
returns. Trump first President to fail to disclose his tax returns.
This is proposed Democratic legislation. Hearing will be a week from
yesterday at 2:00. and live streamed; Two hearings on Climate Change;
and there is more. Convened hearing on prescription drugs. Watch the
video above.
Elections
matter: Democrats have changed the complexion of the House in
extraordinary ethical and just ways; the Senate and the Presidency are
next to return our nation finally to an ethical spot among the righteous
of democratic nations.
Change in our Time
Democrats Announce Hearing on Trump's Tax Returns"
This
is what power brings. Last night Rachel Maddow the Great enumerated a
list of all the hearings Democrats will be conducting. I will list them
later as Rachel would say "watch this space." It is impressive to say
the least. Will some republicans bolt their party to vote with Dems in
the Senate? Possibly but, perhaps, improbable or at least not enough to withstand a veto. Still maybe but if
nothing else it shows the electorate what Democrats have to offer and
what they are about. The Democratic House's list of national repairs is
substantial and must be done. Instead of focusing on the damn wall
that is NOT an emergency Republicans should focus on a wall against
climate change and should focus on implementing the essence of democracy
by securing the vote equitably and promoting infrastructure repair so
that this nation does not look and act like a third world autocracy.
SUPPORT
PELOSI. RESIST RACIST AGENDAS AND MUCH OF WHAT REPUBLICANS CARE ABOUT.
REPUBLICANS ARE NOT ABOUT MOST OF YOU. TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS TRICKLES
UP BACK INTO THE COFFERS OF THE 2% WEALTHIEST AMONG US. RESIST THAT!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Democratic Presidential Convention--On to November
I watched the Democratic convention last evening until my body's demand for sleep overtook me around midnight. Having followed thin...
-
Comment of Occupy Democrats: By Colin Taylor. I could not have said it better than this introductory thoughts by Colin. The president'...
-
DR. RICHARD BRIGHT'S TESTIMONY TODAY WAS DEVASTATING TO THE INEPT ALMOST CRIMINAL INACTION OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. I URGE EVERYO...
-
Nuclear Strike -- NO : I just read Steve Weisman's article in Truthout in which he thinks the US strike of Iran is imminent. There a...