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Monthly Archives: June 2016

You Never Had To


Americans who are what I call regular people are the Americans who grew up white may or may not understand the following statement: “You never had to face discrimination due to skin color so you do not understand what it’s like”. The reason for this is that you as normal people are color blind and are reminded sometimes of color or ethnicity when it is put before you. This is not a failing  but more a lack of exposure to the issues  that face non white Americans. We all hear and see the same news and information from the same sources generally but there are pockets of information on both sides that would enlighten and unite us all as Americans. The title “American” should be worn with pride by all of us and unfortunately we have allowed our leaders to keep an implied or even specified difference between us aside from the natural differences inherent in all humans. These implications are what has allowed the rise of the Donald Trumps as viable candidates for the Presidency of the United States. Those of you old enough to look backwards a number of election cycles will understand that our two-party system is flawed and too often do produce the best leaders (not necessarily the President) via the Congress. The real problems in a Democracy is  weakest when  the people we elect to serve are allowed to remain too long in office and then cross over the private sector to further influence the lawmaking process. Our true power as voters is to forget the hot button issues and buzzwords such as Race, religion and citizenry but to look at the long serving legislators who so easily use “the American People” as a reason for not doing their job. If you were able to get a straight answer from any of them you would find that they have not asked too many of “the American people” for their opinion. This is a classic case of “when I want your opinion, I will give it to you”. Our focus as “Americans” is to begin the process of reasonable assessment of our legislative leaders at the State and Federal levels and ignore the reality show atmosphere of modern politics. Beware of the man behind the curtain.

Washington 2 Step


If you are listening to the news, you have been witnessing the Washington 2 step from almost every sitting Congress member of note. It appears that neither party is really thrilled with their presumptive candidate for the Presidential race. The Dupublicans are in the hardest position with Donald Trump as their Messiah and holding their noses while supporting him. The Scamocrats have a similar issue but maybe not as ugly or potentially dangerous. The mistrust of the leading candidate has put a haze over their choice with the closest follower still in the race with a strong voting base. Looking at the entire campaign and the flip flops, waffling and indecision by the Congressional elite(?), who do you think we need to elect to represent us in Congress? It would be smart to remember that the Congress is supposed to represent US, the American people they are so fond of quoting without our approval.

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Friedman Says It Better.


I blogged about Paul Ryan and his strange semi endorsement of Donald Trump but this article from Michael Walsh covering  Mr. Friedman states it better.

Thomas Friedman calls GOP morally bankrupt, criticizes John McCain

Thomas Friedman is drawing attention for his blistering column about the state of the Republican Party, which he thinks should “declare moral bankruptcy” and start over.

The three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist said the United States needs a healthy two-party system but that the Grand Old Party is not doing its part, which traditionally has been to advocate for market-based solutions and sound fiscal policy. Instead, he said, it’s merely an empty shell willing to sell itself off to the highest bidders — untethered from principled, center-right conservatism.

On Tuesday, in an opinion piece for the New York Times, Friedman lambasted top Republican leaders — who had been willing to buck the party line in the past — for throwing their support behind Donald Trump despite his history of off-color comments.

He was perplexed that Ryan would still endorse Trump after the businessman questioned Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s ability to preside over the Trump University lawsuit without bias because of his Mexican heritage. Ryan called this a “textbook definition” of racism but said it’s worth backing Trump because he will sign off on a Republican agenda.

“Really? Mr. Speaker, your agenda is a mess, Trump will pay even less attention to you if he is president and, as Senator Lindsey Graham rightly put it, there has to be a time ‘when the love of country will trump hatred of Hillary,’” Friedman wrote. “Will it ever be that time with this version of the G.O.P.?”

Friedman also reprimanded Arizona Sen. John McCain and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

“Et tu, John McCain? You didn’t break under torture from the North Vietnamese, but your hunger for re-election is so great that you don’t dare raise your voice against Trump? I hope you lose. You deserve to. Marco Rubio? You called Trump ‘a con man,’ he insults your very being and you still endorse him? Good riddance.”

Trump sparked controversy back in July when he said McCain is not a war hero, even though he spent more than five years in a notorious North Vietnamese prison: “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured. OK, I hate to tell you.”

In an interview with “Morning Joe” Wednesday morning, Friedman admitted to being deeply disappointed in McCain because of how much he respects him. But, Friedman said, McCain wants to get reelected in Arizona, where the party’s base has backed Trump.

“Truly a war hero. A great American patriot,” he said of McCain. “Imagine if John were out there right now talking the way you both have been talking this morning. Clear. Principled. I don’t think Trump would survive. I think this thing would be in a very different place right now. There are few people in that party whose voices count more than others, and his is certainly one of them.”

In the op-ed, Friedman also went after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a man who famously (or infamously depending on which side you’re on) worked with President Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy despite a fast-arriving general election. Now, according to Friedman, it seems that Christie is more interested in currying favor with the potential future president than defending his minority constituents against slander.

“Chris Christie, have you not an ounce of self-respect?” Friedman wrote. “You’re serving as the valet to a man who claimed, falsely, that on 9/11, in Jersey City, home to many Arab-Americans, ‘thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down.’ Christie is backing a man who made up a baldfaced lie about residents of his own state so that maybe he can be his vice president. Contemptible.”

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Election 2016


The real election is upon us and we have some serious issues. The Dupublican party has some deep-rooted problems. To begin with many supporters have no idea what a conservative is or perhaps do not realize what the party is  actually about. What has excited them is a candidate who does not hold his tongue and plays to their anger in general with the Congress and by extension the Presidency (perhaps). These supporters are basically anti anything government but many have voted by rote for years with no examination of the candidates qualifications are or if they are running for re-election , what they have done while in office. This applies to the Scamocrats too. The path of this country will never be smooth as the history of our beginnings began with conflict and prospered due to outside conflict. We became a world power due to War but we never recovered from our internal war in mind and spirit. This Presidential election uncovered the open wound of Racism and greed that was part of the Civil war that divided us over a century ago. The negative tone of the current election season was set 8 years ago and has only progressed with the ascension of longtime rote elected politicians in our Congress and some states. The real suffering will occur if the voting public decided to make a change based on rhetoric, fear and hate instead facts and information. There will never be a perfect candidate for any elective office but an informed voter can always make a reasonable choice and be prepared to change that choice should it prove to wrong. We must not be caught up in politispeak and campaign rhetoric since neither of these make policies that affect us. Remember “talk is cheap”. The world stage is so diverse that we (U.S.A.) cannot afford to ignore the events in other countries as these events will affect us now and in the future (whether we like or not). If we elect a President who espouses any bias towards other countries , religions and races then we are sure to become isolated in the world. That isolation will affect us financially now and in the future.

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Paul Ryan


 

 

 

 

The article below is taken from the newspaper “The Hill” and the statement is from Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House. It appears that the Dupublican Party has put themselves in a hard to defend position with Mr. Trump as the 800 pound elephant in the room. Their inability to support the candidate they wanted and failure to stop Mr. Trump will be their ending as a force in the political arena. This is not a David and Goliath story , it is just a tragedy in the making of a political party that seems to be imploding with the help of a reality “star”. Even taking the point of Hillary being bad how will the “party” survive. Mr. Trump has garnered a lot of support but with some of the worst elements of our society. If we as a country are to continue as a respected world player, the Dupublican base  will have to break from strict party lines and insure “the Donald” does not gain the Oval office. This is not an endorsement of Scamocrats or Dupublicans, just a statement that Mr. Trump is too dangerous to be President.

Donald Trump’s comments criticizing a judge because of his ethnic background are “the textbook definition of racist comments,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday during an event on poverty in Washington D.C.

“I regret these comments that he made,” Ryan said. “Saying a person can’t do their job because of their race is sort of the textbook definition of racist comments. … I think that should be absolutely disavowed.”

Ryan, who also criticized Trump’s comments last week, was bombarded with questions about Trump at an event to highlight the House GOP’s policy agenda – beginning with poverty reform.

“I think they’re wrong. I don’t think they’re right-headed,” the Speaker, who endorsed Trump last week, said of the remarks.

He later called the comments “indefensible” but would not say he’s rescinding his endorsement.

The flurry of questions about the presumptive GOP nominee highlights the difficult challenge faced by Ryan and other GOP leaders, who are backing Trump as their nominee but seeing his controversies crowd out their efforts to talk policy.

Ryan conceded that Trump’s comments do “undercut” the House GOP’s efforts to put forth a policy agenda this election year.

“I’m not going to even pretend to defend them,” Ryan said. ” I’m going to defend our ideas. I’m going to defend our agenda. What matters to us most is our principles and the policies that come from those principles, and our ability to give the people of this country a better way forward.”

Ryan repeatedly said Tuesday that he was backing Trump because he believes the nation is far better off with the Republican nominee than Hillary Clinton as president.

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Veterans Administration


The VA has been in the news regularly with some misinformation, some real information and some vague information. The facts are hard to find and even looking at the website, many times information is illusive. The reports and stories about lack of or poor service to vets all over the country are for the most part true. The real issues lie with the Congress of the United States. These are the same 535 who have done little or nothing of merit for the past 10 plus years yet extol their accomplishments at election time.  There are some areas where the VA shines but usually they are located near a major city with a large Hospital presence (civilian or military) or a major military base. The problems are with the outlying facilities that just have an out patient presence or no good connection with local medical facilities. The Medical staffers are as frustrated as the veterans as their hands are tied by what ever rules are in place and often they are uninformed on new procedures or methodology. One area where the failure has occurred is the check in process, it took over a year to get the ID card kiosk to function properly and even as changes were made , all facilities were not online at the same time. The learning curve is steep since the how to’s are not completely formed until after they are rolled out and then the mad scramble to fix it begins. Meanwhile  the medical staff and their clients flounder in the surf of incompetence from above. Medical professional leave in frustration, others remain because of the nearness of retirement and out of duty. The rules are more like laundry list in Chinese (unreadable) and takes a seminar to understand them. All of this because we have a Congress that has the habit of not reading  or being properly read into the rules or laws governing the care of veterans who have given so much in actions sanctioned by the same Congress who do little beyond offering  lip service between elections. I compare our current Congress to the “pointy haired” boss in a nationally known Cartoon strip, clueless!

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Rape As A Tool


Recently a Presidential candidate spoke about immigrants being rapists. This sentiment has been brought forth before in the words of segregationist whites who stated with complete confidence (but no proof) that Black men will rape White women and thereby cementing the idea of the evilness of Blacks. This sentiment was apparent in ancient times and recent times until today with the various mini wars around the world. To get back to the American Black white rape deal, does anyone remember or chose to remember how many times Black women were raped when captured in Africa, on board the slave ships and after reaching America on the plantations. Since the White masters felt they were better than the Slaves they “owned”, there was no guilt associated and the general population paid no mind because the Blacks were considered sub-human. So what made these “master” and the populace in general fear the Black male so much? Could it be an innate “human Guilt”?  The Rapes were used as a tool to control the population of slaves by demeaning them as people and a control (This is the same method used on native Americans during the “settling” of the West). The long-range effect is and has been a long line of mixed race folks whose original ancestry is often lost to the ages due to poor record keeping possible on purpose or through ignorance. The best that can be said is that we are all Americans   and the bias minded Americans need to get over it and move into this Century.

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Foot Health


This article supports my opinion of “Flip-Flops” which I believe are the worst type of footwear and should be banned which will save many visits to the E.R. for foot and ankle injuries. I have seen the huge summertime purchase of inexpensive “flip flops” for summer ware and not just for beachwear and showers. These “ankle breaking, foot injury producing ” pieces of foam rubber and other elastic products have captured the American foot as the summertime foot wear. There are more expensive models however the nature of the beast is not changed by better manufacturing and is just a better grade of foot injuring footwear.

Flip-flops are not your friend.
“When I was pregnant, I wore flip-flops often because they’re so easy to slip onto swollen feet. But they’re really not meant to be worn all the time: They offer no arch support. Plus, your leg, toe, and foot muscles have to work harder to keep them on, which could make tendons tight and lead to pain that will affect your lower back. I encourage my friends to wear more supportive shoes whenever they’re doing a lot of walking or standing – you don’t want to put on flip-flops for an all-day trip to the amusement park – and to do foot and leg stretches to counter any tightening. My favorite is a runner’s lunge: Stand with your hands against a wall and your feet about 12 inches from it. Step back with your right foot, then bend your left knee, keeping your back leg straight and your heel firmly on the ground. Hold for 20 seconds, and repeat on the other side.” – Suzanne Badillo, clinical program director of the Women’s Rehabilitation Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

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Demagogues, Witch hunters and Charlatans


It has become clear to me that many current and past well known figures in politics and the public eye are not who they purport to be. We have over the years been enthralled or distracted by seemingly larger than life figures who have turned out to be less than most of us ordinary people. We have had Jim Jones (Jonestown) who induced hundreds to commit suicide or be murdered , Senator Mc Carthy who sent the nation on “red” witch hunt and ruined lives, We had Several Evangelicals who fell from grace after information on their personal and financial misdeeds came to light, we have had several Federal legislators ousted and imprisoned over  official and personal misdeeds. Years ago in the 1600’s we had the “Salem Witch Trials”. All of these things have to do with people who took upon them selves the mantle of  leadership under the guise of administering justice and religious right. Our current political climate appears to be running in the same vein. We have a congress lead by Right wingers who without our explicit consent doing what “they” want and ascribing it to the “American people”. We have a leading Presidential aspirant with unknown affiliation or motivation who has excited the angriest (gullible?) elements of the country into a mob who are covered with a blanket of hate for anyone not like them in mindset and skin color. This is the same type of mass sentiment that created the witch hunts ala Salem and the McCarthy eras. It is of great concern to me that the media coverage no matter how the middle of the road is flavored and often overshadowed by  the extremes of the right and left of center outlets. With all of the truth being available not enough people avail themselves of it and become entrapped by the Demagogues, witch hunters and charlatans whose sole purpose is to incite discord which in turn hides their own agendas which do  include the good of anyone but themselves and their cohorts. Remember the following Names: Joe McCarthy, Dennis Hastert, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, Spiro Agnew, Jim Jones, Cotton Mather, Tom Delay and many others. They have all been (or are currently)  high in the public eye and (or will fall) fell after their true nature or purpose is exposed. If we become and remain vigilant we will be wary when the lies sound like the truth according to someone with a high public profile.

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Snake Oil


Listening to NPR news this morning there was segment of an interview with Mitch McConnell. This inter view was much like listening to a snake oil salesman. The questions while being straight forward were answered the way you would expect a not so honest person to respond. Mr. McConnell came through with flying colors. His responses while being extensive were not true answers as much as they were talking points. His use of the phrase the “American People” has been a mainstay of his party for years but only means the people we can fool. Mr. McConnell is a polished speaker but an inveterate liar whose sole objective is and has been for years to gain power in the Congress. Now that he has it he will do no good for the country as a whole. His remaining in the Senate is a tacit OK to poor government and a unilateral shift to the right which will impact us all for years to come and in no good ways. It is unfortunate that his disciples fail to see the true face if their hero.

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