Skip navigation

Category Archives: My Opinion

Arizona candidate groused about McCain family before he died


Do we really need another liar in Government? MA
Associated Press 13 hours ago

PHOENIX (AP) — Hours before Sen. John McCain died on Saturday, a Republican seeking Arizona’s other U.S. Senate seat suggested that his family’s earlier announcement that he was ending cancer treatment had been timed to hurt her campaign.
Former State Sen. Kelli Ward, who lost a primary to McCain running from the right in 2016 and is now trying to win the GOP nomination for retiring Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat, made the suggestion in response to a Facebook post by a campaign aide.
According to screenshots of the conversation posted on Twitter by Arizona political reporters, the aide, Jonathan Williams, wondered if it was “just a coincidence” that the announcement of McCain ending medical treatment came the day Ward was launching a statewide bus tour, her big push before Tuesday’s primary.
Ward replied: “I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that is negative to me.”
After her response was Tweeted out, Ward deleted the post and replaced it with one claiming the media was concocting a story.
“I’ve said again and again to pray for Senator McCain & his family,” Ward wrote. “These decisions are terrible to have to make. I feel compassion for him and his family as they go through this.”
Ward has acknowledged she is the underdog in Tuesday’s primary. She faces Rep. Martha McSally and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
A message left with Ward’s campaign office on Sunday morning was not immediately returned.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

Georgia County Can’t Back Up Its Excuse For Plan To Disenfranchise Black Voters


Pre 1964 tactics remerge again under the TOTUS administration and again Congress does nothing.MA

08/22/2018 10:43 am ET Updated 17 hours ago
Officials in majority-black Randolph County lack the data to back a proposal to shutter most voting spots.

By Sam Levine

Officials in a majority-black Georgia county accused of trying to close almost all polling places to make it harder for black people to vote claimed last week that the locations couldn’t be used because of accessibility problems for people with disabilities.
But Randolph County doesn’t have a single recent report, analysis or document supporting the idea that it needs to close seven of its nine polling places due to accessibility issues, a lawyer for the county told HuffPost on Tuesday in response to a public records request.
HuffPost requested records from the county dating back to March 1, 2018. The county hired Michael Malone, an outside elections consultant now pushing for the closures, on April 2. But according to the county, it has no written record of evidence to back his recommendations.
“There is no document, report or analysis studying the handicap accessibility of polling places in Randolph County and the cost of fixing them within the time frame specified in your open records request,” Hayden Hooks, an attorney with the firm Perry & Walters, which represents Randolph County, wrote in an email. The county has no record of such a document in the past year, Hooks added.
The county’s admission “proves that their alleged concern about [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliance is a sham,” said Sean Young, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, which has threatened to sue the county if it closes the polling locations. “This is not about ADA compliance, because if it were, they would have produced a study or analysis of what they believe are ADA violations and what can be done about them.”
The southwest Georgia county has a population of just over 7,000, more than 61 percent of whom are African-American. It tends to lean Democratic. Barack Obama carried the county in 2008 and 2012, as did Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Just over 30 percent of Randolph County residents live below the poverty line. The ACLU has said the county’s black voters are less likely to own a car and, without public transportation, will have face difficulty traveling longer distances to reach the polls.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

 

 

As deficit grows, GOP leaders eye cuts to Medicare, Social Security


This is the work of Paul Ryan and Bitch McConnell, they are looking to take earned money from Social Security recipients and those that have the need for Government support. The big tax breaks have benefitted only the wealthy yet only a few of the 1 percenters speak out.MA 
08/21/18 08:40 AM

By Steve Benen
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), who currently chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, sat down with CNBC’s John Harwood, who asked the Ohio Republican about the fact that the deficit is soaring in the wake of his party’s tax breaks.
Predictably, the congressman responded to the issue the way GOP lawmakers nearly always respond to the issue.
Harwood: No misgivings about a tax cut that was not paid for, that’s allowing debt and deficits to rise like it is now?
Stivers: I do think we need to deal with our some of our spending. We’ve got to try to figure out how to spend less.
Note the pivot: massive tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations has turned a modest budget shortfall into an enormous budget shortfall. Stivers sees that as a problem in need of attention, not by reversing course on regressive tax policies, but by looking at spending.
And that, naturally, led to a conversation between Stivers and Harwood on social-insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare – what are frequently referred to as “entitlements” – which Republicans want to cut in order to clean up the budget mess they created with tax cuts.
If this sounds familiar, there’s a good reason for that. It was just a few months ago that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the “name of the game on debt and deficits” is cutting “entitlements.”
At face value, it’s difficult to take the rhetoric seriously. If Republican policymakers were genuinely concerned about the budget deficit, they wouldn’t have passed unnecessary tax breaks for people who don’t need them, without even trying to find a way to pay for the cuts. No one should accept the premise that GOP leaders are sincere about fiscal responsibility.
But even more important is the bigger picture: GOP officials like Stivers and Ryan are helping prove Democrats right about one of the most serious threats posed by the Republican tax plan.

As we discussed in March, the debate over the GOP plan may have been fairly brief – Republicans pushed their scheme through quickly to get ahead of public opposition – it featured plenty of Democrats arguing vociferously that its proponents would pass tax cuts for the wealthy, blow up the deficit, and then target Social Security and Medicare, crying about the importance for “fiscal responsibility.”
Ryan wasted no time confirming Democrats’ fears. The Speaker started talking up Medicare cuts in December, and Social Security cuts soon after. Now the chair of the NRCC is signaling similar intentions.
It’s quite a message Republicans are taking into the midterm elections, isn’t it? Donald Trump’s party pushed through unpopular tax breaks, which led to unpopular deficits, which GOP leaders hope to address though unpopular cuts to celebrated pillars of modern American society such as Social Security and Medicare.
Good luck with that.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

Unable to Resist


I am unable to resist pointing out that our titular national leader(?) aka TOTUS can not be classified as either or, neither nor and even what the hell. This space waster is simply an ego driven unfortunate who has ascended to the highest office in the land through the limited or lack of ill to look beyond this election and understand that his actions will pull on the lives of us all- NO ONE escapes the consequences. The often repeated lies and mis information spewed daily  via tweet is not only dishonest but totally disingenuous. This current situation is being directed by him according to how he conducted his business-(poorly) by with an iron fist and no regard to consequences. Unfortunately the consequences will be ours and with no way to redress the harm even if he goes to jail. I an unable to resist implicating the Congress of seat fillers who have gone along with this destruction and will expect to be reelected. It is OUR REPONSIBILITY as voters to oust TOTUS , Congress and any allied forces that hold elected office. It will take years to get to a point of balance with hopefully people who have the where with all to govern with integrity.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

America First or First and Only Americans


There is a very long list of Hyphenated Americans but there is only 1 (one) indigenous American group (s) who were here before Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci (the country’s namesake). Eons ago what is now North America was connected to the European continent by a land bridge between Alaska and Russia. This allowed early humans to cross over to what is now the North American continent. These early settlers are the Original “Americans” not the later visitors and settlers.
The rapid and extensive spread of the various European powers from the early 15th century onwards had a profound impact upon many of the indigenous cultures with whom they came into contact. The exploratory and colonial ventures in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific often resulted in territorial and cultural conflict, and the intentional or unintentional displacement and devastation of the indigenous populations.
The Canary Islands had an indigenous population called the Guanches whose origin is still the subject of discussion among historians and linguists.[16] Since the early settlement and subsequent governance by an assortment of European countries there were an olio of  Nationalities with skin color’s from white to black and languages from English to Bantu. All of this is said to emphasize that the only “true Americans” are the indigenous who arrived over the land bridge and they were essentially beat into submission by “foreign” invaders from Europe. (wikipedia)

Modern times have brought the idea that true Americans are White which is incorrect as the list of non indigenous Americans (or hyphenated) goes like this:

African -Americans, Irish-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Scottish-Americans, German-Americans, Franco-Americans, Russian- Americans, Italian-Americans, Swiss-Americans and so on. There are no true Americans except the indigenous folks who crossed and lived on the land bridge about 13000 years ago. So the facts remain that modern day America is composed of about 90% immigrants leaving the indigenous Americans in the minority and the First and only AMERICANS.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

 

 

Typical Case of Trumpism


Trump revoked Brennan’s access because he believes that Brennan has exhibited “erratic conduct” and questionable credibility. I would suggest that the reasons for revocation of Mr. Brennan’s security clearance apply more to TOTUS and the White house staff than anyone else. On the other hand it is apparently alright for Mick Mulvaney to remove protections against predatory lending for the Military and other Americans . It is Ok to separate children and parents who are legally seeking asylum, it is lawful to assess tariffs under the guise of fair trade correction. This President’s has one goal and that is to be a better President than previous White House occupants but apparently has no clue how to do it. The thoughts for action come into his head with no rational background and the details are left to lackeys who are afraid not to do what he wants no matter the consequences. Where is the Congress in all of this?  The seat fillers led by the Dupublican party  are sitting quietly on the side while certain factions of their party  keep coming up with  unfounded reasons for committees to investigate  voter fraud, undocumented workers committing crimes and undoing the ACA. The US’s standing in the world is at possibly an all time low and our greatest Allies have taken a step back to try to understand what is happening here. This is in effect the isolationism that eventually put us in jeopardy and eventually 2 world wars. The intervening years with American leadership (however flawed) has assisted in a more peaceful world with a larger amount of prosperity. It is well to remember that  no system of government is perfect but always correctable  and able to be tweaked for the better. What we currently have is essentially a “Rogue” state tacitly condoned by the in power party and many of its constituents, some of whom appear to be un or under informed.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

Follow Up On Trump’s Parade, blame game continues.


Trump cancels military parade, blames D.C. officials for high cost
Dartunorro Clark 41 mins ago

President Donald Trump said Friday he has canceled a planned military parade this fall in the nation’s capital because of the “ridiculously high” price tag given by D.C. officials.
“The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it. When asked to give us a price for holding a great celebratory military parade, they wanted a number so ridiculously high that I cancelled it,” Trump tweeted.
“Never let someone hold you up! I will instead attend the big parade already scheduled at Andrews Air Force Base on a different date, & go to the Paris parade, celebrating the end of the War, on November 11th. Maybe we will do something next year in D.C. when the cost comes WAY DOWN. Now we can buy some more jet fighters!”

On Thursday, a defense official told NBC News that the upper estimate of the cost of the parade was $92 million, a figure first reported by CNBC. The potential cost was way above initial estimates.
The military parade was requested by Trump earlier this year.
The Department of Defense said Thursday that the parade was delayed until 2019.
“The Department of Defense and White House have been planning a parade to honor America’s military veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I,” said Col. Rob Manning on Thursday. “We originally targeted November 10, 2018 for this event but have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019.”

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

Trump’s military parade in Washington now delayed until 2019


Wouldn’t TOTUS’ time be better spent actually looking for ways to spend money to help the country’s needs in infrastructure rather than a parade to celebrate his own ego. We (some of us) elected a President (so some of us thought) not a dictator wannabe.MA.
Courtney Kube 11 hrs ago

WASHINGTON — The multimillion-dollar military parade through the nation’s capital requested by President Donald Trump has been delayed until 2019, a Defense Department spokesman said Thursday.
“The Department of Defense and White House have been planning a parade to honor America’s military veterans and commemorate the centennial of World War I,” said Col. Rob Manning. “We originally targeted November 10, 2018 for this event but have now agreed to explore opportunities in 2019.”
Earlier Thursday, a defense official told NBC News that the upper estimate of the cost of the parade was $92 million, a figure first reported by CNBC.

The estimate had risen substantially since February, when White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told Congress the price could be $10 million to $30 million.
The cost was initially reported as $12 million, and was based on the cost of the victory parade held in the capital after the 1991 Gulf War, said the official. The Washington Post estimated the cost of the 1991 victory parade as $8 million.
The defense official told NBC News that the internal estimate of the cost of the parade rose to $25 million after adjusting for more than 25 years of inflation. But that estimate did not take into account expenses borne by other federal agencies and some nonmilitary line items.
The $92 million figure is the current uppermost estimate, said the official, and includes security, transportation and other expenses.
“The American Legion appreciates that our president wants to show in a dramatic fashion our nation’s support for our troops,” American Legion National Cmdr Denise Rohan said in a statement posted to Twitter. “However, until such time as we can celebrate victory in the War on Terrorism and bring our military home, we think the parade money would be better spent fully funding the Department of Veteran Affairs and giving our troops and their families the best care possible.”
As NBC News first reported, serious planning for the parade began in June, four months after Trump directed the Defense Department to organize it.
“There is only one person who wants this parade,” said a senior U.S. official at the time, referring to Trump.
Trump got the idea for the parade while viewing France’s Bastille Day Parade in July 2017.
“We’re going to have to try to top it,” he later told French President Emmanuel Macron.
By January, Trump was floating the idea with military leaders and in late February, he made it official with a memo to Defense Secretary James Mattis.
A March memo laid out the skeleton of a plan: a parade from the White House to the Capitol to include only wheeled vehicles (because tanks could damage the streets), capped by a big display of air power and vintage aircraft, with themes including veterans, women in the military and medal of honor recipients.
After that, three months went by with no major planning. With so many more pressing issues, the parade just was not a high priority for the military, a senior defense official said.
Officials recommended that the route begin at the Capitol, pass the White House and end at the National Mall, and the date was moved up a day to Nov. 10, from Nov. 11.
Some Washington lawmakers have raised concerns about the cost of a parade, with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., calling it a “fantastic waste of money to amuse the president.” And some analysts have said that without an important military victory to justify the parade, it smacked of North Korean-style posturing.
“There’s no reason to do it aside from bolstering Trump’s ego,” Thomas E. Ricks, a military historian and veteran national security reporter, told NBC News this year.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

A Conundrum


When did lying to gain an office become the norm? There was always campaign rhetoric but it was more coloring a little outside the lines. In this age of mass media coverage these line squibbles have become outright lies ala prewar Germany. The German information machine seems to be a model for the Trump method of governance by False hood and abetted by a self serving Congress whose sole objective is to appease their big donors and feather their own nests. One can liken the current administration to the Georgian rule over the “Colonies” prior to the Declaration. That declaration led to the fight for independence which was won by a smaller and lesser equipped forces. Taking that information , isn’t it time we as voters did it again? Our objective should be to have better representation than we have had for many years. The problem is not who the President is, it’s the long serving members of Congress who have abdicated their oath and duty to serve with honor under the Constitution. The conundrum is do we personally evaluate each member at election time based on what they have done in the seat or accept what they tell us?

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate

It is As Clear As Glass


No matter where you live and what you believe, the purpose of our current administration’s actions are clear. Those actions do not include the well-being of 99% of Americans and by extension our long time allies. The Right from mid center to far right has one goal at any cost and  that is to get what they want with no regard to the overall effect on the rest of us. The far Left is not much better but is inherently more humane. The outsized staging of hand selected  rallies is indicative of the farce that this administration presents to us on a daily basis. Our neer do well Congress is populated by self serving members who have their hands in the DEEP pockets of  Conservative business moguls not to be confused with conservative Christians and other conservatives. These factions each have an agenda that does not and will not serve the majority of us. The Business folks are looking at changing laws that enhance their bottom line, the Christians are looking to change laws that alter our personal lives according to their religious beliefs. These 2 factions are the leading pushers of  “Conservative” high court justices. This type of court packing is why there are no limits on campaign spending which results in billions being spent on elections. The dividing of voters by party and sub sects is why we have such poor Governance as we are not getting the best available representation. Even a dirty glass pane is still transparent and we need to see through the dirt of irrational and disingenuous rhetoric to replace the poor representatives that we currently have. Remember there’s talk and there’s talk with the truth somewhere in between. Peer through the glass and its soiled coat to see it. It is still our choice.

btn_donateCC_LG

Please Donate