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Category Archives: My Opinion

Dear Florida


Dear Florida, your new firearms law is a big step, please do not be dissuaded or intimidated by the NRA. The NRA is more about politics and gaming the system to fill it’s own coffers. This organization which I belonged to previously proved to me that in spite of its beginnings it has not kept true to its initial goals. Their ads in the past elections and some of the current ones are more about pushing the idea that a candidate is taking or attempting to take firearms from people. The only way a firearm will be taken from someone is that they are proven to be mentally unfit or commits a crime. These are the 2 most common reasons for taking someone firearms, there may be others but my point is that you and all of us need to resist any company, organization or candidate who blatantly lies about another person, organization or company. We already have enough of this in our federal Government. Keep in mind that this is America and in general most of us gun owners or not are not interested in subverting the 2nd amendment.

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Steel Tariff


Ill conceived and potentially harmful to US workers manufacturers.MA

‎Mar‎ ‎2 at ‎12‎:‎06‎ ‎PM

MARCH 2, 2018
Kuttner on TAP
Man of Steel. Donald Trump is imposing 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. The unions, the bipartisan steel caucus in Congress, domestic steelmakers, and Trump’s nationalistic base were delighted. The usual suspects were appalled. And the stock market promptly plunged.
The Wall Street Journal, working itself into a full lather, warned that this was perverse economics, since 6.5 million Americans work in steel-using industries while only 140,000 work in steel-making.
So, how should we understand this? Are these tariffs a case of Trump doing something right for a change, or protectionist folly?
Here are two important things to understand. First, the major offender here is China. The Chinese subsidize steel, sell it below cost in world markets to grab market share and drive out other producers.
This is a flagrant violation of trade norms as well as a national security threat. According to an authoritative study by the Association for American Manufacturing, China now dwarfs every other producer, making 803 million metric tons (mmt) of steel, compared to just 78 mmt for the U.S.
Second, steel really is a vital industry. But if things continue on their present course, the American steel industry will be gone.
Here’s the problem. Raising tariffs in isolation is not a policy; it’s a stopgap. We need a much broader grand strategy to challenge China’s state-led capitalism as a strategic threat and to revise the entire structure of world trade law, which seems powerless to deal with Chinese predation. This seems well beyond Trump’s comprehension.
Today, he tweeted:
When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2018
Say what?
In addition, raising tariffs is no substitute for an industrial policy. To revive American steelmaking and other manufacturing, we need targeted sectoral policies as well as a serious public infrastructure program with “buy America” provisions. That way there are made-in-America customers for made-in-America steel, and we begin rebuilding U.S. manufacturing generally.
So can we defend these tariffs? Yes, but only as a stopgap and only as part of a much larger set of policies that Trump is not capable of delivering. As the saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. ~ ROBERT KUTTNER

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Guns Or The Owners?


The recent surge of gun (firearms) coverage is still missing the point. All of the slogans surrounding this issue never approach a real solution. The solution is relatively simple. The age requirement is one realistic approach, closing any existing “loopholes” for Gun Show sales should be closed along with a longer wait time after purchase could be practical. The biggest factor is that no firearm ever attacked or killed anyone on its own. The firearm itself is a tool that has been used by nefarious people some of whom are mentally unstable or just bad people. These people cover a wide range of age groups and races. The bottom line as I see it is; we need to have reasonable regulations on firearms. The cry of “Gun restriction” is no more than a buzzword to work people up over the wrong part of a bigger issue. What is apparent in spite of all the pros and cons on the subject is that not one of the groups involved have deemed it necessary to take a meeting and really discuss it. The politics of this comes down to who has the most money to issue ads that support or oppose a viewpoint. ALL of the deaths due to firearm usage are tragic and for the  most part senseless but unless the politics of this is removed, there will be no reasonable dialogue or solution. The monetary power of any organization over elected officials is dangerous to us all.

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Knee Jerk Legislation?


The current firearms controversy?, debate? or sound bite? There appears to be no rational solution or conversation to the issue of firearms used to kill folks in several locations around the country. In some instances the shooter was killed, killed themselves or was captured. The big issue is certain modifications or updates on long guns to make them automatic. This has come around several times in the past 10 years and still no real solve to the problem. As I see it what needs to happen is legislatures need to have a REAL conversation not issuing sound bites that rile people up and fall flat. If we had elected people who were really in the office to serve then we should be able to expect a true conversation about firearms that would make sense to all of us. Unfortunately many are afraid of their patrons such as the NRA (which has shifted too far right for redemption without a new blood infusion). The modern NRA has lost membership due to their wild issuance targeting one Major party while supporting the other. The corrective action would be a sit down with both majority parties at the Federal and State levels with no distracting fanfare. Unfortunately it is being shown by the legislators especially prominent is Florida that they are afraid of the NRA and thereby standing with the NRA against the safety of their fellow Americans and specifically our children. It is apparent and openly seen that the NRA has an interest in it’s own well being and not the American public who support them. An armed teacher in each classroom is not the answer as this takes away from the job of teaching. Listening to NPR today it seems that the answer is not with legislators and the current administration (No surprise) but with the voters. The Mafia used knee cap injuries to send a message, perhaps this method will work on legislators but in the form of a vote and protest.

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Who Are The Real Savages?


It appears that a way to denigrate and suppress groups of people is to  call them “savages and animals”. These slurs have been around for centuries and in every country. Oddly enough these so-called savages have not always been people of color. There were the Vikings, there were the Goths, Gauls, Romans to name a few. Why did we begin to put the label of “Savage” primarily on non whites? This has apparently always been the way of the so-called elite. These are the people through their status as royalty, landowners and Tycoons made the determination of status according to their thinking. Some “savages” in other countries were more advanced than some of those elites who benefitted from the invention of writing and language by the “savages”. In the U.S. we have Resident who has made a mockery of the Government in actions and in words. I appreciate any person or group who stands by their convictions whether I agree with them or not but we have an administration through their actions and words has put us on a path of internal turmoil at a time when we need strong leadership against known cyber threats. The current White House and majority Congress have managed to push agendas that imperil the voters at home and abroad. This administration has disparaged religions, leaders of other countries and the American people. The aim of this Resident it seems is do what is good for himself and his cronies while the Congressional majority stands silently by and telling the voters that “they” are working for them. I am reminded that the truth will always be the truth while falsehoods shift like the sand on the beach. It is easy to rile people up when their situations are dire but when the smoke clears their situations have improved less than the people they have elected. Origin or Skin color is no indication of character quality as we know by the current Congress and Resident. This dearth of character is a blot on the character of our country.

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The Truth Is On Rails And Heading For 1600 Pennsylvania


Recent revelations about indictments on several Russians in the 2016 elections interference have put the White House in high spirits however they are as delusional as ever. This new information has made these inept white house residents think they are in the clear but the truth is that this is just one part of the investigation. As the inquiry continues it will become clear that these bunglers (the White House) had more to do with this than we suspect and have knowledge of. TOTUS et al. are currently pushing the lies as usual with the reckless abandon they have shown since the beginning of the campaign in 2015. The day of reckoning will fall hard on them beginning with this years mid terms and beyond. It is well to remember we may still have issues with a replacement at 1600 as the second in command is no better and possibly worse as he is just as fringy as his boss but in some just as bad ways (for us). Taking a look a look at one of the major pushes of this administration on DACA and changes in immigration, you should realize that this about money to finance the ill-advised tax Reform. It is amazing that  too many of us fail to see the underlying and future effects of these actions. Many changes in laws and or the enacting of new ones appear to take funds from other existing sources, this swapping of funding ultimately hurts primarily the middle and lower income citizens. Unfortunately we won’t see the slap until it hits.

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EPA Director Pruitt Complains


Apparently Mr. Pruitt feels ill used by the people he is supposed to advocate for, I guess his rollback of environmental protections for the country’s health should not be a flash point for the voters. Suppose he did the job he is supposed to do (serve the people) maybe his travel experience would improve. His actions along with a few other cabinet minister’s travel habits explain why this administration’s policies do not bode well for us.MA

EPA: Pruitt faced profanities from fellow passengers when he flew coach
Brandon Carter 8 hrs ago

© Provided by The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that Administrator Scott Pruitt faced profanities and confrontations while traveling after controversy surrounding his use of first-class flights.

The director of the EPA’s Office of Criminal Enforcement, Henry Barnet, told Politico that Pruitt was “approached in the airport numerous times” and had profanities “yelled at him” during his travels.
Barnet told the publication that one specific incident saw a person approach Pruitt and shout “Scott Pruitt, you’re f—ing up the environment” while recording it on a cellphone.
“The team leader felt that he was being placed in a situation where he was unsafe on the flight,” Barnet told Politico.
“We felt that based on the recommendation from the team leader, the special agent in charge, that it would be better suited to have him in business or first class, away from close proximity from those individuals who were approaching him and being extremely rude, using profanities and potential for altercations and so forth,” he continued.
The EPA’s defense of the administrator’s traveling habits comes after The Washington Post reported Sunday that Pruitt frequently flies first class on official trips, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.
CBS News reported late Tuesday that Pruitt flew business class in June on an Emirates flight back from Italy after obtaining a waiver to rules that require official travel to be on United States-flagged airlines.
On Tuesday, Pruitt blamed his first-class flying on interactions that have “not been the best.”
He told the New Hampshire Union Leader that his security detail dictated his travel choices, and he played no role in the decisions.
“We live in a very toxic environment politically, particularly around issues of the environment,” Pruitt said.
“We’ve reached the point where there’s not much civility in the marketplace and it’s created, you know, it’s created some issues and the [security] detail, the level of protection is determined by the level of threat.”
Pruitt and his family have received far more threats than previous EPA leaders. E&E News reported that the EPA’s inspector general opened about 70 investigations into threats in 2017, about double the previous year.
In response, Pruitt and the EPA have taken additional security measures that his predecessors didn’t.

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Absolute Zero


I have concluded that our Resident is an absolute Zero! Governing and running a business are no where close to being the same or even in the zip code. His recent State of the Trump speech was measured and still very Trump and his hard line conservatives who in the guise of patriotism are taking us all to the cleaners. The rollbacks that will allow drilling in  National parks, off shore drilling which has the potential to kill seafood stocks and pollute the shore lines (remember the BP spill?). The safeties are off on worker protections which help workers avoid health issues from their hazardous occupations. The smoke and mirrors of this administration and the neer do well Congress will take years to correct and who knows how many lives could be lost in the repair process. It wise to remember that everything done in the name of conservatism seems to fall hard on the middle and lower class earners. These are the folks who so often need the services that are being cut or altered by the current administration. We should be aware of the old saw: “putting lipstick on a pig” when it comes to changing and repealing existing laws that are beneficial to the most vulnerable. The “deal maker’s” actions are following his standard method of operation which is to propose solutions that benefit him and not the other party. In these cases the other side are the lower and middle class Americans. I would suggest that you push your representatives strongly to start working for you instead of the party of their choice no matter what they try to tell you they are doing for you. This pig is still a pig no matter how much make up it has.  Cartoon below speaks volumes!

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Signs?


Another disingenuous tweet from the Resident, considering we saw all of his signs and he was still elected. MA

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump

So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!
6:12 AM – Feb 15, 2018

Politricks


Is it possible that our current administration is our punishment for being complacent in our voting over the years? After years of misbegotten wars, obstructive legislators and sometimes outright liars in positions of power, We seem to have gotten into a mindset of expecting and welcoming “entertainment” instead of political campaigning. There was a time when political debates had some substance now it seems taking a bullying stance is the norm and thinking it’s just rhetoric is the hope. To para phrase Sara Palin “How’s that working for you?”. The current administration is twisted in knots due to the free wheeling of the cabinet members (many of whom are unsuited for the jobs and seem to have no moral compass). The Whitehouse spokespeople are all rapid-fire talkers who ignore facts and push “alternate ones” as a deflective tactic. The political base of both major parties have been left in limbo due to unclear messages from the party leaders. This leads us to a point of asking: “What’s going on?”  What is going on is we as voters have dropped the ball in that we have allowed ourselves to be lulled into a sense of urgency about everything inside our local spheres and ignoring the larger view that affects us ALL!. There is in reality no them or us, it is “WE THE PEOPLE” and what effects one effects all even though you can’t see or realize it in immediate terms. Solution: question ALL elected officials until you are satisfied. If we do not ask we are destined to have the same poor representation as have now.

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