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Tag Archives: Observation

Trump’s Empowering Effect


 

Apparently Donald trump can unite. He has so far united all of the worst elements of our society. Recently a teacher in Ohio commented on  an African themed prom dress, stating it was “tacky”. Looking at the photo, I see nothing tacky about it, if nothing it is tasteful and well done. Unfortunately this shaming was attempted by a Caucasian teacher who if asked is possibly a Trump  supporter. This is just one of the Racist, biased and generally anti anyone who is not a hater supporters that Mr. trump has empowered in his run for the Whitehouse. These are the same people who tend to blame all of the woes of the world on others who are not like them. All of us have our likes and dislikes but those are tempered with a smattering of rationality. Now the NRA which is quite radical has endorsed a man who at one point was a staunch anti gun advocate, what does that suggest as a Presidential hopeful? Is Donald Trump the “Great White Hope” or just another opportunist who will sway with prevailing winds leaving someone else to do the heavy lifting? Unfortunately his ties to the current Dupublican party makes the party look more radical than it really is. It is bad enough that we have a Congress that has made no progress in running the country and providing the services we elected them to do but now we have a possible fop ascending as the front-runner for that party. We have the opportunity to make changes in both case but we need to pay attention to who we elect to the Congress along with who we elect to the Oval office. It is within our (voters) power to change not the politicians.

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About Cosby


The ongoing Bill Cosby sexual allegations and public trail by media is not over but could be if the attorneys would get their acts together. At this time most people who follow this are at once surprised, amazed or not. The Many accusations have so many flaws or possible misconceptions as to muddy the waters on the real story. It appears that many well known personalities (including Mrs., Bill Cosby)are being deposed on their knowledge of his actions. I am concerned about the time span between the actual occurrence of the supposed acts and the current revelations. It may turn out to be true or not but the media frenzy has more to do with selling papers or air time than facts. We expect this type of coverage from the checkout stand journals rather than the mainstream media but it appears that any method of increasing revenue is fair game even if it may turn out to false. This is not to say that Mr. Cosby is innocent or guilty but a fair shake should be available for all  as this could happen to any of us for any supposed transgressions from the past.

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Where!!


Where we have been and where we are going are questions that need answers. Getting the answers requires conversations and reading. Each of us has an opinion on many things according to our personal beliefs, backgrounds and experience yet we still form opinions based on someone else’s view even if that view is off-center of our own. The current political arena has many of us  forming opinions based more in innuendo and misinformation than fact. I have heard and still hear views that are so outrageous as to be scary. If a larger portion of people actually followed the extremes , we could quickly descend into the black hole of anarchy creating a  wasteland. Example the recent accord with Iran has met so much pushback from people who do not see or want to see the bigger picture. For instance the uproar over the current Iran Nuclear deal-enter the previous Reagan Russia nuclear deal with “evil empire”. This rehash is no more than Obama bashing which serves no purpose other than gaining points for  talking and crowd pleasing. Looking at the minimum wage, it has proposed to raise it to $15.00 per hour, what will be gained is a higher base wage which will result in higher spending (possibly) but the offset is some higher prices in consumer goods, higher tax brackets with tax deduction offsets and a certain amount of growth in durable goods. Overall the economy will pickup because of increased spending and if we (the people) are smart we will save more and become smarter financially. With all of this we still need to pay attention to who we elect with the thought in mind that we will have to live with our choices for 2 to 4 years at a time. We will still have the opportunity to replace those we elect with others who we hope will do better. The thing to keep in mind is whoever is the President will have the opportunity to select Supreme court Judges who are in office for life and that a have a longer lasting effect than anyone we elect. So we need to be as informed as we can be but not according any specific ideology or political theme. Information is gained by listening and reading everything available with a rational mind. How do we accomplish this state of mind. Think about the difference between being religious and being spiritual, once you figure that out for yourself, you will have the answer.

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What We Hear


 
 

Buzzwords, sound bites and catch phrases are not facts. The current political debates are popularity contests disguised as real information. These aspirants use what they can to excite , arouse and enthuse us with what they believe we want to hear. The reality is , when whoever gets the job is actually sitting in the Oval office the promises, sound bites, buzz words, etc. no longer apply. The reality of the job kicks in like an overdose of caffeine. It will take the first four years to understand the job and act on things that were already in the works. There will be no repealing, revoking or deleting because they will have to be the CIC with military activities occurring in other countries, UN members that need attention aside from their immediate family’s needs. He or she will need to hit the ground running since time stops for no one nor does the country’s business. The question is who do we rally want or who do we really need? There are no perfect candidates but we need to dismiss  the debates as  so much fluff or as we would a schoolyard scuffle between second graders. Our job as voters is to determine beyond the debates and oratory of the campaign who feel will do the job if we do not perform this exercise we will not have fulfilled our duty as voters and we can only blame our selves if we end up less than the best we can get. There is no such thing as “no matter who I vote for nothing will change”. This is why Illinois has the Governor they currently have and why we have the Congress we have. Remember Congress will be in place after the Presidential elections so who will we blame then?- Ourselves if we become complacent and place our trust in Politrickers.

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What If?


What if the Select Benghazi committee really wanted the truth? It would be a relief however if the truth is the real basis of this expensive inquiry? As a citizen I have listened to what the committee said they were looking for but the real story even though it is readily available does not appear to be on the table. To make a short story: The location of the embattled building was an out post embassy which did not have the extensive security that the full embassies have. It did have a safe room however that safe room was not air tight and it has been determined that the death of the ambassador could have been from smoke inhalation (not verified yet). It has been revealed that an alert was issued but due to weak security of the outpost there was not enough time or personnel to hold out. Given this little bit of information I have managed to find, I am wondering where the  expensive Congressional committee got their information and why it may be incomplete. As an aside, we have all heard of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes but do we really understand his process? The detective’s methods involve looking at all of the apparent evidence then studying the no so apparent evidence and forming a conclusion with all available  evidence. All of this evidence tell a complete story not a “chicken little” scenario. The Benghazi committee aside from spending taxpayer money is doing no more than proffering a political “witch hunt”. It is fine that the incident is being investigated but do it the right way. We have already had a failed investigation in the ’50s by former  Senator Joe McCarthy, which damaged lives and our country, we have a current Congress that has taken the President to task  for the ACA (Obama care) while not doing their due diligence and that is to read it then tweak it as needed. What if our Congress really attempted to do the job we elected them to do instead of looking for political advantages that net us as voters nothing but more of the same ineptitude we have been experiencing for much too long. What if?

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Russian Invasion


What if we had listened to General George Patton near the end of WWII? He advocated going after Russia then rather than later ( Remember General MacArthur? in Korea?). Russia has always been no more than a bully for years but with the might of their army they have bit by bit worked to consolidate and enlarge their grip wherever they could. The Syria situation requires the support of the entire UN to correct, the United States can no longer be the only front-runner in the resistance  and criticism of the Russian incursion in Syria. The middle east has never been at ease with themselves so we have Russia aiding and abetting wherever they can to help their own cause. They have turned to the Stalinist practice of taking what they want through might (as they see it, right).The confrontation if coming from the U.S. alone would be as close to a war declaration as you can come without the actual declaration.  The refugees have exacerbated the situation and created a  distraction for the Russian ambitions, which also aids the Syrian strongman’s cause. In case anyone missed it, this Russian “assistance” is no different than the events in Ukraine. We have had several U.S. congress member advocating more U.S. involvement including ground troops but have we not had enough loss of life after the past 10 to 12 years of an undeclared war in the middle east. The last “war” was beneficial for many big money people (including former VP Cheney) and gained us nothing but a loss of resources and lives. The aftermath left the people here in an economic spiral whose coming was ignored and obscured by the “war” in the middle east. Reasonably speaking: why did we go into Vietnam when France ran like a thief at the first opportunity, why did we go into Afghanistan when Russia cut their losses and ran? The answer as I see it is a financial windfall for munitions manufacturers (big Money). Along with the loss of life and the ongoing (even now) health problems for our veterans and the effects on their families, we had a government that ignored the issues for years. The current Russian invasion in Syria has so far no direct effect on us yet but we must be vigilant and insure that we press our elected officials to do what is correct.

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The U.S. Constitution


The U.S. Constitution consists of 5   pages including the Bill of Rights yet it seems that not many of us have read it completely. We have Constitutional scholars who study the documents extensively but cannot seem to agree about the real meaning. The framers (our founders ) never intended the document to be cut and dried.  This is considered a living document so as such it evolves without changing or being physically changed. The document can be debated  but in the end the reason for the debate will triumph when the rule of law is in evidence. Our Congressional (mis) representatives have quoted this document and some have studied it extensively but have forgotten what it really means when it no longer fits their needs. I would suggest that each of us acquire a copy of the constitution and read it. On its face is pretty plain and states more eloquently what this country is about. If you look into the many challenges and trials regarding the Constitution, you will find that the list is long and almost unending but the Document still stands on its own. You do not have to be a Constitutional scholar to understand the basic premise of the document. We should no longer allow our (mis) representatives dictate the Constitution to us according to their interpretation , this is as ludicrous as the various religious factions interpreting the Bible according to their needs.

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Not To be Trusted


With a little bit of thought we could have better representation in Congress. Listening to the Presidential aspirants, the messages are essentially the same. They all want to repeal something, kill something or change something without offering any details as to how and what effect if any their actions will have. All of this in our names and without our consent tacit or written. What we have is a group of people who are looking for votes by creating headlines that get our attention but usually have no true viable substance. Unfortunately these messages appeal to some of us but could affect all of us if we are not prudent in thinking and voting. Keep in mind we already have a dysfunctional Congress and the candidates from one Major party are also following suit. The voting public as I see it should be living in this century and not the last, the time of mudslinging and innuendo is over yet too many of us still want that old-time method of politicking as a way of selecting a candidate. The real way to select is to increase your knowledge of the candidates beyond the “entertainment value” by looking and listening to their message  then ask your self does this make sense? Some candidates have stated that they would defund or dismantle “Obama care” ( Affordable Care Act) but offering no alternative and not considering how many Americans would be left without any medical care. Then there are the ones who want to dismantle the recent Iran agreement (which was created with several other countries including  Russia and China). The worst  part is  they have not read the agreement! If you are looking to be entertained then perhaps you should look and listen to the jokes and gags being bandied around as political truth(?). It is well to note that politics and truth are like oil and water they do not mix (even with the addition of detergent). We should be listening for what we need to hear rather than what want to hear (which is what is being espoused by the candidates) and if what we need is not being presented then consider giving your vote to someone else even if it is across party lines. Unfortunately we have the misfortune  (or good fortune) to have witnessed the real Congress when President Obama was elected, these folks (some of them) showed their true “colors” but have done nothing related to the reasons we elected them in the first place. It notable that their messages to us have been essentially the same each time they are up for election but sprinkled with seeds of malcontent to keep the populace divided. When the people are united the politicians lose!

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Insurance


All insurance is the best insurance until you need or use it. Do you find it curious that your policy is along the lines of a contract with fine print that is tediously involved with huge amounts of “legalese”? The reason many of us do not read contracts fully is the extensive amount of language in small print. The small print and language is a deadly combination for the best readers let alone the poorer readers. Insurance policies are especially bad as their contracts have many items that serve to deny payment on coverage and restrict payouts on coverage’s. Why can’t the contract be simple like an index? The contract could use a list type structure. this would make it simple as you could look at the list to see what is covered and what is not. Instead you have this mind-boggling,  multi-page, small print documents that when read gives one a headache (by design?) and halts the process of reading it. When you start a claim you have 50-50 chance of getting a denial, then you appeal according to their  (the company) process, you are denied again and you usually have another appeal. The next appeal stands a better than average chance of being denied, these appeals stretch over weeks and months until you grow tired of it or there is a final denial or if you feel up to it sue for payment and or damages. In my opinion we should be pushing our legislators to overhaul the contract wording to reflect a simpler form of understanding for the average person, this format should extend to all contracts. This may eliminate the use of some legal personnel in writing contracts but would be a boon to the everyday person who can then understand what they are signing on to. I have elected to pursue all denials until I reach the end no matter what the end result  and thereafter I look for hopefully a better (?)  company to do business with. In the pursuit of another company I know now what questions to ask and hopefully get a better deal overall. One part of all of this the agent you deal with, often their assistance can help but more often they are implicit in the denial while affecting a sense of caring about your situation.

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Efficacy


It is possible that the sitting representatives are merely elected officials who are always looking forward to the next election rather than doing the job they were elected to do right now. It appears that the Dupublican party overall in many states have taken it to the poor just as their big money handlers wanted. The laws introduced to save money and make  government more efficient. The problem is that the beneficiaries are people who have no monetary problems, no health problems and no other way to survive without the subsidies from the States and the Federal Government. The real issue is: since too many Americans of voting age have no idea of the way Congress works and the true nature of politics. Modern politics are not about serving the people, it is about serving their monetary backers ( sometimes their future employers) and themselves. It is unfortunate  that too many of us  are unable to see “the forest for the trees”.  The most frightening thing is  so many cannot get beyond their personal biases to realize that the folks who inform us are entertaining and not informing. The so called “news” is no more than forums for the  ideas that sound correct but cannot stand “light of day” scrutiny. I can soap box on this forever and only the few real readers will get it. Sorry there aren’t more  folks who do.

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