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Tag Archives: politricks

The Lies We Are Told!


The past 10 years in politics have shown the dirtiest side of politics since McCarthyism.
The lies we are told about candidates, proposed laws and laws that are passed have been so outrageous at times that it is small wonder that a Trump presidency came about. Politics appears to be more about lies innuendo and insults than facts. There have been stories about candidates that prove to be true and just as many not. Without going into the many lies and insults, lets just go to what we know is true:

Donald Trump is a consummate liar.

Our Congress members are not to be trusted.

Donald Trump appealed to the anger of many of us who have gone unheard by their Congress.

The small group of Racists in our midst have latched on to Trump as a champion because he doesn’t know any better and loves to be adored at any cost.

Donald Trump is so insecure that his method of dealing with problems (and non problems) is an insult and or a lie.

The Spokes people for Totus seem to be uninformed and will do what ever he says out of fear.

The over coverage of the signing of Executive orders is more a photo op than anything serious as those orders will be at some point repealed or if not cause great harm to us.

Our Congress is using Totus as cover for their own nefarious actions.

Our Congress’ healthcare is not affected by the ACA or the new Health care act.

There are so many more items that can be added that I would spend the next several days listing them. It is the duty of each reader to pay attention to the real news (not Fox) to determine what our Congress is doing to us as they are surely not doing anything for us.

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House Republican’ Didn’t Read the Health care Bill


Do we need yet another reason to pay attention to who we elect to represent us? MA.

Journalist, ThinkProgress. Twitter: @atrupar. Email: arupar@americanprogress.org
May 5
________________________________________
House Republican didn’t know the health care bill he voted for could cost his state $3 billion
Rep. Chris Collins didn’t read it before he voted for it.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) didn’t read the American Health Care Act (AHCA), legislation to dismantle Obamacare that will result in millions of people losing access to affordable insurance, before House Republicans voted to pass it on Thursday. And he had no idea the bill would cost his state billions of federal dollars used to insure thousands of his constituents.
During a CNN appearance on Thursday, Wolf Blitzer asked Collins if he’d actually read the AHCA before voting for it.
“I will fully admit, Wolf, that I did not,” Collins said. “But I can also assure you my staff did. We have to rely on our staff… I’m very comfortable that we have a solution to the disaster
“Congressman, this legislation affects a fifth of the U.S. economy and millions and millions of Americans — don’t you think it was important to actually sit down and read, read the language of this bill?” Blitzer pushed back.
Collins replied by suggesting he was hardly the only Republican who didn’t read the bill, which was rushed through before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could score it to detail its specific impact.
“You know, I have to rely on my staff, and I could probably tell you that I read every word, and I wouldn’t be telling you the truth, nor would any other member,” he said. “We rely on our staff, and we rely on our committees, and I’m comfortable that I understand this bill in its entirety, Wolf, without poring through every word.”
WATCH: Republicans prepare to vote for a health care bill they haven’t read
It wasn’t long ago that House Republicans touted a “Read the Bill” promise.thinkprogress.org
But not reading bills can have serious consequences. Later on Thursday, Collins admitted that he didn’t know the AHCA will cost New York $3 billion in federal funds — money that’s used to insure 19,000 of his constituents.
From The Buffalo News:
Told by a Buffalo News reporter that the state’s largest loss of federal funds under the bill would be $3 billion annually that goes to the state’s Essential Health Plan, Collins said: “Explain that to me.”
The Essential Plan is an optional program under Obamacare, offered only by New York and Minnesota, that provides low-cost health insurance to low- and middle-income people who don’t qualify for Medicaid. State Health Department figures show that more than 19,000 people in Erie and Niagara counties were on the Essential Plan in January.
Asked by The Buffalo News if he was aware of the bill’s cut in funding to the Essential Plan, Collins said: “No. But it doesn’t surprise me for you to tell me that there were two states in the nation that were taking advantage of some other waiver program and New York was one of the two states.”
In an attempt to defend Collins’ comments, his spokesman, Michael McAdams, tried to blame The Buffalo News.
“Once again The Buffalo News is twisting a Republican’s words to fit its out-of-touch, liberal narrative,” McAdams said, according to the publication. “Congressman Collins has been intimately involved in the creation of this legislation from its inception… He understands the impact it would have on Western New Yorkers. To infer Congressman Collins doesn’t understand the disastrous impact Obamacare has had on our region and our nation is absolutely shameful.”
Collins is correct that he’s not the only GOP lawmaker who didn’t read the legislation before casting a vote for it. During a CNN appearance Friday morning, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) admitted that he too hadn’t read all of the AHCA before Thursday’s vote.
“I turned through every page,” Sanford said. “As to whether or not I got through some of the details on some of the pages, no. But yes, I attempted to read the entire bill.”

This is a far cry from the fall of 2010, when House Republican leaders unveiled their “Pledge to America,” which contained a “Read the Bill” promise.
“We will ensure that bills are debated and discussed in the public square by publishing the text online for at least three days before coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives,” it said.

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First Strike


The  strike on the Syrian airfield was effective for a few hours, with no follow up the Syrian air force went to the air again and bombed the same village they attacked before once again. There was no apparent discussions on how to proceed from there. It has been disclosed that the Obama administration was stopped from making a strike by the CONGRESS and now TOTUS authorized the strike with no approval from the same Congress and not a word has been said other than glowing approval from the media and some Congressional members. The issue now is what is to be done now. Given the paucity of truth coming from the Legislators and the Whitehouse, what is the electorate supposed to think? Are we heading for an armed conflict with Russia, North Korea? The titular head of the country seems to be getting his information from the news (FOX?) rather than his self appointed advisors. Where indeed are we headed? It looks as if the spinning fan is nearing its inevitable pile of dung! Taking the continual outpouring of semi and full lies from 1600 and the Dome, we (voters) need to pay attention to everything that is said by the people we elected since many of these small things will resonate for years to come. The town halls that have been occurring in various parts of the US have shown that many formerly pro Trumpists are not happy and have voiced their opinions loud enough to cancel town halls. To add to the mix we have the military leaders working in a vacuum. The first 100 days have become a focal point in the news as to what is being accomplished by the White House. This is no measure of real accomplishment it is merely an arbitrary timeline to compare one administration to another. The campaign side of the race is over and the real work needs to start in a serious manner. Our big issue is how effective will the President be and to what end? It has been said many times and  in as many days- “talk is Cheap!”. Healthcare and job growth will be the big domestic issues, to accomplish either or both will require some critical thinking and looking at them with eyes of the people who are and will be affected their changes. There are jobs in healthcare which will be affected by any changes, there are opportunities to grow jobs if the “wall” resources are put into infrastructure, keeping In mind that coal jobs are not coming back so those folks can be moved into the infrastructure jobs. The soon to be or possible soon to be eliminated environmental jobs will have to go somewhere , how about infrastructure? If the current Congress is for the people then these are just some areas where they can do some good for a change.

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Paradigm Shifts


The campaign trail allows for many quotes and statements that sound good at the time and creates a narrative to receive votes. The many styles of campaign rhetoric  and promises have consequences such as delivery. The confidence of the voters is what gets votes and it appears that confidence is eroding. When you have headliners like Sean Spacer, Kellyanne Conwoman and Devin Nuneofus, it is hard to be taken seriously. The first 80 plus days have seen much ado over nothing except executive orders that don’t do much as they do not immediately become effective. The end game on these touted signings is more of a photo op than a real action. The downside is that the pinch of these orders will haunt us all for possibly decades. The repeal of the executive orders of the previous administration without a detailed look at the orders is a potential head on run into a brick wall without a helmet. These types of actions appear to be the methodology of the Trump administration. It is apparently the business man’s method of action, that is to shoot from the hip with just a smattering of information with no thought to the future effects of those actions. There appears to be some evidence of Trump pulling out of deals or activities if they do not progress the way he wants. The line of thought seems to be based on news summaries and semi solid information rather than solid information from staffers who are supposed to be available to verify or corroborate information. What have now is indeed a “failure to communicate”. Meanwhile the Dupublican Congress is busy in the background undermining the trust and health of the voters whom they so often cite as the reason for their actions.

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Illinois or Illinoise?


Our current Governor still has no clue what Governing is, it is not about issuing ultimatums, it is about working with legislature no matter what party or length of time in office. This gentleman is a businessman who like another businessman thinks Government can be run like a business – guess what-it ain’t happening! The people of Illinois (including his own party members) understand that his stance on the budget is wrong , misguided or at the worst stupid. His recent political ads show the extent of his misguided efforts and lack of understanding of State Governance. He has plowed millions into campaigning for himself and other Dupublicans, this may not be enough since his lack of sympathy for the plight of the residents of the state, which is basically his doing is in the minds of Illinois Residents. Millions of dollars in assets do not make a good leader, proper actions with regard to the welfare of the States residents does. These actions along with a decent relationship with the legislature is key to good governing not holding the State’s most vulnerable hostage.

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The White House Child


There have been many movies and stories about child heroes and perhaps our TOTUS relates to those stories. I must point out that these stories for the most part are fiction or fictionalized accounts. With that being said what is the driving force behind  TOTUS (aside from poor advice from his advisors)? The adoration train is leaving the station with  fewer riders by the day. The Neer do wells are doing less and less while their work goes undone. Mr. McConnell is doing his usual stand back and speak occasionally when it will impact him the least and have the most impact on the situation. This has always been his style if you look back on his record as a member of the Senate. Paul Ryan has all but been left out to dry and has had severe feed back at home like so many other members of the Congress. The love affair with Congress is definitely over and it is about time. Our political system is in disarray since the age of Statesmen is seemingly over. As a reminder : Statesmen were public servants who once elected  made sincere efforts to do the work of the people, that work was to enact laws that benefit the people (all not perfect) but these laws were enacted with a consensus from both major parties and some of the outliers. Those days are over with the advent of angry politicians who do not seem to understand their purpose in the office. Is it possible that these “public Servants” are overpaid for the work they do? As an example: Paul Ryan earns $200,000. annually as speaker with a limousine at his disposal and will earn over $70,000 upon retirement. I believe people should earn a living wage with the possibility of a livable pension amount upon retirement but our legislator’s payouts are obscene compared to the voters who support them and barely trust them. The “child” is so focused on the short-range goals that he cannot see where his end game needs to be. Tweeting does no more than gain short-term attention and more distrust except for the real “fake” news of the Fox network. It is reasonable to question information from the W.H. but the spokespeople giving out the information appear to be ill-equipped to explain or answer any questions without becoming angry and abusive to the questioners. With all of this we are still in election mode and not on governing mode, the near future points toward an ongoing campaign style governance. The indication that the WH administration is inept is revealed by the undoing of as many Obama era executive orders as possible since these do not require Congressional action, this undoing is more harmful than many can imagine and the Congress does not care. This administration is all about show not substance, most recently a press conference showing TOTUS donating his salary to the National Park Service which will cover 0.005% of the Proposed budget cut for the Service and the show goes on. The message is clear our Government is in trouble and we (voters) are the only cure. Do not be swayed by any politician who has been in office more than 10 years, pay close attention to what they say and do. No matter how much you like the person, their actions are what count not their personality (this is how Trump became President), pay attention to the Chyrons.

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Republicans Eye Cutting More Obama Era Regulations


 

Kerry Picket

Reporter

10:11 PM 02/16/2017
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed two of the three pieces of legislation this week passed by Congress that roll back Obama-era regulations.
Republicans are repealing the regulations through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The president’s signature on such legislation Tuesday is the first time the CRA has been used to repeal regulation in 16 years, when Trump signed legislation to roll back a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would mandate energy companies to show their payments to foreign governments.
The coal industry cheered on another CRA piece of legislation Thursday that came to Trump’s desk for his signature that repealed an Obama-era Department of the Interior rule on coal mine discharge into nearby streams. (RELATED: Trump Signs Repeal Of Obama Coal Mining Regulations)
The CRA allows for Congress to review and repeal federal government department regulation within a 60-day window after the rule has been established. Legislation under the CRA cannot be filibustered in the Senate.

Congress initially proposed 37 resolutions under the CRA as a means to repeal the Obama-era rules.
“Congressional Review Act legislation provides relief for Americans hurt by regulations rushed through at the last minute by the Obama administration. This means freeing up American entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and jump-starting our economy,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement of the numerous bills passed under CRA.
One piece of legislation waiting for Trump’s signature that passed the Senate Wednesday under the CRA repealed a Social Security Administration rule established in December. The regulation mandated that the agency would submit Social Security recipients’ information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) with the intent of showing those who may not be eligible to purchase a firearm.
Democrats say the rule would keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, but Republicans argue the rule cast way too large of a net around social security recipients.
“Over the last several weeks we’ve been using a Congressional Review Act or what is known as CRA’s to take action on the explosion of Obamacare regulations. Hundreds and hundreds of pages of regulations that we’ve seen hurting families destroying jobs all across the country and here’s why our work is so historic. Up until now only six of those bills have ever reached the president’s desk in 21 years and only one was ever signed into law by the end of this week. We will have passed 13 in the last three weeks,” House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers said at a press conference Thursday.
The Senate is expected to take up two more resolutions passed by the House in the coming days, one of which repeals a regulation established by the Bureau of Land Management as well as a rule put forth by the Department of Labor.
The House passed three resolutions under the CRA last week and by the end of Friday, the Senate will be on track to consider 10 resolutions that repeal Obama administration regulations in the next legislative period.
Follow Kerry on Twitter

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To Continue


There will possibly be an end to the Trump saga but to what end? The current non-resident of the White House is no more than a child who has toy store and cannot decide what to play with first. The ownership has become boring since the details area not as important as the headlines. The adoration of the crowds is more important than the actual job of running the store. Having always been in the position of ruling by fiat, it is apparently difficult to consult with the legislators and even his own cabinet. The tweetstorm is apparently the easiest way for him to communicate since he is limited to 140 characters. This is fine if you are a child. His advisors and spokespeople are no more than a group of loose cannons who have no other purpose than talking points with little or no facts. Meanwhile back in the real world, executive orders rolling back Obama era orders are causing harm to ALL Americans, some of whom do not realize what effect it has and will continue to have on them personally. The constant weekends off and the outlying protective services for his children and spouse are costing Americans millions of dollars for protection (wasteful?). The acceptance of these types of outrages are at once un-American as well as expensive when so many folks are out of work, have no healthcare due to government inability to reconcile payments to states. With all of this our Congressional neer do wells are still doing nothing to help and we continue to keep them in office. All of the Trumpers who latched on to the idea that Government should be run like a business are ill-informed as Government cannot be run as a business due to the multitude of differences and  needs of the people. The only correlation of business to Government is that they have a chart of  organization with the government being more extensive than most businesses. This administration is already up to its waist in problems with no rope available and too many voters are unwilling or unable to see the inevitable downside. The damage that is beginning now will resonate for years and extend to our world partners. We are at the beginning of similar actions that began in the 1930’s in Germany. While we may not get to the outright Nationwide burning of books and the associated atrocities , the effects of these irrational actions has and will cause  harm for a long time. We have the salvation of the vote if our Congress fails to act and we have that salvation to use for the Congressional member who will also be up for reelection. For our own protection as voters we need to broaden and lengthen our view of the legislation coming out of Washington as the people who are making and enacting these laws do not have the same worries as the voters. It is easy to make decisions for other people when those decisions do not have an effect on them. Forget term limits as there will never be such a law, the only term limits are provided by the voters. Our (voters) remedy for all of this is to become informed and understand what is being done in our names.

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Anyone??


Is there anyone in the Trump Administration who knows what they are talking about or can tell the truth? His surrogates shoot from the lip pretty much like their boss and continue to lie as if it’s the truth. This is exactly what Pre world war II Hitler did to convince ordinary Germans that he was doing good things for them-until the bombs rained down on them and they were shown the concentration camps. Unfortunately too many Trump supporters are too angry to see the truth and will be shocked when the wall goes up and the jobs still do not come back. Then there’s health care and taxes, once these are addressed (or not) and more people do not have or can’t afford healthcare, the administration will blame someone else. As much as I would like to talk about something positive coming out of the Whitehouse, there is not much there. Jeff “the knife” Sessions is moving ahead like the racist he is, Steve “the hammer” Bannon is pulling the strings behind the scenes and Reince “figurehead” Priebus appears to be missing. The cost to secure this President rises daily with his children being everywhere, his trips to Mar A Lago along with the cost to scramble the Air force if a private aircraft appears in the no fly zone near the President(resident?). The Governing of the United States is not supposed to play out in the media yet this appears to be the situation the country is in. Many of the people who voted for Trump now have reservations but we are in this until at least 2018 unless the President does something worse than he is doing now. The Congress seems to be rudderless after all of the negative rhetoric about the previous administration and with a blank check attitude have confirmed unsuitable people for the cabinet. The President makes a big show of signing executive orders yet seems to have no idea what these executive orders will affect. I am of the opinion that our TOTUS is not well versed in the details (the real details) of his executive order rollback. It appears that he gets snapshots and acts on those. This is not governing, this is playing in the sand box without paying attention to the lumps. It is my opinion that we as voters should prepare for the worst as it is still coming and we will receive no help from our neer do well Congress.

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Talking Points Versus Reality


Donald Trump has promised to make America Great Again, this statement resonated with enough people to get him elected. Since that time he has tweeted himself in a corner that we will certainly suffer because of. Taking one major campaign promise: ” The Great Wall”. Estimated cost of the wall is 326 Million to a Billion(?) dollars. Would this amount of money be better used for infrastructure? Clearly the border security is necessary however infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams and levees) is a much higher priority. The wall would provide jobs for a short period of time and would not significantly affect the economy in the long term(except for possible trade issues with Mexico). The security issue is not as awful as Mr. Trump would have us believe but having good relations with Mexico would certainly help with that. If the money for the wall was used for infrastructure then you gain jobs (long term), save lives as the effects of natural disasters would be  reduced, traffic accidents would be reduced. What is involved in infrastructure repair? You have to have the following: Engineers, architects, construction companies, material suppliers and finally workers. All of these jobs and carriers require education and training. The additional benefit is the health and safety of Americans using these roads and bridges. It will take many more years to address the infrastructure repairs and building than it will take to build the “Great Wall” which will possibly be more of an eyesore and eventually a non factor in immigration. Taking a look at the Health care fiasco, the proposed AHCA (Ryancare or TrumpCare) failed due to the lack of support within the Dupublican party, not because of  the Scamocrats blocking it. This tall tale and others will continue to play out while our neer do well Congress continues on a path of destruction which will affect the voters and not the Elected pimps in Congress. If as voters you think your elected representatives are working for you then I challenge you to investigate what they are actually doing rather than what they tell you they are doing. We are in a situation now where the misinformation mills are running at full capacity and our (the voters) ability to tell truth from fiction is strained. This misinformation is why Mr. Trump was elected. The Dupublicans are not happy with him but they are using him to further their own anti-American agenda. Rallies and high sounding speeches are not how governing is done, the quicker we understand that, the better we will be able to try to elect the right people for the job of representing us correctly.

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