Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Birds of a Feather

My mom originally taught me the old rhyme:

Birds of a feather flock together.

This means, of course, that you tend to associate with and relate to people like you.

Take Trump, for example. Alienates all of the U.S.'s closest allies, all the most free, democratic countries in the world. Starts what looks to become trade wars with our closest trading partners -- Canada for goodness sake!

Yet he meets with Kim Jung Un, a murdering authoritarian dictator, thus legitimizing Kim on a world stage.

Trump never has a bad word to say about Putin, the thug ruler of Russia. In fact, Trump just in the last day or so, lobbied for the inclusion of Russia back into the G7 group, glossing over the fact of Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Penninsula as the reason for the expulsion of Russia from the G8.

Birds of a feather flock together. Think about it.

Also think about why only Republican office holders who are retiring from office have found some moral backbone to speak more truthfully about Trump, his policies and his statements (lies).

Oh, and if you still think that Trump is a great leader, who is doing a great job, perhaps you should watch less of the propagandist Fox News and more objective, actual real news outlets -- in fact, almost any other major news outlet.

Let's try to take back the America that was once the shining city on a hill. Let's make America great again, a world leader for freedom, truth and democracy. Dump Trump and anyone who supports his actions, policies and lies.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Common Sense - 2018

Trump Acting Like an Innocent Man?


Suspend all judgement about Trump for a few moments. Now consider his actions and statements since the investigation began into Russia's interference into the 2016 election and all matters relating to and stemming from it.

He has repeatedly tried to suppress the investigation. He has also unceasingly been on the attack against any person or institution that might be a threat to him. And all this without even waiting to see what facts the investigation has uncovered -- that is, beyond the 20 indictments to date and the guilty pleas that have resulted from those formerly in the Trump inner circle.

Contrast this to how a president who knows he is innocent of any wrong doing might act. An innocent president would likely encourage a thorough investigation. He would welcome the facts being brought to light. 

Trump has done none of this. In fact, his stories shift like desert sands in the wind as more facts come to light. 

Without going into painful detail, which exacerbates my Trump-presidency fatigue, the bottom line is that Trump continues to behave like a man scared shitless of what will be revealed when the facts (real facts, not Trumpian alternative facts) see the light of day.

His actions and words clearly suggest a person who knows that he and his associates are in fact guilty of wrong doing.

Where Do You Get Your News?


My personal experience is that the stubborn Trump supporters all get their news from Fox News. They also tend to label virtually all other news outlets as the liberal mainstream media.

Hmmm. Let's think about that. So every media outlet reporting the news -- ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, etc. -- are part of some vast left-wing conspiracy and only Fox News stands alone as the sole purveyor of truth about what's going on?

Just from a common-sense perspective, isn't it more likely that the management of Fox News (headed by Rupert Murdoch) has a libertarian political agenda? Isn't it more likely that most mainstream news outlets are telling the truth and it is Fox News that is the propagandist? 

I occasionally watch Fox News as well as the other major news outlets. There is an enormous difference between the two camps. Take the Comey interviews when his book was first published. On every mainstream outlet, Comey's interviews sounded honest, reasonable, logical and factual. But when I watched the Fox News interview, Comey was not given free rein to speak. His answers were interrupted, truncated, and the interviewer always had the final word with some kind of innuendo that suggested lying or wrong doing. 

If I had only watched the Fox interview, I would be convinced that Comey was a lying scoundrel. However, having watched his testimony before Congress as well as his interviews on mainstream (actual news, not propagandist) outlets, it was obvious that it was Fox News that was not being objective. It was Fox News that was slanting and misrepresenting the facts. It was Fox News that was being misleading.

In fact, the mainstream news outlets can be somewhat frustrating in their extreme attempts to be objective in the face of the administration's lies, half truths and other obstructionist behaviors.

If you are a regular Fox News watcher, I suspect that it's because Fox is the echo chamber of the insular. They tell you what you want to believe, and you don't want to be challenged by actual, complete, unvarnished truths.

Trump is the Law?


Trump asserted last week that he is the law. He said in effect that he can't break the law because the president IS the law.

Between you and me, I think the Donald is confusing the presidency with kingship, being an emperor. Nixon made the same, desperate assertion, which was found by due process to be false. And you know how that ended: Nixon resigned in disgrace one step ahead of being impeached and thrown out of office.

Trump is the antithesis of the person who should be president of the United States. Trump is self serving. Trump is pathologically self centered. Trump is a divider -- both within our country and between the USA and our historical allies. Trump puts Trump ahead of country. Trump denies climate change. Trump is not well informed. Trump is not humble, and therefore overestimates his abilities.

Trump is the wrong man for the office, and it's an embarrassment to the USA that he is where he is.

It's too dispiriting to write more this morning. I'm a victim of Trump fatigue.

But, please, think about what I've written. Give your viewing of Fox News a rest. Watch or read any other mainstream news outlet. Give yourself a cleansing bath with actual truth and sensible analysis. Try to un-brainwash yourself. Fox News is a propaganda outlet that is poisoning your mind.

The truth will set us (all) free of the horror that is the Trump presidency.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Rewards of Inaction

In case you missed my comment reply in the previous article, it really deserves it's own article:

The rewards of inaction:

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything" -- Albert Einstein

"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph." -- Haile Selassie

"First they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for the socialists, but I did nothing because I'm not a socialist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I did nothing because I'm not a Catholic. Finally, they came for me, but by then there was no one left to help me." -- Martin Niemoller


Take action! Vote! Stay informed from reliable news sources (hint: NOT Fox News, Brietbart News, or "news" from social media)! Protest (peacefully)! Contact your representatives!

Drain the swamp, which, with the current administration, is dirtier and stinkier than ever before in history!

Dump Trump!

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Newly Recognized Love for Country

The anger and fear that I have felt since Trump became a candidate for president has stimulated a fresh recognition in me: I love my country (the U.S.A).

Oh, I don't necessarily love my government. I certainly don't necessarily love all politicians! But I love the history of the rule of law. I love our republic. I love the freedoms and rights for which our country has historically been known.

This love of country has been newly recognized as the things that I love are now threatened by a federal administration and house of representatives that lie, mislead, have authoritarian tendencies, display clear and unmistakable signs of corruption, and all this is best represented by the president himself!

My love of the country that I've known my entire life is now threatened and it makes me angry. I'm angry at power-mad politicians and the voters who were too blind, too stupid, too uninformed, or too nearsighted to disregard propaganda on social media and from the poster child for misuse of public airwaves: Fox News.

I'm so angry I could spit. And I have little forgiveness for the fools who voted for Trump and politicians of his ilk.

Get informed. Stop believing in propaganda. Rely on credible news sources including NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, major local papers, PBS News, NPR News and the BBC.

Vote wisely. Dump Trump!