The Trump/GOP translator

Posted on June 7, 2018 by admin

This just in: Beware of words, they can be misleading; especially if that is what they were intended to do.

Here are a few Trump words and their translations…

“Believe me” translates into..“I am lying to you.”

“Trust me” translates into “I cannot be trusted.”

“Everyone says this” translates into “I’m saying this and no one else, however, I want you to think everyone says this so that my words carry a heavier weight.”

“Lots of legal scholars say this” translates into “No legal scholar that is not on my payroll said this.”

“Witch hunt” translates into “I believe you can be manipulated into believing this in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

“We have started building the wall” translates into “We have taken the first step which is to start talking as if we are building a wall when we are not.”

“Scott Pruitt is doing a great job at the EPA,” translates into “Scott Pruitt is doing a great job at dismantling the EPA.”

My administration has done more than any other administration in the history of our country” translates into “We have passed a tax plan that takes from the poor to give to the rich AND…I have done nothing else.”

“We are being treated unfairly by these trade deals” translates into “I have no idea what is in any of these trade deals but I need to act like I can fix something that may or may not be broken so you will clap for me at my rallies.”

“I can pardon myself,” translates into “I hope Mueller understands that I will drag out my defense forever should he choose to indict me.”

“I have great respect for women” translates into “I like to have sex with women as an affirmation of my wealth and self-confirmation that I am not a homosexual.”

“We are going to have the best healthcare ever,” translates into “I know nothing about healthcare but I like the sound of your applause when I say words and stuff.”

“I have big hands” translates into “I have small hands.”

“I am being treated unfairly” translates into “I am rich and I should be able to do whatever I want and no one should point out that I can’t.”

Let’s throw in one of the GOP talking points just for fun…

“We believe in patient centered healthcare where you can choose your own doctor” translates into “Every plan proposed so far, including Obamacare let’s you choose your own doctor but we say this anyway so you will wrongs assume otherwise.”

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Elected Republicans Think You Are Stupid

Posted on June 5, 2018 by admin

This just in: I have long said that the Republican Party is either (1) Not exceptionally bright or (2) They think you are not exceptionally bright.

I say this because they propose and say things that can be confirmed false with just a “little finger” worth of research.

Let’s take a look at a few…Note: I will not do cite evidence as to why these positions are false. You get to do that if you wish. Shouldn’t be hard to do. Don’t go with your “gut”. Look up any of these and find the facts.

“The Russia investigation is a witch hunt.”
“Tax breaks for the rich will trickle down and create well paying jobs for the rest of the country.”
“The healthcare system in the United States is the best in the world.”
“Pornography causes mass killings at schools.”
“Transgender soldiers are hurting our military readiness.”
“The rest of the world respects the United States more now that Trump is in charge.”
“Making abortions illegal will reduce the number of abortions in our country.”
“Cutting off family planning money will reduce teen pregnancies.”
“China will not use their ZTE company to spy on us because they said so.”
“Gun laws don’t work.”
“Nancy Pelosi likes the Mexican gang MS-13.”
“Climate change is a Chinese hoax.”
“Our Founding Fathers wanted us to be a white, Christian nation.”
“Health care works best in a Free Market”
“Football players that don’t stand for the National Anthem don’t do so because they are not patriotic.”
“Most legal scholars agree that Trump can pardon himself.”
“Tariffs are working.”
“Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
“The poor are lazy.”
“The economy is doing well because of Trump.”
“Democrats are responsible for the separation of parents and children at the border.”

Of course…none of these are true. But…you can believe they are if you wish.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Basking in the Glory of “Words”

Posted on May 24, 2018 by admin

This just in: I see that Trump allowed himself to get played by North Korea; today, stepping out of the proposed summit so that “He could do it before they did.”

Just in case you missed it, Trump has accomplished virtually nothing since taking office. Yes, some things have happened but nothing that would (or should) be considered an accomplishment.

Trump is very big on making a bold promise and then basking in the adulation. Here’s the deal…he actually doesn’t do anything other than say the words. I’m going to post a list of things that Trump has claimed credit for doing simple because he “says he’s going to do it.”

First, a couple of footnotes: (1) Trump recently told Leslie Stahl of 60 minutes that he calls news fake so that people will not believe it when bad stories are written about him and (2) In his book, The Art of the Deal, he says you can lie to people and then do whatever you want to do.

Here is my list….

Trump promised better healthcare at a much, much lower price. “The best healthcare you have ever seen.” He got lots of applause for this on the campaign trail…then did nothing. That’s not quite true. He actually made it worse by eliminating the “individual mandate”; a move that is supposed to add $1,000 to the average medical bill next year.
Trump promised to cut taxes which will bring jobs back to America, lower the debt and spur grow “like we’ve never seen before.” He claimed, without evidence, that GDP would grow at a rate above 5% under his plan. Again, people ate this up on the campaign trail believing that Trump could turn water into wine. As it turns out, he had no plan. This allowed the GOP to cut taxes for their billionaire donors, leaving the rest of the 99% to foot the bill of the largest deficit ever.
Trump promised to deal with North Korea. So far, his strongest action has been a tweet calling the leader of North Korea “rocket man.” On his watch, North Korea has developed the ability to strike North America with a nuclear tipped ballistic missile.
Trump said he would deal with the Iran threat. Instead, he reneged on a treaty with Iran and 5 other countries; opening the door for Iran to once again pursue the development of nuclear weapons.
Trump claimed that he would renegotiate the TransPacific Partnership trade deal. Instead, we dropped out and the deal moved forward without us; effectively reducing our ability to trade with about half the world.
Trump claimed that he would renegotiate NAFTA. Instead, both Canada and Mexico are looking for trading partners to replace us with.
Trump claimed he was going to “deal with China”. Instead, China claimed the South China Sea as their own. Economically, they have outplayed him in every way. China knows that Trump responds to flattery and bribes so they use both to great effect.
Trump claimed he would build a Mexico wall and have them pay for this. His supporters (those that fear we will become a non-Christian, non-white country) loved this idea. Mexico has told him to pack sand.
The biggest one is simply Trump getting on television and saying, “We have been the most productive administration of all time.” His followers believe this and applaud wildly.

Sadly, this too is just words. He brags. People hear what they want to hear. He retains his power.

Sad.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Plan B? We don’t need to stinkin Plan B!

Posted on May 14, 2018 by admin

This just in: When we live in a world devoid of facts, we shouldn’t be surprised when our actions, based on fantasy, give us less than optimal results. This is why it’s important to have a Plan B.

Let’s look at a couple of actions that are either (1) not turning out as expected or (2) probably won’t turn out as expected…

We moved the U.S. Embassy for Israel to Jerusalem. I accurately predicted that people would die because of this. Today, more than 50 did just that. Now, this seems to be a bipartisan issue. Democrats and Republicans think this was a good idea (I don’t). The problem is that they all also agree that this move essentially puts an end to any attempt at peace between Palestine and Israel. If this is not the end, what is the plan? What is plan B?
Iran’s nuclear development program was stopped and dismantled. In return, we let them have access to their own money and lifted other sanctions. Everyone agrees that Iran was in compliance with the deal. Trump pulls us out of the deal in spite of this. My guess is this has something to do with his National Security Advisor, Bolton. Bolton is a fellow draft dodger, along with Trump. It has been his long standing position that the idea of war with Iran gives him an erection. So now, Iran can go back to building nukes. If Europe tries to enter a deal with Iran without us, Bolton has said we’ll impose sanctions on Europe. So, when these things happen, what is our Plan B? There was no crisis in Iran and now there is…now what?
The Republican Party spent 8 years chanting “Elect us so we can repeal Obamacare and create great insurance for everyone.” So, the last budget cut out the individual mandate forcing people to buy insurance or pay a penalty. This is a cornerstone of Obamacare and without it, we can expect to see millions more uninsured and prices shooting up. So, they broke healthcare and have absolutely no Plan B.
The tax cut passed recently gives the average person almost no relief in taxes. The top 1% and corporations are raking in billions. Meanwhile, our national debt is soaring at a rate never seen before. Essentially, we passed a tax plan that says, “Borrow $1 trillion a year and give it all to the richest people in the country.” Early data is showing that the economy is no better than before the tax cut. Yes, unemployment is down but it has been dropping steadily for 8 years. The tax break had no impact on this. So, now that it’s clearly not working…what is Plan B?
We are rolling back every environmental protection program we have. Faced with the fact that Global Warming is going to change everything for our kids and grandkids (and not for the better) what is Plan B? How will we save Florida when it goes underwater?

Asking for a Plan B is a must with Trump. Why? Because he revels in boasting about what he just did and the results that exist only in his mind. He does this because we let him get away with it. We forget about lie number 3,002 because he is already basking in the fake outcome that is lie number 3,003.

Trump exists because we don’t hold him accountable.

The Republican Party exists for the exact same reason.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim