Houston – We have a problem

Posted on June 14, 2018 by admin

This just in: When you have a president calling the Free Press the biggest enemy, you have a problem. When you have a president that praises ruthless dictators in Russia, China, North Korea, Turkey and the Philippines, you have a problem. When you have a president that trashes our decades old relationship with our nation’s allies in Canada, Mexico, Europe and the UK…you have a problem.

We have a problem.

Trump is rapidly becoming the American Dictator; someone above the law that wants to rule with an iron fist.

But wait! Surely Congress will stand in his way. The Constitution has a balance of power built into it. This “balance” will keep Trump in check. Right?

Wrong!

The Republican Party is terrified to speak out against Trump. If they do, Trump will give them a nickname (“lyin Ted Cruz” or “Little Marco Rubio”). If he trashes you, his faithful will vote you out of office; at least in the primaries.

How can this be? Most Americans hate Trump.

True. However, most Republicans, which makes up only about a fifth of Americans, think Trump is doing great things (They like the path backwards to white, christian America). In most primaries, only Republicans participate in choosing the Republican candidate. It Trump says you are a problem, these faithful will follow his lead and vote you out at the primary level.

But wait! The Mueller probe will almost certainly come up with something.

Perhaps. However, if the Republicans control Congress when Mueller’s report comes out, it won’t matter what is in it. Even the Justice Department is afraid of Trump so don’t expect anything from them.

If we want to stop Trump…we need to do it in 5 months. We need to vote out the complicit Republican Party and put in people that will restore a balance to our government.

Vote in November. Tell everyone you know to vote in November. If we don’t, the Republicans will retain power and Trump will continue to remake our nation in the image of the world’s worst dictators.

We all need to vote if we are to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Let’s get ready to rrrrummmbblllle…..in Singapore

Posted on June 11, 2018 by admin

This just in: Two leaders faceoff in Singapore tomorrow. To have some idea about what to expect, we should know who the participants are.

In the West Corner we have the Toad with orange Overload. The Cheeto Bandito. The Blob from the Mob…America’s very own…..Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump is the current “off the charts” record holder with Politfact.com.

His record on verified statements:

True 5% of the time
Mostly True 12% of the time
Half True 15% of the time
Mostly False 22% of the time
False 32% of the time
Pants on Fire 15% of the time

His record on International Agreements:

Iranian Agreement – Pulled out saying it was unfair
NAFTA – Threatening to pull out saying it is unfair
Trans Pacific Partnership – Pulled out saying it was unfair
Paris Climate Accord – Pulled out saying it was unfair
NATO – Trump hints at stopping funding
G7 – The other 6 actually want to kick out Trump

In the East Corner we have Kim Jong “never missed a meal” Un. He’s the Panda Head King of crimes against humanity.

His record for keeping any agreement with any country is 1,004,322 to ZERO. Of course, I had to go back several generations to get this complete count.

This meeting of equals will last for 2 hours and be attended by only these two men and their translators.

What does Trump want? He has no idea.

What does Un want? A picture with Trump.

My guess is that nothing of substance will take place. Both will claim victories and claim to be close friends.

Let’s see what happens.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Trump – Putin’s Santa Clause

Posted on June 9, 2018 by admin

This just in: This entire Russian thing seems to be about, not collusion in and of itself, but rather…was there a Quid-Pro-Quo? Did Russia help Trump get elected in exchange for Trump favors later?

Let’s take a look at a few things…

First, understand that Russia’s main income comes from the exporting of oil. When oil prices are low, the entire Russian economy goes down the toilet. Putin would love for oil prices to be high. This includes squashing any alternative energy source that may cause people to use less oil.

What has Trump done? Several things. First of all, he dropped out of the Paris Climate Accord citing some nonsense issue about being treated “unfairly.” This has a double impact. First, it allows the United States to use more oil without consequence and it also separates the United States from a forum where they should be the World Leader. Trump has also squashed nearly every anti-oil regulation he can find. This includes eliminating fuel efficiency on cars. In other words, he is allowing us to go back to the gas guzzlers of yesterday. Americans only benefit from better mileage. It’s good for the pocketbook and for the environment. However, Russia wins when we use more oil since that drives up the price.

Trump also pulled out of the Iranian deal. This is causing uncertainty in the Middle East and we are feeling it at the gas pump; just as Putin is feeling it in his fattening wallet.

Second, Putin wants to be relieved of all the sanctions put on Russia for their bad behavior over the years. Obama put on sanctions. Congress overwhelmingly approved even more sanctions. Trump has fought these all along. For some reason, he knows more about Russia and their intent than the rest of the world as well as our National Security Agencies. In fact, he continues to fight to lift sanctions on Russia whenever possible.

Third, Putin wants to be brought back into the G7. It was a G8 until Russia was kicked out over annexing Crimea. Just yesterday, out of the blue, Trump said he wants Russia back in. He gave no reason. The remainder of the G7 voted unanimously to keep Russia out.

Fourth, Putin wants to separate the United States from the rest of the world. On nearly every front, Trump has given him this gift. We are no longer the Climate leader. We are no longer the Moral leader. The G7 says they will become the G6 since Trump does not want to contribute. Trump has put tariffs on our closest allies and is threatening to no longer trade with our longest standing and largest trading partners. In just over a year, Trump has caused the United States to step back from every leadership position we have held since WWII.

This list could go on. There is the push to enrich the wealthy at the expense of the poor. There is the war on science and the war on education. Every day Trump does the exact opposite of what is proper.

So yes, I think Trump works for Putin. I don’t think this is all a repayment for winning the election. I actually think Trump expected to lose the election. I suspect this is to repay some ongoing debt such as the billions of dollars Russian banks lended him when no one else would touch him back in 2008-9.

Trump works for Russia. But don’t forget, he is able to pull this off because Congress is controlled by Republicans that work for the handful of billionaires that are profiting off of Trump’s moves. The GOP tolerates Trump’s Russia because it is profitable for them.

Up, up and away…

Jim

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

A look at how bully Trump negotiates…

Posted on June 4, 2018 by admin

This just in: Here is a quote from renowned economist Jeffery Sachs, a professor at Colombia University…”no one expressed a single word of respect for Trump during his (Sachs’) recent trip to Europe.”

Here is a link to Sachs’ article. You should read it then pass it along.

The world has no respect for Trump. They are also starting to look at us a bit sideways. Who can blame them. After all…Trump was voted in by us.

I wanted to just take a moment to point out the obvious – Trump’s singular style of negotiations. We’ve heard stories about how he bullies those that did work for him in the past. In those cases, it was always “his word against theirs” but it always seemed like he would put his team of lawyers after a contractor that he didn’t want to pay.

Let’s look at The Wall. Trump cannot finance The Wall because he doesn’t make the national budget. Also, those that make the national budget don’t want The Wall. So here is what Trump did…He took the very successful DACA arrangement and threw it out the window. It didn’t expire. It wasn’t broken until he broke it…on purpose.

His next step was to tell the Democrats that if they wanted DACA back, they would give him his Wall. The Democrats said, “No, we have better stuff to spend $25 billion on.” So, Trump goes out to the world and says, “The Democrats are the reason we don’t have DACA. I want DACA but the Democrats don’t want it. It’s all their fault.”

This is effective because his faithful don’t check the facts.

Then… Trump wants better trade deals. He doesn’t really know what that means. After all, I have NEVER heard him mention a single factual thing about any trade deal. It’s mostly stuff like, “We are being treated very unfairly.” What does that mean? Give us a single issue so we can agree with you. But no…he can’t because he has no understanding of economics (see article linked to above). Instead, it appears that he just wants some sort of deal, any deal, so he can say that he’s a big deal maker. I point to the tax deal as an example of this. It made things in our country far worse (Here is a link to a recent UN study on the impact of Trump’s policies).

His next step is to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the E.U. He cites national security as his rationale. He is telling a gullible base that we need to save our steel industry so we remain strong. To save this industry, he has declared a trade war on all of our global allies. His hope is that all of these countries will shake in their boots and give him some sort of concession on existing trade deals.

Instead, EVERYONE in the world is imposing retaliatory tariffs against the United States. There are even companies that are refusing to make any further investments in the U.S. so long as Trump is in power.

So, Trump’s negotiating strategy is to find a big stick and say, “Don’t force me to hit you with this because if you do, it will be your fault.”

And the world…didn’t blink as he had hoped.

Instead, they are uniting against us and rightfully so.

Thanks to Trump, the United States of America has become the face of the “Bad Guy” in the eyes of the world.

We are not the leaders anymore…

Up, up and away…

Jim

Follow the Money

Posted on May 31, 2018 by admin

This just in: I thought I would take a look at several key issues and try to see if it looks like “money” is the root cause of certain behaviors, politically.

Stricter gun regulation: This is favored by 66% of Americans. The Democrat party routinely favors this and takes virtually no money from the NRA. The Republican party routinely opposes this and takes millions of dollars from the NRA. My position: The number of guns we have differentiates us from other countries that have virtually no gun deaths.

Obamacare or Single Payer healthcare: This is favored by a slim majority. Notable is the fact that nearly half of Americans don’t understand these options. The Democrats support this while the Republicans don’t. The Republicans take millions of dollars from people like the Koch brothers who stand to save millions by the repeal of Obamacare. My position: Single Payer healthcare works far, far better than anything we have tried in every industrialized country that uses it, and they all use it.

Deregulation: 59% of Americans believe that we should be strengthening our environmental regulations. Democrats tend to favor regulations that protect the public and the environment. Republicans are anti-regulation, specifically when it comes to environmental protection. The Republicans take millions of dollars from people like the Koch brothers who stand to save millions by the repeal of environmental regulations. My position: Companies don’t have souls, although many are led by people of character. This is not a critique. It’s just the way of the world. Companies exist to make profits for their owners/investors. It’s in their interest to eliminate those things that raise their costs. We need regulation to keep that from happening in any way that damages our people or environment.

Tax Reform: Most Americans favor tax reform that eliminates wasteful spending and spurs economic growth without increasing the debt. The Democrats favor tax reform but not in a way that will exacerbate the unequal distribution of wealth in our country. The Republican party passed a tax law that has actually seen growth shrink to 2.2% even though they advertised 5%. Nearly all of the benefits went to the most wealth donors to the Republican party while the national debt (which belongs to all Americans) is now growing at record rates. My position: The only justification I can come up with for this tax law is that the Republican Party was paying back their donors.

Trump: Most Americans are appalled by the daily doings of Trump. Democrats tend to oppose nearly every action taken by the president. Republicans either support or remain silent when Trump behaves badly. Republican donors love Trump. He will pass any law put in front of him and these donors pay Republicans to put laws in front of him. These laws are bad for the environment, bad for the health/wealth of the average American, bad for banking safeguards and bad for international relations. But they make millions for the donors. My position: The Republican party is representing their big donors, not the interests of our country.

If I seem to be picking on Republicans, I am. I was a Republican for about 20 years. The Republican party of today is not the same as the Party of Lincoln or even Reagan. To me, they are in the money-grab game as deeply as the president that they are supporting.

It’s a matter of public record that when it comes to limiting campaign contributions for single donors, Democrats vote yes and Republicans vote no. In short, the GOP wants to continue to rely on single billionaire donors for their marching orders.

It’s a matter of public record that when it comes to revealing the names of campaign contributors, Democrats vote yes and Republicans vote no. In short, the GOP wants to continue to protect the identity of their billionaire donors.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Do Something to Stop Trump

Posted on May 29, 2018 by admin

This just in: Cub reporter Jim H. challenged me yesterday in a comment. He wanted to know what I meant about “doing nothing” or “doing something” about Trump. I’m taking up the challenge today with a little brainstorming session. This list will come off the top of my head (much like my list on how to fix gun problems). The point I hope to make is not “see how much I just solved” but rather, “If I can come up with a list of ideas, imagine what we could do if everyone tried to come up with ideas.”

In other words, I have faith in large numbers.

But first, before I go on another “list of stuff”, I want to pause for a breath. There is good in the world and we should at least spend as much time appreciating that as we do being disappointed in the bad.

For example, in an underprivileged, minority community, there is an organization that mows the lawns of the local elderly…for free.

There is also a barber that takes $2 off of a haircut for a child that reads to him as his hair is being cut.

And now…here is an oldie but a goodie…

Now for my list on what to do to fix our political system…

Vote. Your vote counts. I recommend voting by mail. You will get the ballot in the mail and can mail it back postage-free.
Find your soapbox. Let people know what you think. This blog is my soapbox. It can be yours as well. Post comments. Don’t let my thoughts be the only thoughts. Repost those posts that strike home with you.
Write to your congressman. I send Diane Feinstein an email about once every 6 months. I try to be polite, patient and fact based. Contacting your congressman is as easy as googling their name, going to their website and hitting the “contact” button.
Attend rallies. If you are pro-NRA, go to one of their rallies. If you think the NRA is a terrorist organization, then go to the anti-NRA rallies (I’ll see you there.)
Turn your back on Fox News, Breitbart and the like. You won’t get rid of them because, hey…”haters gotta hate.” However, you don’t need to let them into your front door.
Look for ways to attack the root causes. For me, this means supporting (1) any measure that takes money out of politics, (2) any measure that takes your religious beliefs out of my life, (3) any measure that criminalizes racism and intolerance.
Pay attention. Is the Mueller investigation a witch hunt? If you think it is, then you’re not paying attention. Do you think Trump is bailing out Chinese companies out of the goodness of his heart? If you say “yes”, then you’re not paying attention.
Question yourself. If you saw a post that said, “Incredible tape shows Trump talking to Putin about overthrowing the U.S. Government”, don’t immediately assume it’s true and start reposting it.
Fact check the Haters on Facebook that continually post divisive memes. In the comment section of their post, clearly state the facts and your source. They hate that as much as they hate everything else.
Support local and state government. California is a shield between Trump and the people of the state. Trump wants to let cars pollute. California says, “Fine, but not in our state.”
Vote for women. I don’t know about you but I’ve about had enough of old, white and wealthy men running the show. Now, some men are good politicians but my motto is “If I’m in doubt, I vote the man out.”
Challenge racism on the spot. There are a lot of recent incidents where a racist is behaving badly in public and people confront him right then and there.
Pick your battles. If you try to fight every battle you will lose them all. Choose what is important to you and then, arm yourself with facts and associate with those that think similarly. I am pro-life (for a lot of reasons) however, I don’t care if you are anti-abortion. If you are, then good for you. I’m not going to fight that battle. I think guns cause gun deaths. If you don’t agree, then we are going to do battle (Not literally. Remember, arm yourself with facts.)
Boycott. If you are anti-NRA, then vote against those that support them and don’t buy products from companies that associate with them. In other words, vote with your wallet whenever you can.
Nothing to excess. This is always a good idea. For me, I struggle with this constantly. I can get very frustrated watching the daily “Trump Fucked Something Else Up” show. Sometimes, it’s best to just sit back and watch a video of a dubbed seal.

or….you can do nothing….that is always an option.

But for me, I choose to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Trump – America’s Hitler

Posted on May 28, 2018 by admin

This just in: Growing up, I wondered how someone like Hitler was able to rise to power. It seemed unlikely that everyone would just stand around and do nothing.

Now I understand. I understand because Trump is our very own version of Hitler. He’s consolidating his power.

And…we just stand around doing nothing.

Now I know that the term “Hitler” is a bit overused but I think it’s appropriate for Trump. Yes, there are some differences. Trump hasn’t invaded Poland, yet. Trump has not killed 6 million Jews.

However, if you view the “Hitler” reference as someone that a nation’s leader, is highly corrupt, extremely nationalistic, preaches populist propaganda, blames other (specifically, non-whites and non-Christians) for the country’s problems….then Trump is very Hitler.

Within the last couple of weeks, China granted Trump’s daughter “5 valuable trademarks”. China also agreed to finance $500,000,000 of a Trump resort in Indonesia. Then…in what Trump calls an unrelated event, he lifts sanctions on a China telecom company that was spying on the United States. He gives no reason for this other than “saving jobs in China.”

People have marvelled that Trump’s claim of being able to stand on 5th Ave. in New York and shooting a person would not cost him votes. Turns out this is true. Why? Because racists see him as their legitimizer. He makes their hate real and mainstream. He hates along with them and for this…they will forgive anything.

If Trump did a press conference and spoke for the heart about the evils of racism, that would cost him more votes than if he had every third person in Congress hung.

He got into office, not on his policies but on the promise that he would purge the country of non-white and and non-Christian people.

I could right a book about the corruption but that has already been done; several times.

He’s openly racist.

He’s openly corrupt.

We all know this. In fact, everyone in the world knows this.

And, we stand by and do nothing.

Alas…

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