Thursday, August 31, 2017

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Simple To Predict Trump's Future Executive Orders

All one has to do is read all of Obama's executive actions to know what Trump's going after. If it's got Obama's name on it.... it goes. Just that simple.

In Obama's first year in office he signed 39. So far Trump has signed 45 in his first 8 months according to the White House. Which about 16 were made to reverse Obama's actions.

Yeah I get it. To the victor goes he spoils, but a number of these removed protections to the environment and consumers from the financial industry. Others established several committees & councils whose members quit or were disbanded altogether, some before their first meeting. Not all of these executive actions were bad, but without a doubt a number of them were designed to erase Obama's. Mostly for political reasons.

The problem with some of Trump's undoing Obama's executive actions is a few of them will negatively impact his own supporters. I'll give you a couple of examples. One will be detrimental to people living in coal mining regions. Regulations have been loosened allowing coal waste, ash pits and gas closer to residents and rivers. Another loosens rules on drillers of oil and fracking deposits taking place in closer proximity to where people live.

"Business Insider" reports-- "In early February, Trump signed an executive order putting in motion a repeal of the Obama administration's retirement-savings rule, which would have required that financial advisers act in their clients' best interests."

On August 22, 2017 "The Washington Post" updated their extensive piece entitled, "How Trump is rolling back Obama’s legacy". They point out so far there's been another 63 cabinet level decisions made changing Obama's positions.

List of executive actions by Donald Trump

The Big Picture
To hear some tell it Trump received an overwhelming mandate. That simply isn't true. Looking back at the popular vote Trump received 62,984,825 to Hillary's 65,853,516. Many may not have liked Hillary enough to get her elected, but for damn sure the larger half can't be happy putting a wrecking ball to all things Obama. If somehow Trump thinks he's doing the will of the people he's very much mistaken.

Many of these executive actions will have consequences down the line not just on the environment and on peoples' lives but politically as well. More then a number of Trump's actions wouldn't have stood a chance with Republican members in congress. If that were the case they would have originated in congress. They did not. And we certainly know most Republicans were no friend of Obama.

The attitude among his die hard supporters seems to say the hell with all of them. Go for it Donald. They along with he seem more fanatical about undoing everything Obama along with the Republican controlled congress did 7 of those 8 years to the point of blind obsession.

I'm not trying to be an apologist for Obama. We're suppose to be a representative democracy. What would you call a leader and his band of followers who try to put themselves above Congress and half of their fellow Americans? Patriots? I think not.

Putting all the partisan crap aside we really truly need to ask ourselves whether we are liberals/conservatives or Americans above all else. With this guy in the oval office it's nothing but a constant war with the media, members of congress, his own appointees, anyone and anything else he deems to be rubbing him the wrong way from one moment to the next. Whatever and whomever he can demean dividing us to make himself look better.

Come on people don't let Trump and his minions turn us into sour grapes. Other then this President, every one of the presidents before him all contributed something positive Some may have adjusted policies making them better. Some worse, but none came into office like a wrecking ball determined to destroy each and every accomplishment of the president before them.

School Shopping Worth Every Penny

Stop complaining about Back to School Shopping

Video Courtesy-- "One Funny Mother"

Sunday, August 27, 2017

KHOU 11 Live Stream (Houston)

They keep changing the link. Rather then me trying to keep up...
HERE is where you can find a LIVE feed from Houston.

The TV station became flooded just after 11:00 AM Sunday morning. Currently they're patched into WFAA 8 in Dallas working out of one of their studios.

Here's a previous stream they posted when the reporter was notified of their studio's evacuation. At the 3:46:40 mark the reporter chases down a rescue unit to notify him she spotted a tractor trailer stranded in the water just below where she was reporting. Possibly saving his life. At the end of the video you will see when they lost their signal temporarily,



KHOU 11 on Twitter
KHOU 11 on Facebook
(Lots of extra reporting)

Saturday, August 26, 2017

DHS Checkpoint Refusals


These checkpoints are scattered along various highways in the Southwest. A number of them many miles from the border. This was one video amongst many others. If these would have been one of former sheriff Joe Arpaio's this guy would have ended up in one of Joe's prison tents. Hell sheriff Joe would have locked up Obama if he could have.




Right up to the end of his term--- Dec. 30, 2016


Trump has given good ole buddy Joe a pardon on Friday (08/25/2017). Be scared... be very scared. We're now living in Trump's world under his rule of law. As you can see it's not only Mexicans who need to worry but each and everyone of us if we travel down the wrong highway or from some overzealous TSA agent at an airport who decides to poke around our bodies just because they were so inclined to do so.

We know a couple right here in the Lehigh Valley. Her husband is Hispanic. Guess who gets stopped every single time at the airport. He was pulled over for the third time this year while he was driving. Now that Donald has greenlighted this kind of behavior with Arpaio's pardon it's certain to become worse. Ignore it at your own peril. Muslims,, Hispanics, Syrians, blacks.. who's next, someone who got too much tan at the beach?

Came Across These On The Net

Statue protestors' signs in New York-- "Columbus didn't discover America.. he invaded it."

A article was published on the net for gun control advocates. It said if ya wanna bring around conservatives to call for gun control all we have to do is start running ads encouraging 'Black Lives Matter', MOVE and others to exert their second amendment rights. Then run around with a bunch of firearms. That'll get their attention real quick.


(SNL)


Regarding the hurricane in Texas. Before the storm hit it was said stores ran out of bottled water. In stores several fights broke out over the few remaining cases. OMG I didn't realize homes in Texas don't have running water. I mean after all if they did people could have used sink faucets to fill containers ahead of time. It's still not too late. I heard it's raining water out of the sky. DUH !

Now For Some Of The Crazy Headlines
Alex Jones claims he has shocking video proving Michelle Obama is a man
Some scientists claim women have sex with other women to attract MEN
New Jersey priest claims he downloaded child porn at his weekend home to get revenge at God after he continually lost games of poker

Then there is this...
Trump pardons controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio after he was convicted of contempt.

Seems to me if he wants immigrants to follow the letter of the law he's not setting a good example. Not when laws only apply to some and not others. What kind of signal is this sending?

Some may argue, what about Obama?
Well there is a difference between commuting a sentence for those already sentenced and granting a pardon before someone was even sentenced as was the case with Joe Arpaio. According to Wikipedia-- "By the end of his presidency on January 20, 2017, Barack Obama had exercised his constitutional power to grant executive clemency—that is, "pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve"—to 1,927 individuals convicted of federal crimes." If you will note, not a single one was before their sentencing.

If this is any indication of Trump's willingness to issue pardons we could be headed towards a constitutional crisis. Let's suppose Trump grants pardons to those being investigated within his administration. This means if they are called before congress, by law they could no longer exert their fifth amendments rights against self incrimination. Thus forced to testify (possibly against Trump). If they still refused they then could be held in contempt. But once again it's conceivable at that point Trump could issue another pardon to them. Now what? Where would we go from there?

Friday, August 25, 2017

Spotlight On "TruthSurge"

Presenting another of my favorite YouTube performers. He calls himself TruthSuge. I put together a small 10 video sampler of some of HIS MORE THEN 100 VIDEOS. Hope you enjoy.


Duration 49 Minutes

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Trump Threatens Shutdown Over Border Wall Funding




Good luck with that muchacho.
Like I Said...




The Washington Examiner
Trump threatens government shutdown over border wall funding
"President Trump on Tuesday threatened to shut down the federal government if Congress doesn't present him with a spending bill for the next fiscal year that includes funding for a wall on the southern border."

I thought all along this was like demanding the neighbor pay for my fence to keep his kids out of my yard.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Trump Turns Rally Into A Bitch And Moan Session

ALERT WARNING
Following Is A Bullshit Artist In Action


Ye gads I get so frustrated. Every time I'm determined not to focus on this guy he somehow manages to top himself with his curmudgeon like rhetoric from the time before. Here are a few highlights from his rally in Phoenix on Tuesday, August 22, 2017. For me it was like sitting an hour listening to a guy piss and moan about his job and everyone he's forced to work with. If I was this miserable I'd quit instead of bellyaching day after day, after day.



Driven like a moth to a flame. I so need to get over this and let it play out on it's own. Why am I finding him so difficult to ignore?



Why Trump Hates The Media

It's because the media refuses to contort (fake) the facts to suite him. Last night at his rally in Phoenix Donald rambled on for nearly 20 minutes against the media. At one point accusing them of cutting off live coverage. He said it several times claiming he could see them doing it as he spoke against "fake" news. Yeah there is something fake going on here and it ain't the press. I checked several times over the next three or four minutes C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, Fox Business and CNBC... NONE OF THEM CUT OUT. There's so many things he said which were false I could go on paragraph after paragraph.

Instead I'll focus on the biggest stinker I came across. Check this out. Who's that black guy with the sign and his web address?


Turns out this guy was placed behind him off just to his side at almost every rally so he would be visible on camera for over a year now. Apparently he's using Donald's rallies to gain publicity in an attempt to revive a black supremacist group. In other words Donald (I assume) unknowingly is giving him free advertising. How do we know this?

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW which aired this on November 2, 2016
"Rachel Maddow reports on the history of the Yahweh Ben Yahweh cult and why Donald Trump doesn't want to ask too many questions about the guys behind him at Florida rallies holding the "Blacks for Trump" signs."
Duration 17:03 Minutes


These so-called rallies seem more like a platform for Donald to bitch, moan and demean anyone or anything not completely aligned to his way of thinking. Perhaps a hundred years ago before sound and video recordings were invented he could have pulled this stuff off. Maybe his beef should be with Edison and the inventors of TV rather then the media who make constant use of them to replay his own words from the campaign and since he's been elected to fact check what he's saying now squares up with what he said prior.

By the way.. if he's going to use one or two black supporters for screen shots behind him at his rallies he might want to consider doing a little bit of a background check first before ushering them to their strategically placed seats. Might also want to make sure signs don't have web addresses either which are self promoting. Hell even commercial behemoths couldn't afford this kind of advertising he's giving away free. Hey Donald, feeling used much?

Perhaps Donald you should pay more attention to main stream media doing it's job instead of lashing out against them. You might learn something.


See More Here...
The Real Story Behind That ‘Blacks for Trump’ Guy At The Arizona Rally

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Now This Is What I Call a Rally !


Donald could only dream he'd have a rally as big as this one. If he keeps going who knows maybe he will. Only it won't be the kind he was anticipating.

Although from time to time Martin Luther King's dream fades, underneath it all the goodness that unites all persons prevails when awakened to the call.


The future of this country (or any other) still lies in the strength of it's people. Looking at the numbers who show up at these rallies I think it's pretty clear where the majority stand. Let no politician or purveyor of hatred overestimate their ability to silence a sleeping bear once it's been awakened.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Penn State Football Coach Gets A $34.7 Million Deal

The Penn State football coach (James Franklin) was awarded a salary averaging $5.78 million a year over the next 6 years plus another possible $1 million per year in performance incentives making him the 4th highest paid in college football. Of course to a college with a budget of $5.7 billion next year this may not seem like much. However a number of the coaches in the NFL receive less.

In 2016 Penn State football pulled in around $75.5 million. Earning a net profit of $39.9 million.

So My Questions Are..
Should collage coach salaries be on par with pro ball?
Should college football earn profits?
Should players receive salaries?.

BTW
Pennsylvania taxpayers will give Penn State $318.2 million this coming school year.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Trump Stick A Fork In It. It's Over

For about the hundred time I'm going to try and move on, but before I do I want to vent

Members of congress, many in Trump's own staff, committees, pentagon leaders and numerous others in his agencies are abandoning him. Look Donald you gave it a shot. Face it Donald you're no good at this being president thing. The sooner you come to terms with this the better off we all will be, including yourself. It's no longer "IF" but "when" this needs to come to an end.

These tweets of Donald's tell our adversaries everything they need to know. What's on his mind. His weaknesses. When he sleeps. Everyplace he is from minute to minute. What sets him off. How little his knowledge is. These and so many more exposes not only Trump's personal weaknesses but the United States positions as well.

There's nothing I could ever say which could harm him more then he himself. His words have amplified the divisions in this nation unlike anything we've seen over many years. His constant trashing of everyone and everything is so un-American no words could come close to the justifying the spiteful combative remarks that come out of his mouth.

Don't dare accuse me of playing partisan politics. This is about a leader who has demonstrated time and again he respects neither conservative nor liberal ideals. Donald is all about Donald. The rest be damned. He's incapable on every level of appeasing either one.

Trump (and his fanatics) are no longer worth my efforts. Neither do I wish to be delving into hardcore fact checking his supporters who wish to believe otherwise with their religious like acrimony. It's making me become too negative and agitated. Something I'm not comfortable with. This is not my true nature despite being sucked into it for a time. Certainly something that doesn't make me happier for it.

It's my belief either he will bag it or others will do it for him. Neither I nor this blog can bring this about as well as Donald himself. With that said there's no point in forever rehashing his tweets nor dufuses who continue to make excuses for his erratic behavior.

I'm not trying to be Trump's enemy, but rather a supporter of what I believe the United States stands for irregardless of either political party. You can believe what you want but that's the truth.

Jeremiah Wright "God Damn America"

Sean Hannity over and over again plays only 10 seconds of Jeremiah Wright's sermon to the exclusion of the entire words he spoke out of context. Hannity along with other purveyors of half truths ("fake news" ) twist this into a hate speech, which it was not. Take a look at the video and I will speak about it and a few other things.



My impression is Jeremiah wasn't condemning America. Rather he was trying to drive home a point in the strongest way possible that no nation can claim to be "one nation under God" so long as it treats God's children unequally. To grant one person less equality then the other is an insult to God. One which implies God screwed up. You can't have it two ways. A nation can't claim to be "one nation under God" in part. Either it is or isn't. Not that everyone has to believe strongly in religion, but Jeremiah Wright does. Hence the passion in his words. Biblically speaking call it righteous anger if you will. Given what's transpired over these last few days in Charlottesville and elsewhere around the country his sermon is applicable today as it was back then.

A Few Words About Statues
Statues in of themselves are harmless. They only become a center of contention when they start to become something akin to false idols to be revered. They should never be destroyed. Rather placed in areas like museums, battlegrounds and Washington D.C. which can best describe the history behind them by well educated tour guides.

A Few Words About Naming Of Streets, Towns & Buildings
None should be changed. Most of these were named over a span of 200 years over many eras as our nation progressed both good and bad. The way I see there can only be two kinds of responses. One from a set of people who could care less. The other who become upset when they learn the history behind them. Hence by retaining their names, those who become upset have indicated they delved into history. That's a good thing. By otherwise changing the names these people may have never done so.

In Summary
(1) Jeremiah Wright is not a hater of America. Rather a chronicler warning us not to incur God's wrath for that which he believes.

(2) Statues can be valuable tools for teaching lessons in history in the right locations. But when they become symbols used today to revive past hatreds they become somewhat false idols to be worshipped in the worst possible way. Ask Moses (in the Bible) how pissed he became with his followers when he descended off the mountain.. yeah it's kinda like that.

(3) Ask yourself if you give a hoot what streets, buildings or towns were named for. And if you do obviously they inspired to check out the story behind them. How can that be a bad thing?

Final, Final Thoughts
Everybody.... take a chill pill !!!

I Demand This White Racist Statue Be Removed Immediately!

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Amazon Is The New Steel Mill





I never felt threatened by automation. I've always known no one was ever gonna invent a "goof off machine".

At least one that could do it better then me.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

A Few Videos Concerning Hate

Reagan's 1981 NAACP convention speech



Sarah Palin rally held on 10/11/2008 in Johnstown, PA





Quickly said there are some rational and decent people. On the other hand...


Bullshit much?



Pennsylvania election results in the 2016 gave Trump only .72% margin over Hillary. A difference of 44,292 votes ( 2,970,733 to 2,926,441). Not exactly impressive.

I'm certain many Pennsylvanians who supported him did so out of a distaste for Obama. Lets see how that plays out if they don't get the things he promised them over their prejudices.

Initially there were eleven Republicans running. Five more who dropped out before the Iowa caucuses on February 1, 2016. Not one of them spoke ill of minority Americans.

Don't try to tell me none of the other sixteen were eliminated on the issues alone. None of them played to voters prejudices and anger as well as Trump. Any of which could have delivered on the same promises Trump made and probably could have got them done by now. No this was about anger and hatred over substance. That's what he ran on that seems to be about all we got. Course what else should one expect from him once he was in the White House. It isn't like the guy's gonna change this late in life. He's always been that way.

As much a I disagree with Mike Pence's politics I look forward to the day he may be called upon. I'd rather Kasich, Bush or Rubio would have won in that order. I could have lived with them winning and not have complained. I'll admit I was a Bernie supporter, but I'd take any one of them over Trump (especially Kasich).

Aug 16, 2017

If only he would have won the Republican nomination I would have been a happy guy.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Charlottesville WAKE UP AMERICA!

Please take the time to watch the videos. My commentary follows below.

Don't Be a Sucker (1947)

Think that film is out of date?


Think Again (December 2016)

Richard Spencer, the same guy that organized the Charlottesville rally this past weekend


Here was his appearance at Texas A&M they were talking about on December 6, 2016



Richard Spencer Reacts To Trump's Belated Condemnation Of Charlottesville

COMMENTARY
Trump was right about one thing. This went on for decades before he came into office. What makes this different now is how our government came out against strongly against such evils. Unless this administration steps in with all the tools they have available nations against us might as well sit back, save themselves a lot of effort and money and just wait for us to rot within.

Thank goodness there's plenty of others unwilling to stand idly by and let this happen. It's time for the president to do the same. Reluctantly reading a prepared speech on a teleprompter is simply not enough. America needs to stand up united loud and strong. If this president won't then it up to each of us to send him a message as strong as possible that we won't put up with this.

This whole spiel of mine shouldn't be construed as a rant against Trump. Rather one for setting him straight and anyone else who allows guys like Richard Spencer to gain a foothold. Spencer's BS has to be denounced and isolated as quickly as possible for the sake of the country by both political parties and their members. Otherwise we all go down together. This isn't about politics. It's about far larger ideals.

This is what is needed to said today as it was then by Charles Chaplin in this film...
"The Great Dictator" (1940)



Ye God's we need these kinds of inspirations now more then ever.

Political Propaganda Techniques

Late 40's or 50's


Calling the press "fake news" is very much a propagandist tool used by this administration and some news sources. These can be easily recognized when they extract a short sentence doing a TV clip or copy paste print out of context. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, we all have an opportunity to dissect what was said. Yet far too many of us are too lazy wanting instead to be spoon fed by those who have agendas supporting only what we want to hear.

This is where it becomes our responsibility to ascertain the whole truth. That is what this old, old film was trying to point out. What was true then, is just as true today.

Sunday, August 13, 2017

I Remain Unchallenged In August So Far

This month so far I've spoken about the costs for streaming video, network news (how it's changed), unrest in Charlottesville, why North Korea may be doing what it does, why medical costs are out of control, the negative effects of the border wall, immigration, on Putin's dealings with Donald Trump and other stuff in between.

Fourteen (14) items so far in the first thirteen (13) days of August 2017. To date I've received zero comments in response. Does this mean everyone agrees or are uninterested?

Perhaps I'm laboring under a misapprehension these things were important to others as myself.

I realize I've been down this road many times before asking for input, but I am asking once again. Pending otherwise I see no reason to go to great lengths with these kind of posts if they are of no value to my readers.

All I'm asking is to take a few minutes to give me some feedback. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thinking About Cutting Cable Cord?


I've brought this up before.

In it I mentioned how I thought this was a really bad idea.





"NEW YORK (AP) -- The future of TV may well be a mishmash of streaming services that could rival the cost of a $100 cable bundle - but that are way more difficult to use,,,

If you want to see the edgy shows everyone talks about, then Netflix is, for most, $10 a month; Amazon is $8.25 a month if you sign up for a year. Hulu starts at $8. HBO Now, $15.

Tickled by ads for a specific network show? "The Sinner," an eerie-looking new Jessica Biel vehicle on USA, costs $20 on Amazon for the season. All that together is already more than $60 a month. It's even worse if you're a sports fan. MLB.TV is $113 for the year, and you won't get hometeam games ."


My Comments
Talk about a scam. The big corporate entertainment companies (greedy pigs) are holding back some of their best shows for each of their wholly owned streaming services ($). Meanwhile putting out crap on the dozens of channels they allow cable companies to offer.

Hey, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. How long does anyone think it will be before the prices go up triple and early termination fees begin if they get enough suckers onboard. All this is an effort to cut out the middle man and pocket all the loot for themselves. It also stands to reason cable companies who supply many of the internet connections when they start losing money will start charging more for the internet. After all there's no way you can stream without an internet provider. The only other option is to watch them on a smartphone or iPad. Don't think for a moment cell phone providers won't realize they have ya by the gonads either if enough people fall for this. Yeah and so much for BIG SCREEN TV!

Cable companies (not to become extinct) are already offering DVR's automatically linked to checking accounts to pay for these new streaming service offerings.

I Say, Enough Already!
It ain't never gonna happen for me. As much as I enjoy sports, news and entertainment programming I refuse to be taken to the cleaners by these schemers There will come a tipping point (not so far in the future) where the trade off isn't worth it. I'm already paying $170+ a month for cable TV/phone/internet. If there comes a time nothing is worth watching on the 100 channels or so I have already have what's the point?


(1992)

What Say You?

Shhh Be Quiet.. You'll Wake Up The Whales!


"This occurred on March 30, 2012 while the Disney Magic was pulling out of Port Canaveral and the Disney Fantasy was sitting in Port waiting for its Maiden Voyage the next day."

Saturday, August 12, 2017

MAGA?

Last Night (08/11/2017)

Gee I wonder how things got this way...

Published on Mar 15, 2016


This guy seems to thrive on chaos. It seemed to work for him so far with his supporters. I don't know which worries me more. Donald Trump or my fellow Americans. You know what they say..."No man stands alone". He seems to have an awful lot of people behind him. We'll see how that plays out when their healthcare insurance collapses and the bombs start dropping because of his big mouth.

When (not if) they do I don't want to hear a peep from them ever again. This is what they wanted Live with it just like the rest of us who not for one minute bought what he was selling. Once this guy screws things up it'll go something like this...

In other words...FUBAR




Yeah that might have been a better message during your campaign with your base don't you think?

Apparently David Duke didn't get the word...
David Duke: Charlottesville Rally ‘Fulfills The Promises Of Donald Trump"
“We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in. That’s why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he’s going to take our country back.”

Friday, August 11, 2017

Cedar Beach Another Shoe About To Drop?

Emily tweeted this rather cryptic message...

Although I may not be realistic I'd like to see everyone involved in the fiasco be sued, bulldoze the pool under and use the money awards to hand out passes to Dorney Park so kids could swim next year. We've already committed $3.3 million to this boondoggle. I feel taxpayers deserve at least some sort of compensation.

I posted at length about this before. I'm not going into it again. But I did state in the past we'd be better off granting passes to Dorney Park where most of the kids who use our pools would be far happier with the water park and rides at Dorney Park. I also mentioned liability issues Allentown would be relieved of as well as the labor and maintenance costs associated with these water attractions within our parks.

We might want to think along these same lines as well now that we learned the Allentown Golf course is over $200,000 in the red.



I'm going to go one step even further in saying, what we spend on playground equipment, pools, golfing, city management and other incidentals like policing of them would be better spent issuing passes to private venues. All of these costs the city incurs for these can wildly fluctuate. Allocating a certain number of dollars each year for passes seems like a wiser choice where there are no surprises or pensions costs involved. Tell me one kid who wouldn't rather go to Dorney Park or a golfer who wouldn't want to play on different courses from time to time.

We don't necessarily have to foot the whole costs, but under the current system we most certainly do. I'm not convinced the city should be in these type of ventures since we're apparently not very good at them. Things change. The city shouldn't try and compete with other venues. Instead use whatever financial resources they would have spent otherwise go towards the kind of things people would stand in line for.

I further urge policy makers to put it before the people. See which they'd prefer. Money for parks or passes?

Launch Of CNN 1980

Cable News all began with Ted Turner's CNN at 5:00PM on June 1st 1980. It was the first ever shot at broadcasting the news 24/7.

CNN: The Early Days



CNN's First Hour: June 1, 1980


Somehow since that time it, along with all the others devolved into nonstop split screen jibber jabber BS commentary. Wouldn't it be great if one--JUST ONE- would go back to cable news' core mission of informing and educating viewers?

I really truly wish they would. I'm sick to death of the lot of them. Imagine for one moment a TV news channel where you could go and get actual traditional reporting. I don't give a crap what any of these so called analysts (pundits) think. Frankly most of them don't know more then any of us do. They're nothing more then BS artists who make a living off of this kind of stuff.

Stop talking down to us like we're idiots. How about this concept. Just give us the facts. Then adopt this policy for your news format-- "We report--You decide".

Some things evolve for the better. A bunch of chattering monkeys (sometimes hostile) in a bunch of split screens isn't one of them. Yeah sure it may be a helll'va lot cheaper then "real" reporters but viewers could get the same banter sitting in a bar down the street from Cliff Clavin.


Cable News-- Yeah it's a bit like that!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Trump's Fixation On Healthcare

Trump AD- October 2016



Then in July he said this after not getting his way with congress...

Now FOX news and the Trump train conservatives are lashing out in a "Ditch Mitch" campaign against the Senate leader for failing to get a bill passed. Honestly it would have been easier for him to turn water into wine then to move this forward. Instead of kicking him around maybe they should be praising him instead.

Mitch has been around the block a few times. He's seen presidents came and go. Could it be he's more focused on the long term survival of the republican party over some candidate who overstated peoples' expectations. One who'll be gone in months or few years. As you've seen in the last video many republican voters had higher expectations with the promises Trump made. Disappointing them could cost the republican party dearly I tend to think Mitch has higher priorities then just trying to please Trump. I truly think he's more concerned with not pissing off the base over Trump's supporters if the rug is pulled out from under them. Mitch's failure to get a bill passed is about the biggest gift to Trump he's ever received whether he is aware of it or not.

And yes there's plenty more videos out there that support this premise....







Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Maybe This Helps Explain North Korea's Bluster

In short, things didn't go well for other nations who had given up their weapons to appease the United States. This is not to excuse North Korea acting like a bunch of threatening idiots and not trying to strike a better tone. BUT... I can't help wonder if Kim Jong-un's rational behind his big mouth isn't influenced by some of the past actions United States took against other countries who ended up less fortunate when they tried to somewhat appease the U.S. and got tagged anyway.

Under no certain terms am I agreeing with how North Korea is responding nor that they aren't a threat. But sometimes it may be wise to step back and figure out why the other guy is thinking the way he does. If fear is Kim Jong-un's rational perhaps he could be approached in a much different way then how we approached these other countries.

Again I'm not supporting North Korea's current stance but sometimes scared people shoot first if they feel threatened. Maybe.. just possibly.. a wiser path would be to approach N.K with diplomatic assurances rather then strong arm threats. Like any other animal in the world you'll get further with treats then threatening them with a stick.

Below are a few examples of past policies where we acted in haste where no one was better off for it and things could have turned out far differently.

"The Guardian" (August 2009)
FBI reports describe Saddam Hussein's reasons for refusing UN inspectors
"Saddam Hussein remained preoccupied with the threat from neighboring Iran as the US-led invasion loomed and would have sought a security pact with the US if UN sanctions were lifted, he told an FBI interviewer in his jail cell before his execution....

He said that during the run-up to the US invasion in March 2003, he kept up his bluster about weapons of mass destruction in order to appear strong in front of Iran. Saddam said he believed Iran intended to annex majority Shia areas of southern Iraq, and saw the country as the greatest threat to Iraq. He said he viewed the other Arab countries in the region as weak and unable to defend against an attack from Iran. He said that he refused to allow UN inspectors to re-enter the country not because he still possessed prohibited weapons of mass destruction (he ordered the stock pile destroyed after the 1991 Persian Gulf war) but because he wanted Iran to believe he did."



Wikipedia-Libya U.S. Relations
"After its public announcement of December, 2003, the Gaddafi government cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Libyan National Security Adviser Mutassim Gaddafi with Hillary Clinton in 2009: In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and the President signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions....


Fate of Muammar Gaddafi (October 2011)-- "Finding that while Gaddafi's forces were responsible for numerous war crimes, many other allegations of mass human rights abuses lacked credible evidence and were likely fabrications by rebel forces that had been promoted by Western media.... A Misratan militia took Gaddafi prisoner, beating him, causing serious injuries; the events were filmed on a mobile phone. A video appears to picture Gaddafi being poked or stabbed in the anus "with some kind of stick or knife" or possibly a bayonet. Pulled onto the front of a pick-up truck, he fell off as it drove away. His semi-naked, lifeless body was then placed into an ambulance and taken to Misrata; upon arrival, he was found to be dead.


Wikipedia- Syria U.S Relations
"The Obama administration initiated a policy of rapprochement with Syria. However, with the governments' violent response to the Syrian civil war in 2011, relations have cooled dramatically and senior American officials, including President Obama himself, have repeatedly called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign...

As the situation in Syria deteriorated and the government resorted to increasingly desperate measures to crush the protest movement, Washington's patience flagged, and by mid-August 2011, President Obama stated plainly his belief that Assad should step down.... On 7 April 2017 US missiles destroyed Shayrat Air Base in Homs Governorate which US military claimed to be the base for the aircraft that carried out the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack three days earlier."

So Here It Is In The Nutshell
We're against North Korea, Syria and Iran just as we were Iraq and Libya. The difference was Iraq and Libya were pushovers unlike Syria (with Russia's support), Iran and North Korea with their missiles and nukes. I'm not talking about right or wrong policy or ideologies. What I'm trying to point out some of these nations aren't coming to a gunfight with a knife. Something which is probability not escaping Kim Jong-un's attention. We need to address this with his and other countries. How?

As long as they see us as a threat these issues will never be resolved. Indeed Iran is a threat to Israel and others in the middle east. Syria not as much (they have their own internal struggles). None of these are a direct threat to the United States so long as we don't attack them. So how about this... we play more a role as peacemakers rather then storm troopers in their disagreements with other nations. We have a bad habit of making every other country's problems our own. Nothing wrong with helping out a friend, but we've gone beyond trying to interfere in their own internal problems.

I'll give you other examples where we're sticking our nose in.. Cuba, Venezuela, the Philippines and Somalia each posing little or no threat to our national security. No one appointed us guardians of the world. Sometimes these things have to work themselves out within their countries. Nothing wrong with offering counseling and advice, but I don't see how pointing a gun or nuke at any of them is going to turn out well for anyone.

Just like in personal situations sometimes it's better to avoid getting involved in arguments. Ever try to break up a fight?

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Real Reason Hospitals Are So Expensive



Trumpcare, Obamacare, Medicare, Private healthcare.. none it matters if we don't tackle medical care costs and those for pharmaceutical drugs first.

The Huffington Post
U.S. Is Quietly Giving A Chinese Billionaire A Monopoly On A New Liver Cancer Drug"It’s the second time this year the federal government has proposed giving exclusive rights for taxpayer-funded research to a foreign pharmaceutical giant...

Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a new rule that would require federal agencies and federally funded nonprofits, such as research universities, to secure a reasonable pricing agreement from a manufacturer before granting it exclusive rights to drugs, vaccines or other health care products.."
<< The underlines are mine.

And you wonder why I supported and continue to support Bernie Sanders. He's about the only congress member who can't be bought off.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Two TV Shows Pertinent Today As When They Aired

First off I want to apologize if this post takes a while to load because of the number of videos enclosed. I found "Google Chrome" does the best job. That said, I think every one of the following videos are as pertinent today as when they first aired. See if you agree.

"The Newsroom"
Rinos, Real Republicans, The Tea Party, The Founding Fathers on religion and more



"The West Wing" on gays in the military



"The Newsroom" Booing a Gay Soldier



"The West Wing" budget negotiations



"The West Wing" on unfunded mandates



"The West Wing" on gun control



"The Newsroom" Will McAvoy's apology on behalf of the media.


Many of the same issues we are speaking about this very day are still the same ones we faced for years. The thing that did change is how both political parties have become cult like religions to their followers. A point where almost all logic, respect and reasonableness has been dispensed giving way to blind allegiances. When a nation of people put their divisions above the principal of the godlike commonality of us all there will be no winners.

Throughout history one nation after another, when it became too corrupt or fractionalized, each has fallen no matter how great they once stood. I'll bet no one ever thought that could happen in each of theirs back in their time of greatness. Let's not deceive ourselves into believing the United States will be the only exception. We need to wake up if it isn't too late already.

Finally I want to leave you with this video of actor Martin Sheen speaking on "WE Day" in 2010.

Wikipedia: "WE Charity is a children's charity founded in 1995 by child's rights advocate Craig Kielburger. Since 2007, WE Day participants in Canada, the U.S. and UK have raised $45 million, which was given to more than 1,000 charities."

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Immigration Has Always Been A Hot Topic

Welcome To The Club
To hear Donald Trump speak he's the only one who ever got push back for his policies on immigration That somehow just because he now sits in the oval office he's the only president who had to endure such tenacious resistance. Immigration policies were never simple easy matters. Obama spoke on this topic dozens and dozens of times. Here's one such example where Obama addressed his own frustration from the White House Rose Garden on June 30, 2014....



As a side note, according to ABC News : Obama Deported More People Than Any Other President-- "Between 2009 and 2015 his administration has removed more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, which doesn’t include the number of people who "self-deported" or were turned away and/or returned to their home country at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)."

Before I comment further, check out this TED Talk video...


Here's Where I Stand
I don't have a problem with Donald wanting permanent future immigrant residents being required to learn English, his clamping down on the numbers nor getting rid of illegal arrivals. Where I differentiate is his apparent fear of foreigners. We need a lot of unskilled laborers willing to take jobs Americans won't. Especially in the meat packing, vacation and agriculture industries. Not that I'm trying to relegate them to such lousy work, but it would be a place for many of them to start. Some which would be better jobs then where they came from.

Another thing I' like to point out. My dentist is South Korean. My neurologist is from Czechoslovakia. My wife's two specialist are from India and China. My primary physician and pulmonary specialist docs are the only ones from the good ole USA. I suggest people look at the medical providers they are seeing and ask themselves what it would be like if they weren't allowed immigration to this country. In July 2016 Forbes published 25% Of Physicians Are Born Outside The U.S. . Not to mention so many more who's parents arrived as immigrants who's offspring became one. Throw in the number of medical techs and nurses and we'd have a severe shortage.

Point is, not all immigration is good, but over protectionism can be a very bad thing for us. Not all those seeking asylum are coming here with terrorists intentions The way this administration is presenting it you'd think otherwise.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Trump $ays We're Doing Great


OK.. now let's start talking about salaries. (07/25/2017) Production Workers Salary-- "Production Workers in the United States take home approximately $12.51 per hour on average. Including potential for bonuses and profit sharing."

Trump Outmatched By Putin?

At the July 7, 2017 G-20 summit meeting Putin and Trump met privately separate from the official meeting which was scheduled. It was reported -- "The only person present aside from Trump and Putin was a Russian interpreter. No American interpreter was present."

Was Trump Snookered?
Who are you kidding. Never underestimate Putin The guy understands and speaks English and German very well. Could it be the "interpreter" was actually a close advisor to Putin? Who knows how he might have been advising Putin's response since Trump doesn't understand a single word of Russian? Maybe Donald should have spoken to Hillary Clinton's former team at the State Department who could have clued him in.




Putin surprised Germans with his language abilities



Oh... and Putin also has other talents?
Can Trump top that?


Years back if either were unknowns auditioning for TV who knows how it would have turned out. Would the show have been called "Celebrity Apprentice" or "Putiin's Put-On's"? One would be like the "Gong Show", the other similar to "Hogan's Heroes" ('I knows nothing')? Ill leave it to my readers to decided which would be which.