If I Were Putin

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Here would be my wish list hoping to undermine the United States by...
* Destroying Americans trust for their press, intelligence, FBI and government leaders.
* Weaken federal revenues by all means possible including unnecessary tax cuts.
* Weaken allied nations' faith in military and economic agreements.
* Use all means necessary to get a leader elected who could fulfill those goals. As well as someone who could pit people against each other throughout the world including Americans amongst themselves. Someone who would impose tariffs that applied to none of their own or family's businesses. A person who would trash all of his opponents similar to what Putin would do. A person who he and his family benefited millions from USSR loans.

Know anybody like that?

What is Democratic Socialism?

Repost From 2020




Here's my suggestion.. AVOID LABELS
I think more then a few of us would agree Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump or many of these outspoken individuals on the far right represent little of what traditional conservatives values stand for. I would be more then hesitant to paint all conservatives as being extreme as these outspoken people. Therefore not everybody in the Republican camp deserve to be labeled the same. Some are more radical then others. Same goes for the other side when it comes to Democrats all being labeled "socialists".

I think it's extremely unfair to either side to slap a label on either side without taking the time to evaluate each issue separately. So setting aside the so-called "socialist" label and the so-called "patriotic, Christian right" labels one is left to sort out the actual issues themselves and what those differences might be. I'm assuming regular folks on both sides have more in common then they may think.

For Instance. Can we both agree deficit spending and the national debt is alarming. How do we go about reducing it? Can it be done with moderate increases in defense spending rather then drastic cuts to Social Security, Medicare and some of our other social safety nets?

Should companies go tax free while most Americans are left to deal with ever increasing state and local taxes as a result of reduced federal spending for things like schools, policing, etc. in our local communities?

Can we agree if the minim wages was increased it would result in more revenue for Social Security, federal, city and states without having to raise taxes?

Can both conservatives and liberals agree taxpayers money should not be used for sports stadiums or tax abetments to entice businesses coming into a state or local area?

I'm also certain we can agree both sides have promised time and time again to deliver certain things and it never happens. Lower drug prices, cheaper healthcare, decrease homelessness to name a few and it never happens.

As you can see both sides have more in common then many would have us think. Conservatives want less intrusive government. Don't they think liberals want the same thing? Who wouldn't object to a pipeline coming through their property or government borrowing their Social Security funds because of it's rabid spending? Why would either side be against out of control capitalism that allows for the tremendous wealth for a few while workers struggle to make ends meet?

While we may disagree about the way we resolve these things we should never dismiss our disagreements with each other by painting others as this or that. Each issue is unto itself. I detest this group thinking that somehow everyone can be labeled this or that and should be dissed without due consideration on each of the issues which as it turns out many times they have in common.

What I'm asking in this election is each and everyone listen to what the candidates themselves say. Not what the opponents try to tell you they said. Avoid labels and parties. Ignore the labels, accusations and trash talk. Stay focused on each of the issues.

Government Screwing Over 70 Million On Social Security

Repulicans hated this program from day one.
Newt Gingrich once said.. "We need to let it wither on the vine". So it seems nothing will ever chnage with them. This is another way of trying to bury Social Security.

Putin Must Be Laughing His Ass Off

Repost From January 2018 (Still Applies)

Here you have congress investigating it's own most trusted investigating agencies and each other.

One half of the politicians trying to destroy the other half to get to see who ruins runs the country.

Downsizing the State Department while most times at odds with the President.


The news media poisoning the waters of public opinion better then the Russian news agency TASS could ever hope to achieve in it's wildest dreams.

Government planning on spending trillion$ more then what created our huge deficits each year for decades. This even before slashing taxes.

The U.S. creating new endless wars with other countries Russia can befriend and make a ton of loot selling arms to use against us.

Putin doesn't have to lift a finger creating division. We do a much better job of it on ourselves. He can sit back and watch us cower over illegals, N. Korea, terrorists, endless wars, and people of all stripes fearing one another within for dozens of reasons. To name a few. Things like job losses, ethnic differences, gender, economic inequalities and more importantly the ever increasing distrust of our own government quite possibly more then his.


Wrapping This Up
A lot has happened to people's attitudes since the end of WWII. About the only thing "united" about the United States is it's name only. The thing that unites people is when they feel threatened. Unfortunately power brokers in this country have exploited this to their advantage. Far too many people it's seems are ignorant of the fact they are being used as pawns.

One could lay blame on Putin, Trump, congress, the media or business leaders. In reality fault lies in each individual who refuses to see the whole is made up by the sum of it's parts. Continuing not to accept our commonality means soon we'll be left with none.


Like it or not...
We're all stuck here together in the fishbowl we all call Earth

What we make of it is up to us.

Hard To Believe There Was Once A Time...

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Sen. Mitch McConnell and Sen. Harry Reid proposed renaming part of a bipartisan bill to speed government approvals of drugs and increase medical research after the vice president’s son Beau Biden, who died of cancer.

December 2016

NOTE: This was passed and approved before Donald came into office.
(Although he likes to take credit for such things)

Civics Lessons No Longer Being Taught?

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There can be no better example of failure by the American schools then that when comes to teaching civics classes. Apparently most of the people in United States (including it's politicians) have little clue how voting works. It seems nearly everyone believes in instant results This is especially true of our paranoid president who has the impression there is some sort of con going on if all the results are not made official with 24 hours.

Hopefully these two links will help educate some folks who never paid attention in Civics Class, never had one, missed a semester in high school or dropped out before 9th grade.

Why it takes so long to get election night results

Kicking civics out of class and taking it to the streets

IN SUMMARY
Vote tabulators from one end of this country to the other are not in on some giant scheme to defraud voters. Frankly it takes a sick mind to think all these people are reprehensible and untrustworthy as some of the candidates they're required to certify for office.

To my way of thinking there are two kinds of people bitching when it comes to this vote counting controversy. Those who are guilty themselves of what they claim others to be. The other too dumb to know any better.

The GOP Has Always Overhyped Socialism

Reposted From 2023


Like I said the GOP has a strange view of what socialsm is. Here's a couple of campaign buttons from years past.

Posted Sept. 02, 2015

What Political Candidates Are Really Thinking

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The Late Pat Paulsen Said..

Nuttin' Much Changed Did It?

A History Primer On Cuba

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All the chatter about how Fidel & his brother are evil dictators doesn't take in account the overall history of Cuba. They had it far worse then they do now under these two. Let's put a little perspective on this by taking a brief look over the history of Cuba and how the Cuban people always seem to get the short end of the stick no matter who rules the joint.

Going back to 1492 when Christopher Columbus's three ships landed things really started to go downhill for the Cuban people. Columbus claimed the island for Spain. Cubans finally had enough and began fighting against Spain in 1895. Spain sent around 200,000 troops who overwhelmed the population rounded them up and put them into "reconcentrados" which were similar to concentration camps. The Red Cross estimated between 200,000-400,000 Cubans died while in these camps from disease and starvation.

By 1898 the United States Spainish-American war ended. Spain then sold the Philippines, Guam and Cuba to the United States for a sum of $20 million. Then in 1902 Cuba became a independent country. There were too many clashes and uprisings to mention here in this brief highlight. Suffice it to say Fulgencio Batista ended up being elected President in 1940. After being defeated for second term (1944) he came to the United States only to return to Cuba to become it's dictator for seven years (1952-1959) until Fidel's Cuban Revolution..

Yeah Sure He's A Dictator, But He's Our DictatorLife Under Batista's Cuba became a police state when he returned in 1952. Nearly all the Cuban liberties were taken away under his corrupt regime. He aligned himself with the American Mafia bosses (Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano). Prostitution, gambling and drugs like marijuana or cocaine were as easy to come by as candy.

The Mafia in Cuba


He took bribes which allowed American companies to own & control nearly 80% of all the oil & cattle ranches. 90% of the minerals and 40% of the sugar farmlands. When the Cuban people began to rebel he started doing executions in public. It was estimated up to 20,000 people were killed or tortured during his seven years in power. Witnesses said hundreds of those executed were hung on street lights or thrown into the streets. All this while still receiving military, logistical and financial support from the United States. No wonder the time was ripe for Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959.

Next Up, Fidel CastroOver the next six years when the dust finally settled, up to 33,000 Cuban lives ended up dead. Still this was not the end of it. The Cuban people rose up again in 2003 in what is called "Black Spring". Fortunately instead of being killed 75 dissents were sent to prison. In 2010 all of them started being released by the Castro regime after the 'European Union' lifted it's sanctions. Cuba claimed they weren't arrested for disagreeing with the government but rather because of their links to the U.S. in trying to undermine Fidel's government.

The Way I See ItThere's a hellva' lot of older investors in the United States who are still pissed they got their asses kicked out of Cuba. They along with individuals who had a vested interest with them. Also those who lost family in the fight against Fidel. It should be no wonder why then so many are opposed to normalizing anything with present day Cuba. You can say what you will but when you look over the entire history of Cuba, today's Cuban people deserve a chance at hope for all they've endured.

The Castros for all their blemishes are far less evil then what transpired over the Cuban people these past centuries. 'Normalizing relations' is more about helping the Cuban people then an endorsement for it's present government. Continued isolation of them only serves to punish those who had least to do with any of this and their extended families living here in the United States.

One more thing I want to add. Nearly 60% of Cubans are Catholics hence why the pope became involved. I find it hypocritical that many who claim they want more Christianity in schools and government involvement are now critical of the pope for doing just that. Does anyone seriously believe the pope is fond of Castro or is he just trying to look out for the people who follow him?

Taliban Inspect U.S. Aircraft Left Behind At Kabul Airport

There's been a lot of unnecessary fussing about Biden leaving military equipment behind in Afghanistan, Here's a Repost from 2021 showing why this is politically motivated false information.


Yeah sure we trained some of them how to repair aircraft.
Course they'll need the proper parts that fit each to do that :-)

Hey Washington Who Cares?

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I Don't Care....
Who's investigating who.
Who's getting reelected or not.
Who's political party can out spin the other.
Who goes to jail or not.
Which bozo gets the most airtime on TV.
That Donald still can't get enough praise.
Who can out BS the other during press briefings.
Who's leaking what.

Here's What I Give Crap About-- What Washington Isn't Doing For Us
These BS artists haven't taken up immigration nor gun reform. Nor addressed future Pension/Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security budget shortfalls. Addressed 47% of the workers making less then the wages needed to live modestly. Done nothing tangible whatsoever to lower the cost of medicine or medical healthcare. To make sincere efforts helping to lower criminal recidivism rates. The list goes on. I could name many more.

What Washington does best is hold hearings, They hold hearings on themselves. They hold hearings on anything and everything along with creating public committees to screw with John Q Public's head that their doing something. In the end these amount to nothing more then a prepared speech accompanied by the all too familiar photo op BS nonsense. Truth be told they do this specifically so they can avoid producing actual legislation.

Ever watch most of those videos where Senators and Representatives are putting on a show speaking in congress? Notice none of their colleagues are in their seats around them. If they're not listening to each and other-- why the hell would you think they'd be listening to what anyone else has to say.

Face it 90% of their time is spent self serving in putting on a show trying to get reelected. I mean really, are people so gullible as to believe congress couldn't fix drug prices, control healthcare costs and all the other crap in a heartbeat if it so desired?

There's plenty of fake to go around. Fake news. Fake politicians with faked outrage. The only thing real nothing is getting done. Promises are made if this or this or that person gets elected next time we'll resolve these problems. Yeah "next time". Well, if not, then maybe the "next time" with the one after that.

Meanwhile we suckers rush to the polls hoping someday somehow someone elected will make drug prices come down, healthcare become affordable and we will have a enough to retire. Scared that if we don't vote it will never happen.

Well here's a flash. Politicians will make sure it never does so they can continue to scare people into voting. Thus creating job security for themselves.

Talking Heads Drive Me Crazy When...

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.. conservatives constantly repeat over and over again what "those on the left" are thinking. Same goes for those on the left regarding those to the right and what they are thinking. I'm positive both sides have more then a adequate supply of hot air to speak for themselves.

Here a few clichés that should immediately cause people to disregard anything said after spouting the following....* "Those on the far left/far right..
* "Here's what all Liberals/Conservatives.."
* "Wingnuts/loons on the right/left.."
* "This is what Hitler/Natzis..."
* "Idiot Republicans/Democrats.."
* "What this President really believes.."
* etc, etc.It should be no wonder why most of those appearing on TV and the politicians themselves have law degrees. There's lots of tricks one can use in a debate. What each has in common is they are meant to belittle one's opponent. One of the most important lessons taught in schools of law is how to diminish an opponent's creditability.

There's no finer example then the scene in this film...


I am also acutely aware when I see these kind of debates in the media because of my experiences on this blog. 99% of the comments I get aren't about debating what I posted but rather personal attacks regarding my creditability. I block almost all of them. Hence why anyone coming to this blog will see so few of them.

The media makes a ton of money off this kind of discourse. It rarely serves to inform anyone. Rather it only serves to incite anger and further divisiveness. If they get a ratings boost when they do these type of debating antics they'll make more programs like them Which equates to more income for them.

I fail to see how this makes this country a better place when they air this kind of trash.

CLICK HERE or on the picture for more information from PBS-- "Wrath of the talking heads: How the ‘Outrage Industry’ affects politics"

U.S. Senate Doesn't "Represent" Democracy Very Well

Repost From 2021

Certainly not the larger half of "The Will Of The People" as Mitch McConell would try having us believe.

Call me radical, but I do not believe a minority of Senators should be able to block voting rights for millions of people.

But I guess I’m just from that far-left school of thought that legislation should pass when a majority of legislators vote for it https://t.co/NTtk28BwRs

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 23, 2021

minipost.com
U.S. Senate representation is deeply undemocratic—
and cannot be changed "But, according to the calculation of Ian Millhiser, writing for Vox, if you add up the population of states and assign half to each of their two senators, “the Democratic half of the Senate represents 41,549,808 more people than the Republican half.”

If a state has two senators from the same party, he assigns that state’s population number to that party. If a state has one senator from each party, he assigns half the population to each party."

Think of this another way. Delaware has a population of around 974,000 people. California has around 39,510,000 people. Yet both receive representation by two members each in the senate. Call this a constitutional flaw if you will.

As you can see AOC is justified complaining. Mitch and the republicans know full well they represent about 41 1/2 million fewer of the population then democrats in the senate. This is one of the reasons conservatives of all stripes continually bash AOC. Her continued outspokenness makes them uncomfortable as hell. She shakes things up they'd rather not have exposed.

I understand we are not a "direct democracy" but rather suppose to be a "representative democracy". But we aren't truly a  "representative democracy" in it's purest form either. Something to keep in mind next time Mitch claims he's only "representing the will of the American people". Well some of them maybe... not the majority he'd have us believe.

Now learn about the filibuster
This is how they killed the bill AOC was talking about

Washington D.C.- One Of America's Largest Retirement Communities

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Aug 7, 2023

Soon to be headquarters for some of our nation's largest billonaires
What could go wrong?

The Same Merry-Go-Round (Politics)

What The Radicals On The Left Still Believe

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The right to a decent home.
The right to adequate medical care.
The right to a good education.
This is FDR’s ‘Second Bill of Rights’ we’re still fighting for today. pic.twitter.com/gXs42SjhfQ

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) March 27, 2019

Pretty crazy ideas, eh?

#askthewhitehouse: Immigration Reform (Obama Adminstration)

Repost From 2019

Unlike Trump's Twitter feeds the Obama administration once hosted podcasts where people were allowed to interact with the White House directly. This one was on December 11, 2013 where Vice President Joe Biden and Cecilia Muñoz, the President's Domestic Policy Advisor, answered questions about immigration reform live via Skype. I think this one will give us a idea where Joe Biden stood on immigration.


We've all seen Trump speak a million times with reporters and at his rallies. How refreshing it would be to see him do one of these. My how times have changed!

If anyone's interested the Obama White House on YouTube still maintains a large archive.

Senate Passage: The bill was introduced by a bipartisan group of eight senators known as the "Gang of Eight" and passed the Senate on June 27, 2013, with a 68–32 vote. House Outcome: The Republican-led House of Representatives, under Speaker John Boehner, declined to bring the bill to a vote. It ultimately expired at the end of the 113th Congress.

Why I No Longer Argue Politics

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There is an actual physical reason based in the brain why rational reasoning with other humans is nearly impossible.

It's called "emotional addiction".

I really hope you've taken the time to watch the video. You'll see why the political turmoil is mostly based on emotional addictions caused by chemicals in the brain. Which means whether you're a conservative or a liberal you're up against another's addiction. It would be much like trying to take someone's heroin from them. An almost impossible task.

Think about that next time you see two sides going at it.

The Way Fox News Covered Obama

Send this video to Trump and claim that Fox is talking trash about him.

A Look Back At The War For Control Of The Supreme Court (REPOST)

An excellent primer on how we got where things are today.

Frontline PBS August 19, 2020


Seems this has been a contentiously partisan process for quite a while. We should not expect any thing less so now.