The evidence of Racism among the Trump administration and at least 2/3 of the Republican base is quite obvious and cannot be denied. 79% of Republican voters are still with him even after his response to events in Charlottesville and his pardoning of Joe Arpaio. His whole campaign was one racist litany after another.
Close to 44 million Republican voters are still behind this incompetent, dangerous, clown of a human being. This number represents 79% of Republican voters. 79%!!! The majority of the base of the Republican party is so radical, so racist, so un-Christian, so un-American. The Republican party is not a party for conservatives. It is not a party for the common American worker. If you think it is please share for me in the past 20 years anything this party has done for you.
What this party has done in the past 20 years is...
Take us into a war based on the falsehood that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We now know that they knew this not to be the case at the time but did so anyway.
Took a balanced Federal Budget where we actually had surpluses and were on the way to eliminating our Federal debt and gave us a tax rebate that really only helped the wealthiest Americans.
Took us to the brink of economic calamity in 2008 based largely upon their decision to repeal Glass–Steagall and to not oversee and regulate the housing, credit, insurance, and investment markets.
Spent the better part of 7 years telling falsehoods about the affordable care act. Yet when they finally had the opportunity to repeal and replace it could not.
Privatized much of our Federal prison system (with the assistance of some Democrats) and created a system of injustice for minorities.
Created systemic voter suppression, and gerrymandering of districts as a means of staying in power as they have a shrinking base and no real ideas for governing.
Continue to deny climate science as Houston sits under 50 inches of rain, and the planet moves closer to the point of no return.
Continue to trash and discredit the media.
A Question and a Reality Check
With 2/3 of Republican voters still behind Trump what exactly do you think Republican politicians are going to do?
The current Republican party is not dangerous because of Donald Trump. They are dangerous because we now are acutely aware of what 45 million people in their base believe and stand for.
This should rock you to your core. This is a party that is self-destructing. Unfortunately they are doing so in a manner that is going to take all of us down.
If you are a conservative with your head in the sand... pull it out and take a stand. History is judging you and your silence as we speak.
The good news is that 45 million racist Republicans only represent 20% of the electorate.
The bad news is 50% of the electorate is too busy to vote.
The good news is we still have this thing called the Constitution.
On Oct 16, 2016 I wrote a piece about what real political courage looks like.
This courage led to the loss of a block of southern states to the Democratic for more than a generation.
You see, Americans do not care much for history. When Americans do recite history it is generally a sanitized, milk-toast version written in a voice that is coma-inducing. We really do not know how many racists there are in America. It is just not something most Americans will own up to being. Being an overt racist has not been politically correct. That is until now.
We had overwhelming evidence long before the election that Trump was a racist. We have the dog-whistle racism of birtherism that no one on the right would denounce. When I say the "Right", I refer to both politicians and voters.
Today we do have an idea of how many racists or people that do not mind racists there are in America. The number is about 50 million. This is the number of loyal Republican/Trump voters that are still with him. Still with him in spite of the overwhelming evidence that he colluded with Russia in influencing our election. In spite of the overwhelming evidence of his ties to organized crime, to Russia an adversary and hostile foreign power, to criminal activity that includes money laundering.
Money laundering is something already on Trump's curriculum vitae. In 1998 Trump's casino ended up paying the Treasury Department a $477,000 fine for charges of money laundering he was facing. The plea bargain allowed him to pay without having to admit any liability under the Bank Secrecy Act. "Yes, little Mary and Kyle, poor Black and Hispanic men get hard time in Federal prison for simple possession of marijuana while rich people get fines that do not even amount to fair taxation for their crimes."
Anyhow, enough of Trump's litany of moral and ethical failures and back to our originally scheduled program. History overwhelmingly supports the following narrative.
The Democrats were the party of Slavery, this is a fact!
A Republican led President ended slavery. This too a fact, as are all items that follow.
For 100 years, until the civil rights act we oppressed African Americans.
In the 1960's Democrats did the right moral and ethical thing and stood up to the actions of other racist Democrats.
Republicans used this opportunity to take control of a large block of southern states.
Since the civil rights era of the 1960's we have continued to practice a form of dog-whistle racism that we have politically institutionalized from our prison system to our system of education.
The racism we are experiencing today is not some new phenomena. Racism is baked into the fiber and being of American culture. A culture that so many on the right practice. A culture many on the left deprioritize and often work politically with Republicans to create legislation that serves to further server to oppress minorities.
It is time to throw away this cake and once and for all end the civil war. This does not need to be a war of violence though there has been and there will continue to be violence. This is a struggle for decency and what is just and moral. In this fight we are taking on about 50 million of are fellow citizens. Many are homophobic, racist, and really do not care much for Democracy.
Though I think darker days are still ahead we will prevail because we are the majority. I want you to burn this day into your memory. 59% of the Republican base agreed with Trumps comments comparing Neo-Nazis to protestors against Neo-Nazis. This is 40 million Republican voters. That number is sobering but should not come as a surprise to anyone if we examine history.
History will judge each and every one of us as we struggle through these times. Struggle to fight for the principles of decency and the foundation of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. The choice is yours. Be wise. Be decent. Be just. Do not be afraid to speak the truth.
One of the favorite shows this pessimist likes to watch is CBS News Sunday Morning. It is usually a nice mix of positive and uplifting stories. This morning they did a story on automation. They showed a company that has already drove a driver-less truck across Colorado. They sat in the cab of a long haul semi-truck that was being driven by a robot cruising down the interstate. They showed the Amazon store in Seattle that you can go into, shop, and never encounter a store worker.
Sound cool?
Today we have 3.5 million truckers, 600,000 Uber drivers, 180,000 taxi drivers. We have millions of grocery store workers. Automation and AI is here today. It is estimated that close to 50% of our jobs could be lost to automation by 2025.
[source]
We also have millions of people working in part time retail jobs trying to make ends meet. These were jobs back when I was a young boy that were full-time and allowed a person to work and support an entire family. What happened?
In 1870 50% of people worked in agriculture. By 1900 this number was 33%. 20% by 1950. Today 2% work in agriculture. [source] Ironically there is a trend back to small farming operations.
Manufacturing and mining jobs have been largely been replaced by automation.
When computers came on the scene there was great concern that jobs would be lost. Word processing led to the end of typewriters. Streaming video has replaced video stores that did not have a long lifespan to begin with. But, since the advent of the computer millions of jobs and many new occupations have arrived.
It is hard to predict the macro movements of our civilization. Change is inevitable.
What is certain is that change impacts our lives. What is a 45 year old that has spent the bulk of their life as a driver supposed to do if their job is lost to automation? Throughout the rust belt we can find communities that have adapted and changed with the times and our thriving. We can find other towns that have not been able to adapt where a large percentage of people live in poverty and despair.
Society is "the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community." Our society is seemingly becoming more and more survival of the fittest. The response to all this change is what we have typically done throughout history... try to redirect and blame those that do not look like us. Redirect and deflect blame where it does not belong.
What is the true measure of a society? What is the true measure of a person?
...either that or the end of Democracy as we know it. ...
Trump is and has been behaving like someone that is guilty. This is most likely because he is. His connections and behavior to Russia is overwhelming and we have not even gotten to what the Grand Jury will reveal. Many people will likely be going to prison including Trump himself.
There are going to be enough Republicans that ultimately vote to impeach Trump. His Presidency has been a disaster. Trump is out for Trump and the reality is that 62,984,825 people voted for this guy. 16 people ran for President in the Republican party. He crushed them all. What does this say about the Republican Party?
For 8+ years the Republican party has sold their base a line of total horse shit and lies about the ACA. They now own all 3 branches of government and they cannot repeal the ACA because they realize that the ACA has done and is doing good for 16 million of our fellow Americans. They have nothing to replace it with.
This is party with no vision and not a single good idea I can point to (leave a comment for any good ideas they have that I may have missed. I won't be holding my breath)
Whatever this party does they will likely lose enough of their base that their demise is inevitable. I take no solace in saying this. America is at its best when we have our two political parties healthy and thriving.
Frankly, the Republican party needs to stop appealing to haters and racists and the segment of immoral religious zealots masquerading as Christians. I am not speaking about all evangelical Christians. Many are friends of mine and they are fine people with good moral values. I am talking about people like Pastor Kevin Swanson, Ralph Reed, and other leaders and followers that preach a false gospel of hate.
While this party is getting its shit together or another party emerges to replace them some of the elected leaders could switch over to the Democratic party. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby was once a Democrat. People in the same party do not need to agree with one another on every policy matter. Compromise is key in any Democracy.
I cannot speak for Democratic voters embracing some of these people to join. Over in Democrat land there is a movement brewing to replace the old guard with a more progressive group that is more in tune with where the base of this party wants to go.
Liberals, Conservatives, and Moderates do not need to agree on everything. We do need to unite on the ties that bind us. Affordable health care is one of these matters. Abiding by a Democratic process is another.
It is time to broaden our focus from Trump to the Republican party as a whole. Are they really working in the interests of working class people?
When the ACA (Obamacare) was passed it was done in an open and public process. Here are the facts
After the bill was released to the House and to the public a month long markup ensued with 160 Republican amendments.
The Senate health committee spent nearly 60 hours over the course of 13 days marking up the bill
The Senate Finance Committee held 53 meetings about the ACA and an eight-day markup of the bill. The longest markup for the committee in over 20 years.
The Senate Finance Committee committee considered 130 amendments and held 79 roll-call votes.
There were 44 hearings and public events about the plan in the Senate alone.
The bill was signed into law in March 2010, 8 months after it emerged from committee in the House.
These facts are also available in the Congressional record.
Now, for the current repeal of the ACA and replacement with the AHCA (Trumpcare) which is a hodge-podge of multiple versions of a bill that the CBO estimates that anywhere from 16 million to 32 million Americans will lose coverage. May I also remind you that Trump ran on replacing the ACA with a bill that would cost less, cover more people and provide better coverage.
House version of the bill done in a partisan manner.
Two House committees conducted markups of the bills simultaneously.
Representatives voted within 48 hours of the bill’s release to the public. They did not even wait to see the CBO report.
Senate leaders went behind closed doors with 13 Republican Senetors to create their own version of the AHCA. They would not even let their own members see the bill.
Republicans brought multiple versions of the bill to the floor to vote on without an time for public review or for debate. This debacle is happening as I write this. John McCain even chastised his party for their partisan effort and lack of transparency.
So, let us cut through the bullshit and examine these facts. Irrespective of what you think of either bill which process seems Democratic to you? Not a heavy lift to answer this question.
Moving on. Popularity of the ACA is currently over 50%. Popularity for the AHCA (Republican/Trumpcare) is anywhere from the teens to 27% (Fox News Poll). Hmmmmm, is the AHCA fulfilling the wishes of the majority of working class Americans? Again, the answer here is not a heavy lift.
Republican voters, please join the rest of us and do what is right. Call your Senator and give them an earful. Only takes 10 minutes out of your day and could save the life of one of your neighbors or family members.
(202)225-3121
For the 47 million or so Christians that voted for Trump I would encourage you to read and pray on two verses.
Mark 8:36
Matthews 25:40
Imagine you lived a hundred or so years ago as a buggy maker or a blacksmith. Horseless carriages were arriving on the scene. Electric, gas, steam powered. They were expensive toys for the wealthy. They did not fair well on mushy dirt roads. But still, you had some angst about what the future might hold and how you would work to feed yourself and your family if these inventions ever took off.
I wonder how many people back then could envision an interconnected Federal highway system and interstate. How many had any idea that the gas engine would prevail. Who understood that the entire world economy would be based upon petroleum? Doubtful but a few, if even that many.
Who knew the environmental problems carbon based fuels would create? Problems that threaten the very existence of our planet.
Today we are at the beginning of the new automobile. It is called AI. It is already here and no matter what we try to do it is not going away. Because hindsight is always 20-20, and the way forward is done largely in the dark. We really have no idea what the future holds.
Like the blacksmith of yesterday how many taxi drivers, delivery people, and long haul truckers are contemplating what they will do to feed themselves and their families when self-driving vehicles become the norm? How many other businesses and services that support these people will fall by the wayside? How long to I have before this wave of innovation takes root?
Change is always a certainty of any time. Most change is slow and deliberate. We have time to prepare. Time to react. Time to adapt.
But there are times in the course of human history that hit us like a flash flood in the desert. This is one of those times.
The Birth of Artificial Intelligence has already occurred and the infant is healthy and growing up and doing so much faster than our own children and grandchildren.
We have already arrived at a time where digital electronics can be embedded into a human body and interact with our brains.
Today we are able to collect and store data in a capacity that is virtually without limitation (aka Big Data). That data can be mined, analyzed, and computers without the aid of humans can work in capacities that can serve us. They also can (and do) manipulate us.
Take Facebook as an example. There are two billion of us that participate in this online universe with varying frequencies. Take a step back and contemplate your relationship with Facebook. You might think you are the customer. You would be dead wrong. Customers buy things. You are not a Facebook customer. You are the Facebook product!
Further, Facebook places us into various bubbles. The ads and news feeds you see are based upon the things you post, your attitudes, the attitudes and opinions of your friends. You may have noticed that ads that you see are even related to things you did outside of Facebook. Every thing you post, everything you like, every group you join is recorded, stored in perpetuity and analyzed. All of us on Facebook are subject to manipulation. Did you know that Google personalizes search result based upon who you are. The degree to which we allow ourselves to be manipulated really becomes the question. You are being manipulated by software developers like me.
Ever take the Myers Briggs, or Keirsey Temperament Sorter? I remember how pissed off I was the first time I did. I answered a handful of questions and this formulaic assessment had my number dialed right in! Now imagine how much more data Facebook has on you to make similar assessments and to understand how you are wired.
AI is already here and working to manipulate us. If we were to compare AI to life forms, todays AI is still at the zygote stage. The Facebook zygotes have the ability to place us of into the various bubbles they think we belong. Diversity be damned.
Now if this may sound like gloom and doom I am trying to preach it is not. The last time I checked most of us have the ability to make our own choices. This is the most important point for you to understand and be aware of each and every day.
AI is not going away. It will become even more powerful, and the pace at which this is going to happen will be somewhat mind blowing. AI is going to profoundly change our lives and our society. Actually it already has. We have highly intelligent people behind vehicles moving down our roads at high speeds while texting profound things like "lol see ya soon." Intelligent people who momentarily decide to act like fools and endanger the lives of their fellow humans so they can text some message that really can wait until they park the car. Yet, I digress with my texting rant.
AI, though a child, already is being used to exploit us. If you think about societies that do not function well there is always one predominant trait that stands out.
Us vs Them...
Conservative | Liberal
Urban | Rural
Mix in with this a healthy dose of fear, hatred, and stereotyping and we have a mixed a powerful elixir of manipulation.
I am having a hard time believing this is where we all want to be. This is certainly where we are headed. The choice is still your... at least for now.
Please keep in mind I am leaving out a whole lot of other pertinent facts. What is presented should suffice.
Trump appointed Michael Flynn as his National Security Advisor. President Obama advised President Trump not to appoint Flynn to anything. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates briefed the Trump Administration that National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn was compromised and they ignored this until it was reported in the press. Flynn resigned. Trump blamed the media for his resignation. Prior to the election Flynn was pictured at a Russian State dinner seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If you are not shocked by this set of facts you should read it over and over until it rattles your bones.
Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, is the majority owner of the Bank of Cyprus which is accused of laundering money for Russian oligarchs.
Prior to the election Trump sold Russian fertilizer king, Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev a property in Florida. Trump denied that they had ever met. On two campaign stops Rybolovlev's plane was seen at the same airport at the same time the Trumps plane was there.
Trump's pick of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. Trump and Tillerson had never met before his nomination. Tillerson has ties to Russian State oil and has been a guest on numerous occasions at Putin's personal residence.
Trumps first campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was doing business with pro Russian leader of the Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych. Victor Yanukovych has close ties to Vladimir Putin. Record for a 10 million dollar payment paid to Manafort was found in a secret ledger that was found in
Yanukovych's personal residence after he fled the Ukraine for Russia.
Jeff Sessions said under oath during his Senate Hearing for Attorney General:
"I had no communications with the Russians." This was a lie. He had multiple meetings during the campaign with the Russians. We are supposed to accept that he just forgot about having meeting with Russian government official shortly after we find out that the Russian government was trying to influence our election?
Jerrod Kushner tried to setup a secret back channel with the Russian government. The Republican parties response to this was that we setup back channels with foreign governments all the time. Really, we setup secret back channels with foreign governments right after we determine that they were trying to influence our election? We are supposed to think this is a plausible explanation.
We are supposed to believe that "There is no there, there"???
Russia meddled in our 2016 election. This is not speculation. This is the finding of our US Intelligence agencies. During the time they were doing this we now know that members of Trumps team were meeting with Russians. They want us to believe that this was just a coincidence?
It is a fact that Trump tried to discredit our intelligence agencies during the period when these facts were coming out in the news.
It is a fact Trump has for a long time continually tried to discredit the media as being fake news. The New York Times, The Washington Post. CNN, NBC, ABC. Fake news?
Trump has yet to condemn the Russians involvement in our election, or say anything critical of Vladimir Putin. This is likely because Trump too is compromised by Russia. Here is an exchange from an episode of the Howard Stern show back in 2000 between Trump, Benza (A gossip columnist), and Stern.
"Trump: I assume A.J.’s clean. I hope he’s clean. Benza: Meanwhile, he bangs Russian people… Stern: Russian people? Trump: Who are you talking about, Russian people, A.J.? I don’t know anything. Benza: He used to call me when I was a columnist and say, “I was just in Russia, the girls have no morals, you gotta get out there.” [Trump’s] out of his mind."
And the following is from a dossier commissioned and written by a former British MI6 intelligence agent, Christopher Steele. It should be noted that many items listed in this dossier have already been corroborated. "Former top Russian intelligence officer claims FSB has compromised TRUMP through his activities in Moscow sufficiently to be able to blackmail him. According to several knowledgeable sources, his conduct in Moscow has included perverted sexual acts which have been arranged/monitored by the FSB."
We know that Trump had a private and unprecedented dinner with FBI Director James Comey. Comey kept notes of their dinner and other encounters and shared them with other leaders in the FBI. Comey testified that Trump said to him:
"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go"
Comey also testified that Trump asked him for an oath of allegience.
We know that Trump said the following to NBC's Lester Holt. "And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said 'you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won'."
...And we are to believe that he fired the director of the FBI who was investigating him, confessed to Lester Holt that he did so over the "Russia thing" and this is not obstruction of justice how? Well it is obstruction of justice and after we establish motive the curtain had better drop!
We also know that Intelligence Director Dan Coats, NSA Director Admiral Rodgers, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused to answer questions during the Senate hearing without any legal grounds for doing so. So when did it become okay not to answer questions under oath without a legal basis?
This is just stunning. Stunning.
But, "There is no there, there" Really?
We are a nation of laws. No one in this country is above the law. No one! Our elected leaders take an "oath to defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic." New citizens are required to take a similar oath. Justice needs to be served. Return to your seats and buckle up as we are about to experience some more expected turbulence.
Pick up the phone at least once a week and call your member of Congress to let them know that you are paying attention and expect a fair investigation.
The stock market has been going up for the past 8 years. For those of you that are not that familiar with the stock market, when it is going up it is referred to as a bull market.
Eight years ago stocks and real estate were in dire straits. We were shedding jobs at an unprecedented rate. The average retirement fund was down about 30%. People that had diligently saved during their work careers woke up to find their retirement savings down 1/3! Poof gone. We had millions of Americans that lost their jobs and many of them never really recovered back to the economic state they were in before the great recession.
In the history of the stock market this is the first time that a bull market has lasted 8 years. The stock market is very cyclical and a typically long bull markets will last four years.
When we look back at history for the periods of the greatest social chaos it follows periods when society has gone through a serious economic downturns. It is during these periods that Authoritarian rulers rise to power and the mass populace tends to lose their collective sense of ethics and morality.
What is scary now is that we are already in such a period here in the US and many places abroad. Today our markets are doing well. Actually, they are doing a bit too well considering both the economic and political climates.
When the markets take a turn for the worst it is sobering to think who we have as our leader in the White House. There was a perfect storm of events that placed the gravest threat to our Democracy and civilization into the oval office. There is another perfect storm brewing with respect to the current economic bubble we are in. If it bursts and this may well be the year it does...
I want to document this as it is something we can easily lose sight of with all that is unfolding and it is a very big deal.
Today the head of the NSA, Admiral Mike Rogers (Active duty military) and the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats would not invoke executive privilege and both claimed that they had no legal basis for not answering basic questions from the Senate intelligence committee that is investigating Russia's influence into our Presidential election.
The questions they refused to answer pertained to whether or not President Trump tried to get them to intervene in the on-going investigation.
This is shocking, stunning, just hard to get my head wrapped around. A Senate hearing has the same force as court of law. These two men swore an oath to tell the and to defend the Constitution. When asked if the President tried to intervene in an on-going investigation they said they did not invoke executive privilege with the President, claim to not have any legal basis for not answering the question, but still refused to publicly answer the question.
Let us be crystal clear. All government workers and elected leaders take an oath to defend and uphold the constitution. Not answering these questions without legal basis is not upholding that duty. Their job is not defend and uphold the person in the White House. Their oath is uphold our constitution.
So let's recap.
1) Two heads our intelligence community refuse to PUBLICLY answer questions if our President tried to intervene in an on-going investigation into collusion by a foreign power in our election. 2) Neither of these individuals had a legal basis for not answering. 3) Duh, the investigation that is on-going involves our President and his Administration
If it quacks like a duck it must be a duck.
This is not okay. If we allow people not to answer questions because the just do not feel like it without any recourse we have crossed a very dangerous line. Please call the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr (202) 224-3121 asap and tell him so.
Commander John Murphy tells his cold war stories between us and the Soviet Union from the sixties and seventies. I can also tell you that much of the same continued into the 1980's during my time in the Navy. Here is an excerpt from Commander Murphy.
"Technically speaking – any Cold War naval vessel was a potential spy ship, but the Soviet ships that were of the greatest concern to the U.S. Navy were those pesky, little, decrepit looking fishing trawlers that were interfering with naval operations worldwide. We called them AGIs (Auxiliary General Intelligence). The Soviets simply called them 'trawlers' For the last 30+ years Russian trawlers known as AGI's sit in international waters at least 10 miles out to sea on our Eastern and Western shores. The have massive attenna farms and their primary mission is to collect intelligence."
I can personally attest to it's validity as I was a sailor in the submarine service during most of the Reagan Administration. It was during the final crescendo with the arms race we had with the Soviets. This race essentially bankrupted the Soviet economy and was one of the key events that led to its dissolution.
I know all about these AGI's as I was our boats primary electronic surveillance operator. I also served as the ships intelligence office as a collateral duty.
People that hang off your coast collecting information on your movements are not a friend or ally. And, in fairness, we did the exact same thing to them. We are not friends. Our efforts back in the day led to fall of the Soviet Union. We won the cold war. What was known as the iron curtain fell and the Soviet Union was officially dissolved in 1991. Russia was the leader of the Soviet Union. They controlled the iron curtain.
Fast forward 26 years. Today Russia is led by former Soviet Union KGB agent Vladimir Putin. He served as a translator (official title) in East Germany during the time when Easy Germany fell. Today the battle field has switched to cyberwar. The Soviets have some of the best black hat hackers on the planet. These people work at the pleasure of Mr Putin and they are damn good at what they do. They had no problem hacking into Democratic servers. They have hacked into numerous government and corporate servers. I suspect they have some pretty nasty shit on President Trump which is why he is so reluctant to say anything bad about them.
Mr. Putin is paying us back. His objective is to destroy our way of life as we did to the Soviet Union
back in the late eighties.To fully understand the gravity of what is happening right now and why it is such a big f'ing deal is to understand the history between our two countries over the last 65+ years. A good introductory history of the cold war can be read at.
Understanding history is important. I got to experience this history first hand in the military.
Markets and Business have been making the move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. This trend is not going to change with President tRump taking us out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Many of you think that we may only have to suffer this man for four years. His decisions are going to impact our country for much longer than this.
America, despite our problems, has been a country that other countries look to for leadership. We are seeing the dismantling of this. 195 countries felt climate change was important enough to come together on this subject. Only Syria and Nicaragua did not sign the agreement. We now join them.
Our withdrawal removes us from the leadership role we had on the issue that is the greatest existential threat to humanity. Who will step up? Russia, China, France? We can now be certain that it will no longer be us.
There is so much crooked shit going down in the Republican led White House and Congress it is hard to keep up. Here is latest on the Republican-Trump-Russia alliance. Before reading the latest I would encourage you to read or re-read my first expose on the Republican-Trump-Russia alliance.
If we want to get rid of this clown of a President this is the subject area as nothing threatens the very foundation of our Democracy more than this. Put on your seat belts and brace for the ride. Here is the time line we now have.
1-26-2017 Yates warned White House counsel Donald McGahn that Trumps National Security Advisor Mike "lock her up" Flynn might be “compromised” by Russia. Are we to assume that McGahn did not brief the President on this matter? Of course he did. The next day...
1-26-2017 ...Trump signs a hastily written travel ban order. Was this done in an attempt to possibly incite AG Yates? The next day...
1-28-2017 ...Flynn takes part in a conference call between President Trump and his boss Vladimir Putin. Also on the call Reince Priebus, Mike Pence, Sean Spicer, and Steve Bannon. Nothing fucking unusual or coincidental here two days after the McGahn briefing by Yates. The next day...
1-28-2017 Trump signed an executive order elevating Bannon to the National Security Council and removing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence. This is a move most found rather unusual and is unprecedented. Now, it does not seem so unusual does it? Two days later...
1-30-2017 Yates is fired as acting attorney general. Hmmmm... all these coincidences coming from the most corrupt Administration and indecent human beings we have seen in quite some time. Oh, and let us not forget Trump's constant barrage of the media as fake news. The Administration thinks they have dodged a major bullet aimed at exposing their deceit and corruption. With Yates out of the picture things are quiet for a while on this front. But do not underestimate the will of the American people and the 5th estate to get to the truth.
2-13-2017 Flynn resigns amid pressure after the Washington Post reported that Yates had warned the White House counsel about Flynn. The real question is why did it take the White House 18 days to seek Flynn's resignation. That is really not a tough question to answer.
A) The media reporting the leak forced their hand;
B) All of them knew exactly what Flynn was doing. For goodness sakes people, how many Trump people do we need connected to Russia before we conclude the obvious? The very next day...
2-14-2017 The New York Times reports that intercepted phone calls showed Trump’s campaign team and other campaign associates, including Flynn and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort had been in regular contact with senior Russian intelligence officials a year before the election. The Trump Administration continue to lie and downplay the incident.
2-15-2017 Chief of staff Reince Priebus asked FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe what the agency knew about Russian ties to the Trump campaign. McCabe had told Priebus that the previous day’s New York Times report was wrong, and the White House chief of staff asked the law enforcement officials to push back on reports linking Trump associates to Russia. Both Comey and McCabe decline to publicly comment on the matter.
Let us pause for a minute here. We now have have hindsight on our side, and hindsight is 20-20. We now know that there is an active investigation into the Trump campaigns possible collusion with the Russian government during the election. Why would McCabe, the second in command at the FBI advise Chief of Staff Priebus "to push back on reports linking Trump associates to Russia"? [Update: Comey was fired as the FBI Director on 5-9-2017 and McCabe is now in Charge]
2-20-2017 Mike Pence, who knows about Flynn's involvement with Russia lies in answering a question about Flynn.
3-1-2017 Justice Department officials revealed Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke twice
with the Russia ambassador the previous year. He was asked about this in his hearing and
lied!
3-2-2017 The Wall Street Journal reports that AG Sessions used campaign funds to travel to
the Republican National Convention where he meets with Russian ambassador Kislyak,
contradicting Trump administration lies that his conversations with the Russian ambassador were in his role as a U.S. Senator. How are we supposed to know when the Trump administration is lying? Simple... are their lips moving or tRrumps stubby little thumbs are moving.
3-1-2017 Sessions calls a ill planned news conference to announce that he has recused himself from overseeing the probe of Trump-Russia ties. He only does this amid the reporting that has come out that they cannot deny because the evidence is black and white. Wait, listen, can you hear the sound of the swamp being drained.
3-1-2017 Devin Nunes, head of the House Intelligence committee responsible for investing Russia's involvement in our election urges reporters to “be careful” about contacting Russian embassies to comment on possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia.
3-7-2017 Trump accuses his predecessor, President Barack Obama, of wiretapping Trump Tower just ahead of the election. Comey and former CIA Director James Clapper both denied the president’s allegations. Nunes was a Trump campaign staffer. More fucking swamp draining sounds. Getting hard to hear oneself think.
3-20-2017 FBI Director Comey confirms under oath before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI has been investigating possibly coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian Government since July of 2016. This begs asking the question why Directory Comey publicly came out 11 days before the election that the FBI was looking into newly discovered emails from Clinton's server found on Anthony "the gift that keeps on giving" Weiner's estranged wifes laptop. We find out 3 days before the election that nothing new if found.
Clinton wins the popular vote by 3 million votes but loses the electoral college by losing 3 states by a total of 80,000 voters from a handful of counties that went for Obama. Comey does not tell the public about the Trump investigation. Why? We are supposed to believe that this election was fair?
In all fairness to Comey this letter was leaked hours after it was received by the Republicans that received this letter. You know the ones always bitching about leaks :-).
3-21-2017 Flynn confidants, Ellis and Ezra Cohen-Watnick, still under employee with Trump, share classified documents with Nunes that showed Trump and his associates were incidentally swept up in foreign surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies. To get these in true Inspector Clouseau fashion Nunes is busted showing up at the White House in the dead of night. Then he returns the next day to hold a press conference at the White House revealing these findings in order to help vindicate crooked President Trump. The documents turn out to be totally fabricated. But, does this really matter? Why would someone who is supposed to be in a different branch of government, leading an investigation into Russian influence in our election do this?
A. He is an idiot.
B. He is bought and sold by the crooked Trump Administration.
C. He has access to intelligence on Trump and knows the truth.
D. He has involvement in this scandal.
E. All of the above.
The most correct answer is likely E. Wait, hear that sound. Swamp draining.
3-24-2017 Nunes abruptly canceled House Intelligence Committee hearings hours after the former acting attorney general, Sally Yates, notified the White House she would testify about Flynn.
3-30-2017 Flynn offers his testimony on possible Trump campaign ties to Russia in exchange for immunity, but the FBI and congressional investigators declined. This is a thread that will likely bare more fruit as things evolve.
4-5-2017 Bannon is removed from the National Security Council, and the CIA director, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and director of national intelligence are back in.
4-6-2017 Nunes steps down from leading the House investigation into Russia influencing our election.
4-8-2017
Lying sack of shit and Melissa McCarthy impersonator, Sean Spicer, holds a press conference prior to Yates testifying and continues the total bullshit spin in the land of alternative facts. This is must see TV.
4-8-2017 In an attempt to divert the news cycle the Trump Administration releases that we may need to ramp up the War in Afghanistan.
4-8-2017 Sally Yates testifies and tells us that the Trump Administration knew Flynn was in deep with the Ruskies.
The testimony was fucking stunning. Here is a taste.
When weighing evidence to determine guilt or innocence here is the legal standard for "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" "The standard that must be met by the prosecution's evidence in a criminal prosecution: that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty."
Still waiting for that logical explanation.
How much more evidence do we need people? Why are these people still in the White House? We need more outrage over this. Among all the big deals this really should be in the top spot.
We have a Republican President that has a thin skin and a need to constantly seek approval and validation. He is charge of the worlds largest military.
He first bombed a Syrian airbase to praise and accolades from the media and many Democrats.
Next, we used for the first time an 11 ton non-nuclear bomb, dropping it on a position of tunnels in a remote area of Afghanistan. The bomb is called MOAB, short for "Mother of All Bombs."
We now have a carrier group heading toward the Korean peninsula. It is believed that the North Koreans have short and mid range nuclear weapons ready to go. Weapons that can reach South Korea, Japan and other American allies. The North Korean dictator like the American Republican dictator...errr...President is not a rational actor. Neither have any coherent sense of world affairs or diplomacy.
North Korea is a well armed military state with 1,000,000 active members in their military. They also have nuclear grade weapons materials and facilities to keep making more. They have short range, medium range, and long range missiles. They have yet to test their long range missiles. We are not 100% certain if they can currently put together their nuclear weapons with their missiles. Certainly they are actively working on their nuclear weapons systems.
As a US carrier group heads for the Korean peninsula in a showdown between two unstable leaders consider this.
Kim Jong-un is aware that...
Our Republican President just bombed Syria.
Our Republican President just bombed Afghanistan.
Our Republican President wants him removed from power.
Two unstable leaders facing off. What could possibly go wrong?
WARNING THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC, DISTURBING PROFOUND IMAGES
I am tired of War. Trump authorized the launch of 59 missiles at the Syrian Airbase where the planes took off that dropped chemical weapons on it's own people. Killing innocent citizens by any means has no justification ever! But, our response did nothing to help the people being brutalized by Syria's brutal dictator.
The missiles we launched alone cost us 30 million dollars. How many starving children would $30,000,000 million dollars feed? Brian Williams spoke of the launch in terms that made it sound like he was looking at a breathtaking sunset or the Northern lights. Fareed Zakaria, whom I have great respect, said that Trump had finally become the President. The media largely applauded the act. There was widespread Bi-Partisan support for the attack.
The evening of the bombing the Syrian air force sent planes off on yet another bombing mission of its own citizens from the airstrip we bombed. To quote former President Bush, "Mission Accomplished."
The media at large is totally derelict when it comes to war. We have been in perpetual war since 2001. Spent over 2 trillion dollars. Where we are today in the Middle East with our efforts? Are people in that region free? What exactly have we accomplished?
Images of kids being gassed woke many of you up. War is not the solution. If the damn media did its job we would likely not be at war today. War is not some abstract thing. This is what war looks like. Every day we are at war this is what it looks like.
When you are interviewing Republican bullshit artists (aka Politicians) on your shows and they use discredited, untruthful talking points like...
"Obamacare is collapsing under it's own weight"
"The government has never created a job"
"Climate change is still unsettled science"
...and just about anything else that we hear when their lips are moving.
Instead of asking your next hard hitting question that they have no intention of answering, how about calling them out on their bullshit talking point. When you let them state nonsense and then move on you only...
Encourage them to continue to spew their false bullshit.
Allow viewers to keep hearing said bullshit over and over, uncontested, and it gets to a point where many people only remember the bullshit one-liners.
Demonstrate what a crappy interviewer you actually are.
Give them a free commercial for their nonsense.
Did you not go to college and get a degree in journalism? Did they not teach you when someone says something devoid of facts to...
Cite what the facts are for them.
Reiterate their talking point and state that their statement would seem to be in conflict with the facts.
Ask them what their sources are to backup their talking points. (and be prepared to call them out on the bullshit sources they cite. Most do not even come prepared with sources as they know how lame y'all are)
Mike Wallace is rolling over in his grave every time y'all do this. Do you damn job or get into another line of work.
During the last years of the Obama Administration Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died and for 10 months the Republican Senate leader refused to allow a vote for his replacement in an act that obstructed the advise and consent rule found in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of our Constitution. The democratic parties response to this obstruction was tepid at best.
Our Democracy failed for all Americans.
A party who shaped our current Supreme Court that led to "Citizens United" (sic) that now allows money to be counted as free speech. Considers corporations as people, and gutted the main provisions in the Voting Rights Act leading to states currently with Republican majorities to enact laws that led to voter suppression. Now, we are going to add to our Supreme Court another judge that based on his body of court decisions favors big business and special interests over working class citizens?
And, in terms of filibustering his nomination we still have 10 Senators undecided (as of today, ironically April Fools day) in supporting the filibuster.
Sen. Mark Warner (Virginia)
Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (California)
Sen. Jon Tester
Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana)
Sen. Bob Menendez (New Jersey)
Sen. Angus King (Maine)
Sen. Michael Bennet (Colorado)
Sen. Pat Leahy (Vermont)
Sen. Ben Cardin (Maryland)
What point is having a Democracy if only one of our two majority politic
We have evolved in profound ways technologically. Human emotions and attitudes are evolutionary.
It is the responsibility of free societies as a whole to determine what is and is not acceptable behavior. As individuals it is our obligation and a matter of personal responsibility to decide how we are going to think and behave. Sometimes in the face of societal norms this can be easier said than done.
Whether you are pass this bill or not tomorrow your political future is coming to a close. Your presumption that you have some mandate to deny 24 million of our fellow working class Americans is factually wrong.
Trump the candidate ran on implementing a health care plan that would a.) make healthcare better that the Affordable Care Act; b) cover more people than the Affordable Care Act; c) be cheaper the Affordable Care Act.
Trump won the electoral college which consists of only 538 people. He lost the popular vote by almost 3 million Americans that do not want the Affordable Care Act repealed. There are millions of Republican voters that do not want the Affordable Care Act repealed.
Those my friend are indisputable facts. A majority of the American public DO NOT want you to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But you or your party really do not care what working class families want.
You are an opportunist aligning yourself with a President that lied to his voters about health care to get elected. He LIED about something that is a matter of life and death for 24 million working class Americans.
If you pass this people are going to DIE! People have stood up at Town halls telling their heart wrenching stories to this affect. You Sir are nothing more than a bought and sold politician that could care less about the average working class citizens. Your actions demonstrate and the actions of the vast majority of your party demonstrate this.
Every damn day it is something new and beyond belief coming from the corrupt Republican Party.
FBI Director James Comey tells the Senate that Trump and his campaign are under active investigation and has been since last July for potential connections to the Russian government that we know purposely influenced our election in favor or Trump. [Source]
These charges amount to TREASON. The Republican response to this in the hearing is to basically ignore these charges. The response from the Republican party is milk-toast, head in the sand. Nothing happening here.
All the while our crooked, lying Republican President continues to not talk to the press. Continues to refer to the media as dishonest and crooked and fake. Y'all, want fake news head on over to Breitbart and Fox News and listen to the propagandist bullshit they are peddling. Then take a jog over to RT (Russian Television) News and watch and see the similarities between the three. Actually, you will likely find Russian Television being more objective than Fox and Breitbart. I am actually being serious here.
In the mean time Mr. "objectivity", Chairman Nunez, who is leading the committee conducting the investigation on the Trump administration is also briefing Trump on the investigation. No conflict of interest here. No need for an independent committee. [source]
Republican Leaders and Legislators maybe you should put up a picture of Putin next to the one of Trump in your offices.
When 9/11 happened all Americans came together. Today our very Democracy is threatened by Russia. Russia,the former Soviet Union, a power we were in a cold war with for over 40 years.
We know they compromised our election from the Presidential race to the down ballot races. Each day it is becoming more likely that the Trump campaign was in collusion with them. The Republican response from the leaders to Republican voters is frankly lame and Un-American.
This moderate knows who the real partisans are. Republican voters, leaders, and legislator's are showing their true colors during this chilling time. Party over Country. Sadly, your own elected officials continue to screw you over. And, you continue to support them.
To my liberal friends and neighbors. Rock on. You and our Judicial branch are the last lines of defense we have left.
Thank you. I am fortunate to be working with you on these most disturbing developments.
According to FBI Director Comey there has been an active investigation on the Trump campaign and their possible ties to Russia influencing our election since early last July. Why then did Comey come out 11 days before the election saying the investigation on Clinton's email server was again active but did not mention that the Trump campaign was under investigation?
First Talking Point: 14 Million People lose coverage in the first year alone.
By next year 14 million people will lose their health care coverage. 24 million will lose coverage by 2026. [2]
14 million people! Let me put this number in perspective for you. 14 million people is about 60,000 people short of the entire population of the following 10 states: [4]
Kansas
Nebraska
West Virginia
Idaho
Maine
New Hampshire
Montana
Alaska
North Dakota
Wyoming
Think about this... 14 million people losing heath care adds up to every person from all of these states losing their health care.
Now consider that real people in this population of 14 million are going to die because they do not have health care. This is a statistical inevitability! If only 1/10th of 1% die, not at all a far fetched number, that amounts to 14,000 of our friends and family.
And just like the days before the Affordable Care Act, once again many families will be bankrupted trying to save their loved ones because they cannot get and/or afford health care coverage.
Frankly, we could stop right here on this point alone. But we have two more important points to cover.
Second Talking Point: The CBO scored 337 billion in savings is actually a tax rebate that robs people that need health care the most and gives it back predominantly to the top 1% income earners. [2]
There was no mandate for this!
Republican President Trump ran on... “We’re going to have insurance for everybody”
“There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” People covered under the law “can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better.”
– From Washington Post interview with Donald Trump on 1/15/2017. [1]
And he said the same in an interview with 60 Minutes.
Third talking point: Premiums for the elderly and the poor will immediately skyrocket.
Here is just one example of what the disastrous Republican Health Care replacement plan would do to premiums on the poor and the elderly.
"A 64-year-old making $26,500 would pay $1,700 for coverage in 2026 under Obamacare, thanks to its subsidies. But under the GOP plan, his annual premium would be $14,600 since its tax credit would not offset as much of the cost." [3]
The Republican plan charges a one size fits all pricing plan. How in the world can someone making $27,000 afford $14,500 for health care insurance premiums? THEY CAN'T. Taking away health care for 14 million of our fellow Americans and replacing it with something that is not affordable is a moral travesty. It is not what Republican President Trump got elected on. His message was to offer something a) more afforable than Obamacare; b) with better coverage than Obamacare; c) That covers more people than Obamacare.
Clearly, to even the most gullible person "Republicancare, Ryancare, Trumpcare" or whatever you want to call this plan does just the opposite.
Oh, and by the way here is a short but powerful list of who has come out against the disastrous Republican Health Care plan. [5]
The Republican President who is the de-facto leader of the Republican party continues to...
Discredit the media as "fake news", "dishonest", "enemy of the people".
Has numerous and questionable ties (along with his Administration) to the Russians who we know hacked our election and likely were doing so partnered with the Trump campaign who included our current Attorney General, the Leader of the RNC, and our Vice President.
Refuses to release his taxes as he knows they will likely tie him to Russian mobsters who back and finance his business enterprise.
Leaders of the Republican party continues to ignore his shocking behavior and actions. They are stonewalling and backing a President that is on tape talking about sexually assaulting woman. On tape talking about walking in on naked teen age girls.
And, where are the Democratic leaders speaking up on this? Being in the minority does not mean you have to be quiet. Everyday they should be on the stump demanding justice. Everyday they should be working to help us get to the truth. So many of them are not doing enough to put the pressure on to get to the bottom of this. Why are you are leaving this job to "we the people." I know the response by our Senators Murray and Cantwell has been quite weak.
My fellow Americans, pick up the phone and call 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your Senator and ask them why they are not speaking out and taking action on matters that threaten our very Democracy.
I am a moderate. But, first and foremost I am an American. What is happening right now in our country is astounding, shocking, almost hard to believe. Let's take a 50,000 foot inventory at what is going down.
The Russians meddled in our election with the intent of electing the Republican candidate.
We elected a Republican President that most likely conspired with the Russians who we know meddled in our election. Further it is possible that he may already be compromised by Russian intelligence. And, if we ever get his taxes we will find that many of his 500 corporations are financed by Russian billionaires.
Our Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, and the Republican Presidents National Security Advisor all have ties to Russia.
Our Republican Attorney General was in contact with the Russians during the election and lied about it in his Senate confirmation hearings.
The Republican Presidents former campaign manager had clear ties to Russia.
The Republican elected majority is actively impeding attempts to get at the truth. Recently every Republican in Congress voted not to make Trump release his taxes. Taxes which will get us closer to the truth. This same group that found Benghazi important enough to conduct 9 investigations are unwilling to conduct an independent investigation and our stonewalling the current investigation.
The Republican President has referred to the media on numerous occasions as "The enemy of the people." and constantly refers to our media as "fake news". This is how dictators in 3rd world countries behave. Why aren't you outraged about this? Why aren't more Republicans outraged by this. The foundation of our Democracy depends on a free press. 1st Amendment!
The Republican President accused the former President of illegally wire tapping him. He has no evidence. He is the President for God sake. He has access to the evidence. There is no evidence.
The Republican Presidents Chief of Staff, Steve Bannon, is a racist, xenophobe that was the head of a racist news outlet that preaches hatred. Do not believe me, take the Breitbart challenge.
Republicans in both the House and Senate are behaving in a partisan manner in the face of the most existential threat to our Democracy in our lifetime. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! This is the equivalent of 9/11. During 9/11 all Americans came together. But now Republicans are just going to pretend nothing is happening. Really? And you are okay with this.
There are many moderates and conservatives like myself that have come together with liberals to stand up for our country. There is nothing partisan about this. We need you to join us.
14 million Americans, many in rural America, in Republican districts that voted for a Republican President that said he was going to make your health care more affordable, make it better, has told you a tall tail. The Congressional Budget Office just scored the Republican repeal and replace health care plan and...
14 million Americans will lose coverage by next year.
If you have a pre-existing condition and cannot get a plan through your employer you will not be able to get coverage.
If you are older, but not old enough for Medicare your premiums will double
The new Republican health plan is a tax credit for the wealthy and for people like me that do not need a tax credit, especially at your expense.
Republicans are trying to discredit the CBO's assessment. Are you really willing to believe this and take the chance of losing your health care. And, for those of you that currently have health care insurance through your employer what are you going to do should you get laid off? Do you have a pre-existing condition or a family member or friend that does?
As a moderate I want to see a strong Republican party that works in the best interests of the average working class American. A party that brought us legislation like the Roth IRA, and the Child Tax Credit. But those things happened long ago.
Today's Republican party is not a party for the working class. It is a party driven by special interests and the very wealthy. Ask yourself, what did the Republicans do for me an my family in recent times? Keep in mind the Republicans controlled the House for the past 6 years, and they have controlled both the House and the Senate for the past 2+ years. The House and the Senate create legislation. What have they done for the average American? For you?
Donald Trump is the President. He is a Republican. He is the leader of the Republican party. Please wake up an join us. Please stop clinging to a party that is not acting in your best interests. This is exactly why many of you voted for President Trump this past election. But, he is just another Republican. He is nothing more than a typical Republican politician that tells you what you want to hear, and then fails to deliver.
Wake up and join us. Pick up the phone, call 202-224-3121. Let them know what you think. They work for us, not the special interests. One call a week only takes 5 minutes.
Regarding one aspect of the proposed Republican plan that is being expedited through the political process...
"The plan would repeal, starting in 2018, two ACA Medicare taxes — the additional Hospital Insurance tax on high-income people and the Medicare tax on unearned income — that fall only on individuals with incomes above $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples). Their repeal would mean that high-income taxpayers would no longer face Medicare taxes on all their income."
[source]
So, the repeal and replace leads to a tax break for those of us in the higher income brackets. It also leads to a huge tax break for business. The current Medicare tax rate is 1.45%. We pay 1.45% and our employer pays 1.45% for a grand total of 2.9%. If the new plan is passed Medicare will lose 2.9% for all income made over $200,000.
This tax break will result in a shortfall of over 346 billion dollars over the next decade. 346 billion is a whole lot of medical care. Where will revenue now come from?
For a tax break that would not even be noticed by people in this income bracket?
Trump DID NOT run on what is in this Bill!!! Let us go straight to the source and hear what he said on this subject.
This fits into the Trump Promise how?
Not everything is about Trump (though he is a Republican). Republicans have put forward a plan that hurts those of our citizens that have the greatest need (namely, in this case our elderly population on Medicare). This is a party that claims to be the party of the "moral majority" and the party of Christian values.
For those of you that claim to follow the teachings of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (for the record I am a Christian) how exactly does this fit into Matthew 25:40? ...
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
...Or, the myriad of other scripture in the Gospels that calls us to care for the poor or the elderly?
POST NOTE More for the record. I am also a moderate that still holds many conservative beliefs (especially in the areas of fiscal responsibility (from individual to government), personal responsibility, and individual liberty). Unfortunately, for me, there has not been a conservative party for too many years that seems to value these ideals in a way I find either honest or morally appropriate. I will be damned if I am going to idly sit by on the sidelines and watch a repeat of what happened in the 30's and 40's with the global rise of extremism. Particularly, now that it has come to our shores and lives and breathes in the highest reaches of our government.
Trump, his campaign and his administrations connection to Russia is substantial and warrants a serious investigation. Trump and his administration have been evasive and meddling in efforts toward such an investigation. This on its own merits is very suspicious and disturbing.
Here is what we have to date (though this list is quite long it is not by any means a complete list)
Trump's pick of Michael Flynn for his national security adviser. Flynn lied about having contact with Russian officials during the election and was seated next to Putin at a Russian State owned television dinner as his guest. Flynn has since resigned.
Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, is the majority owner of the Bank of Cyprus which is accused of laundering money for Russian oligarchs, including fertilizer king, Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev. Trump sold Rybolovlev a mansion he paid 40 million for for 95 million. This was far more than the current market value at the time. [source]
Additionally, while Trump was on the campaign trail, Rybolovlev's plane was at the same airport at the same time the Trump plane was there. Seriously now, nothing suspicious there to check into?
Trump's pick of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. Trump and Tillerson had never met before his nomination. Tillerson has ties to Russian State oil and has been a guest on numerous occasions at Putin's personal residence. [source]
And, there are recent attempts by the Trump Administration to influence other parts of our Government involved in investigating. Specifically, the Trump Administration attempted to stifle inquiry into his Russia ties by enlisting Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), senior members of the intelligence community and Congress in efforts to counter news stories about Trump associates’ ties to Russia. Both accepted the job and initially told reporters that there was nothing to look into. Please keep this fact in mind when the truth finally comes out. [source]. Reince Priebus asked FBI Director James Comey to publicly dispute media reports that Trump campaign advisers had been frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents. Comey denied the request. [source].
Then there is Attorney General Jeff Sessions who lied under oath to Congress during his confirmation hearing about having contact while acting as a surrogate for the Trump campaign. He had contact with the Russian Ambassador twice. Sessions only recused himself when the news of these contact became public. Prior to this he claimed there was nothing to require him to recuse himself.
Sessions Lying Under oath
Sessions Denying the Allegations
Then there is Carter Page whom then candidate Trump claimed to be one of his foreign policy advisers. Page lived in Russia, has ties to their State run oil company and has given many pro Russian anti-US talks in Russia.
And, from Aug 16th, 2016
Their are numerous instances of Trump on the campaign trail denying Russian involvement of the DNC hack, He he used the Clinton email leaks in his stump speeches. After watching the following please keep in mind that we now know that during this time the Trump campaign was in contact with Russia.
[Dec 30, 2016]
It is becoming more likely that the POTUS has or is being blackmailed by the Russian Government. This is from an intelligence report that was released on January 11, 2017. The media reported on the existence of a private intelligence dossier containing unverified allegations of misconduct and ties between then President-elect Donald Trump and the Russian government. The dossier was written by a former British MI6 intelligence agent, Christopher Steele, who went into hiding after the release of the dossier. There are numerous items in this dossier that have already been corroborated by our intelligence community. Here are two items that have not yet been corroborated (excepted from the dossier).
However, there was a 2001 Howard Stern show with Donald Trump and Gossip columnist A.J. Benza. Benza had claimed Trump had wild sex in Russia. Here is an excerpt from that show. "Trump: I assume A.J.’s clean. I hope he’s clean. Benza: Meanwhile, he bangs Russian people… Stern: Russian people? Trump: Who are you talking about, Russian people, A.J.? I don’t know anything. Benza: He used to call me when I was a columnist and say, “I was just in Russia, the girls have no morals, you gotta get out there.” [Trump’s] out of his mind."
It should also be noted that Putin was the head of the FSB (Russian equivalent of the CIA) at the time of this show. It is also worth your time to listen to the full exchange on the show with the realization that this guy is now our President.
To date Trump has not had anything negative to say about Putin or Russia. Even when it was becoming clear during our election that Russia was meddling he was on the stump numerous times claiming that it could be China, some other foreign government, or some 400 pound fat guy on his bed. He was also using the Wikileaks to his advantage/ Now if we find out that he was colluding with Russia during the election?
Finally, there is Trump's unwillingness to release his tax returns that would certainly prove or disprove his business connections to Russia.
Government workers and our elected officials and judiciary take the following oaths. The Congressional Oath of Office
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” The Oath of Office Taken by Civil Service Employees
“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
The Oath of Office for Federal Judges
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution, and laws of the United States. So help me God.”
We do not know if we currently have domestic enemies in control of the highest offices and branches of our Federal Government including the POTUS. It is certainly looking like it could be a possibility. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to warrant an independent non-partisan investigation.
If you are a true blue, died in wool, red blooded American you have got to speak up and demand a non-partisan investigation.
