Category Archives: Politics

Ethics and Patriotism First

09 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Politics, Uncategorized

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The Chicago Tribune asked its readers what the next governor will need to do. The journalist picked out a few representative ones which have previously been cited in this letters section. They are as follows: Do what is best for all, compromise, talk with-not at-people, invest in all of Illinois, cut redundant government bodies, fix pension mess, freeze property taxes, take care of the less-fortunate, term limits, and, of course, income taxes.

Suggested fixes have been proposed here for many months and years, but those people we elect don’t implement them. Why do we keep re-electing them if they don’t solve, but increase our problems.

The state finances are a mess and I have proposed how to fix them within ten years. All the problems can be solved if the people we elect have the guts to fix them even if they might not be in office after the next election. Doing what is right can be called “term limits” and not going what is right is called “staying in office.” Doing what is right doesn’t get them re-elected.

I bet enough of the voters will keep those who blame the other party or governor for letting the state’s mess continue. Senator John McCain is dead and buried. Wouldn’t it be nice if his aisle crossing, ethics, and putting his country (not his voters) first be our main reason to elect a person?

Can History Repeat Today

09 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in History, Politics, Racism

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Is it some kind of gigantic coincidence so many Nationalists have taken power or attempting to take their country’s leadership positions? Philippines, Poland, Venezuela, Russia, Turkey, Israel, and the United States among others have openly Nationalist leaders. Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Belarus, and a few others have growing movements and political parties hoping to take control.

Nationalism means it’s me against them. The ‘them’ is often other countries, but more likely some easily identifiable ethnic group. One of the oldest targets is Jews. It was Hitler’s choice to explain Germany’s ills. The current European bogey man is the Syrian refugees.

Here Nationalism is Muslims and brown-skinned people. Just as elsewhere, their use of ethnic groups is to stimulate fear and hatred in people they want the support of in their quest for power. When this dangerous Nationalism erupts from the depths of depravity responsible Americans and Europeans have been trying to eliminate. It reminds me of the rise of the Nazi Party.

Just because the current administration didn’t rise from the beer haus of Munich, but in four-star restaurants, hotels, and grand homes of billionaires doesn’t mean it isn’t as dangerous. The Nazi loyalty oaths of 1935 sounds like the loyalty demands Trump says he expects of his appointees. Numerous times he has raved he requires absolute loyalty of his people. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has incurred his wrath because he is an honorable man which conflicts with his loyalty to Trump. Many others have left because of their conscious overriding loyalty. Too bad a lot of Germans hadn’t written letters to the big German papers or contributed to books about Hitler in the early 1930s.

John S. McCain III, an American Icon

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by in American, Military, Politics

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We signed the petition for Senator McCain in 1999 to be the presidential nominee because he was a moderate, put America first, and crossed the aisle for his many bi-partisan bills. He lost because the Bush II campaign smeared his character and his family. John was too much of a gentleman to sink to Bush II’s lies and character assignation.

The second time he was given the Bush II campaign people and forced to the right. His campaign didn’t do any character smearing of Obama. Non-associated ones did! John even told a woman Obama is a good man when she voiced a smearing statement. I doubt if any other candidate would have said anything, most would have agreed and taken it forward.

I might have voted for John if he had picked a decent Vice-President and hadn’t changed his core values to get votes from the far right. Would he have really gone far right or stayed in the center? I couldn’t be sure but having an idiot one heart beat from the oval office was too much to chance. John’s health had not been good so his choice of Vice-President was critical. I think that choice cost him millions of independent votes and the election.

He may be one of the last moderate Republican Senators since the others are retiring this year or in 2020. He really represented the way our leaders should act. Few if any in Washington, D.C. could match his code of honor. Most Americans will miss you John S. McCain III.

Sleight of Hand

20 Monday Aug 2018

Posted by in Politics, President Trump

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I don’t know if the President is coordinating the news releases or some incompetent staffers who are well over their head. When the administration does something stupid they try to get the public to look at something less stupid or inane. Today they revoked former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance. The notification was dated over two weeks previously. This release which was pulled back so today’s date could be shown on the text (another screw-up).

Was this done because they wanted to change the public’s attention from the media’s editorial on Trump’s attack on the media , his self-inflicted wounds, the Manafort trial, the negative impact of tariffs, and/or the Mueller investigation? Has the wounds become so massive that it is impossible to keep diverting attention from one screw-up by creating another one (a sleight of hand).

These self-inflicted wounds occur almost every day and often several times in the same day. Since the President wants to be in the spotlight, he is the cause of almost all the wounds himself. Some current and past White House staffers have commented on his mental capacity and stability. His tweets have given mental professionals cause to publicly question his condition. His staff tries to control and moderate his constant need for attention and admiration. His demand for the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and several cabinet members to “Tell you how great I am” while he sat like a king near the lectern indicates a 26th amendment possibility.

He once said “I could kill somebody on Madison Avenue and still get elected”, or his statement “you knew I was a snake before you elected me.” Perhaps his 30% base is ignorant of his screw-ups or are just stupid.

Do Unto Others

14 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Politics, President Trump, Religion

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I do not believe one’s religion should consider itself better than any other because their belief should be their own. If someone doesn’t believe in any God then it is their right, too. If a person believes Jesus is the son of a God or a prophet or even the second to last prophet, then it is their right. If they believe in a multi-armed woman or an elephant God, it is their right. If their God is the emperor or some very fat guy, it is their right. My mother told me to treat everyone the same because it is their right to believe what they want.

Now the Attorney General has decided to put together a task force to ensure we have a Christian country. This country was founded on not being a Christian or Catholic or Jewish because the reason for most discrimination and wars were religious. They wanted a country with the morals of religion but not a mandatory religion. This task force smack of a state supported and protected belief. Turkey’s President Erdoğan has changed the secular constitution to a state supported Islamic one. He has locked thousands up and fired tens of thousands more for disagreeing with his changes. Other countries have become a one religion nation.

Could it happen here? I would have doubted it a couple of years ago. Now we have an administration that is against Muslims. The alt-right devotees are anti-Jewish and they are supporters of the administration. Could they become like Hitler’s brown shirts and harass everyone that doesn’t share their particular faith? History gives many examples of what happens when the camel gets its nose under the tent. The religious right would love to have a government with Christian laws against what they perceive as immoral and doesn’t fit within their narrow views.

Grassy Knoll’s Children

08 Wednesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Conspiracies, Nuts, Politics

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If you have been watching some of Trump’s rallies you may have seen signs with the letter Q on them. It is the latest conspiracy lunacy. Trump is supposed to be leading the battle against the shadow government. They believe the shadow people really run our government. To a large extent they are right since 99.9% of the people work day after day doing the same job. No matter who or what party is in power, they follow the law and department rules and procedures.

This latest conspiracy is even more elaborate than the usual nuttiness. When Trump misspells a word or comes up with a new word, it is code to his conspiracy followers as to how he is eliminating the shadow people.

I remember hearing some of the old timers talk about FDR knowing before hand of the Japanese attack or Pearl Harbor. I am sure there were previous ones for the gullible. Most of us remember the “Grassy Knoll” of fiction, movies, and subversive politics. Don’t forget the black helicopters picking up individuals and putting them now in remote concentration camps in Montana. I wonder if that one was started by someone whose Nisei relative was put in one during WWII. Many rural people really get scared when they see a helicopter flying over.

For some reason Americans fall for conspiracy theories more than other people. No wonder the Russians and others are able to con people into believing some harebrained theory. People still believe Hillary Clinton is running a child pornography center out of a pizza joint in New York City. Remember the guy that barged into it with a gun to free the kids? Luckily no one was hurt. But the story continues with the really gullible. I used to say if it sounds stupid, it probably is, but look at who lives in the White House.

Left, Right, Center

02 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Politics, Uncategorized

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I must be a political enigma to readers, friends and the two major political parties. I now consider myself an independent that has a wide span of views. I have always voted for the candidate I thought was best for the overall good of America. I voted for LBJ, Reagan, Clinton, Gore, signed McCain’s petition and governor’s of both parties. I have financially supported individuals of both parties here and in other states. (My mail is very diverse.)

As Obama recently said in a speech, “All politicians lie and when they get caught,” fess up. I have seen almost every President since Kennedy take blame for something done in his name or some lie he said. Obama said many of today’s leaders constantly lie and their people have become inured to it.

If a person lies constantly, how can people believe anything they say or do? In today’s world of narcissism and Internet lies, is it possible social mores have taken a backseat to commonsense? Is appealing to lowest common denominator the way to get ahead in today’s cultures? Is making some people the bogeyman because of their skin color, ethnicity, or religion again becomes the way to gain support? Is anarchy the new way because anarchists always end up being the one despised or dead?

In today’s world much of the divisiveness has originated from carefully crafted Russian planning and operations. A few years ago we sent several Russian moles back home. Now the FBI has found a twenty-something woman who has infiltrated the NRA and an un-named politician to gain influence and divide us further. How much of the Russian operations caused people to vote for someone? Commonsense says Trump and the Russians are against our morals, beliefs and history. Someone believes making money is the ultimate goal. Getting to the top of the food chain and dominating everyone else is their only plan. Does President Trump consider his ideal leader to be Kim, XI, or Vladimir?

NATO Is Critical

02 Thursday Aug 2018

Posted by in Europe, Politics, War

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The President and many Americans would like for us to leave NATO because we don’t need to be involved with European defense. When Trump was asked if American boys should have to go fight in Montenegro, he said that is the problem with NATO rules. Article Three has only been invoked once and we did it after 9-11. It is why several NATO countries are still in Afghanistan.

We were isolationists before WWI and WWII. Since NATO, Europe has not had a war or much of a verbal disagreement. The Cold War was a uniting factor because Stalin had put his massive army in the Warsaw Pact countries. West Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, and Turkey could feel his hot breath on them. When the Warsaw Pact dissolved, those countries asked to be in NATO to prevent Russia from pulling them back into Russia’s fold.

Today’s Russia is using its military to start getting parts of the pact back. The first was to cut off part of Georgia and nobody came to their aid because they weren’t in NATO. Next he hid his marines in ships anchored in the leased harbor in the Crimea. One night they flooded out and took control of the Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The next year Putin sponsored an insurrection in Western Ukraine, supplied arms and finally “volunteers” with high tech weapons. It was a Russian missile operated by “volunteers” that shot down a KLM Airliner. Western Ukraine – another country not in NATO.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia asked and got NATO troops to be an additional tripwire because Putin is eyeing their countries now. We have at least a company in each country along with those from other NATO countries.

Putin wants those Warsaw Pact countries back even if he has to nibble of pieces of them year after year. NATO prevents Russia from doubling the size of the army and starting little wars, which could become big ones.

Racism on the Rise

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Politics, President Trump, Racism

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I wish everyone would be as distressed as my wife and I were when we read about an “incident” in Los Angeles. A 91 year ethnic Mexican was beaten with a brick by a black woman with her daughter. He was a permanent resident walking on a sidewalk during the Fourth of July celebrations. After that, a group of young black men thought he was trying to abduct the girl so they kicked and punched him while he lay curled up on the sidewalk. He has broken bones and teeth. Both incidents were videoed with the mother yelling “go back to your country”.

Another incident occurred in a Cook County Park District Park. A man harassed a woman wearing a Puerto Rico flag shirt. He kept yelling at her for not being an American citizen. She had flawless English and he didn’t so I wonder whose family has been citizens longer (Puerto Ricans are citizens).

Most racial incidents are not recorded for the internet and TV audiences but those that are show racism is exploding. The incidents against brown skinned people are growing rapidly. In California, it has increased over 40 percent since Trump started his racist campaign against Latinos. He said they are rapists, murderers, and drug gangs.

White against black racism grew during Obama’s tenure with Trump pushing the birther lies. He has been shown to say he would undo everything Obama has done. He has repeatedly fired up crowds against Mexicans. The President’s rhetoric and actions have made racism acceptable or even patriotic. Not since Woodrow Wilson have we had such an openly racist President.

What is the Acceptable Level of Cruelty?

09 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in Immigration, Politics

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A conservative reporter asked that question and it summed up the problem precisely. Illegal immigration is against the law. Asking for asylum at an entry port is legal. Crossing the border elsewhere isn’t. The vast majority of the people crossing the southern border are not Mexicans. They are from crime-ridden nations to the south of Mexico where murder, rape, torture, beatings, and kidnapping are very day occurrences in rich and poor neighborhoods. The rich hire bodyguards and get visas. The poor must walk north.

That’s where the question becomes relevant. In the past we have arrested illegal crossers, processed them and released them until the hearing. They usually don’t show up. The asylum seekers usually did show up. We tried GPS bracelets and 99% came to their hearings. We don’t catch everybody and no wall is going to make much of a difference when they are fleeing the nightmare we created for them. The gangs and drugs are our fault.

The question is if the previous ideas didn’t work then maybe we should try illegal, inhuman and immoral practices. ICE has been roughing up legal and illegal refugees, separating babies from their mothers, locking 150 people in a 3,000 square foot enclosure with one toilet for days, and deporting mothers and fathers while keeping the children. The Administration hopes its methods will deter all immigration from the south.

The only real deterrence is weather. The numbers are down from last year because the temperature is 15 – 20 degrees hotter this year than 2017. It’s always lower in summer than other seasons because of the heat and drought.

While the places they are coming from is worse than the place we put them, they will keep coming.