Old Sexual Harassment

16 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by in Sexual Harrasment

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Where’s the sympathy for Anita Hill? She was roasted, slandered and demeaned when she came forth about her boss, Clarence Thomas. When Thomas was asked about her charges, he was very nasty and said anyone who agreed with her as participating in a lynching. He had artfully played the race card stopping any more questioning. He was confirmed to be a Supreme Court Judge.

Anita Hill’s reputation was destroyed with few brave enough to stand up for her. In today’s environment she would have the support and Thomas might not even be in his old job. Why don’t we bring that up again and get him to resign?

Trump Was Played

16 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by in U.S. President, Uncategorized

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The Chinese are well known for their mind games. They know the President eats up pomp and ceremony so they lavished it on him and he folded like a paper hat in a rain storm. He says previous Presidents, meaning Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama were played. I seldom agree with him because of his lack of knowledge and common sense, but on this point he is right. However, he can now add his name to the list.

None of the agreements signed were because of anything he or his people did. Leaving the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) enhanced China and put our country at a disadvantage in Pacific trade. We lose big time so China can take control of the Eastern Pacific, Australia, Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The TPP was a win-win for US.

Not only was our country rolled so were our multi-nationals. In their greedy rush to get into China, they took backwater businesses and sciences to their superior level of today. Two great examples are how Lockheed wanted a cheaper cost to launch satellites. China’s rockets couldn’t reliably get off the ground much less into space so Lockheed solved their problems. Now they can hit our cities with their multi-warhead missiles. Another is our car companies that set up plants and engineering facilities to make cars. In a couple of years they will make more Chinese Company cars for domestic and export more than any other country.

President Trump thinks he is a master of a deal but he is just as naive as past Presidents and CEOs. Slogans are one thing but real and lasting results are another.

Buck Doesn’t Stop Here

29 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in U.S. President

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I am not old enough to remember President Truman but I have seen several pictures of him setting at his desk. If you look closely it shows a wooded desk sign with these words: “The Buck Stops Here”.

Every time I was in a leadership role, I remembered those words. I have admired leaders who take responsibility for their actions and those under them. I have also seen too many people in leadership positions who never took any responsibility for their actions or anyone else’s. Those people always seem to take credit for anything good that happens whether they were involved or not.

Since Truman, we have had Eisenhower who knew he was responsible for all that happened on his watch. Kennedy took the blame for the botched Cuban invasion which was planned during DDE’s final months. Nixon broke the rule on occasion. Carter took the blame for everything when he should not have. Most of us remember Reagan taking the blame for the Iran-Contra and a few other mistakes. Even Clinton learned early to absorb blame in order to get credit. Both Bush’s fell on their swords for things they didn’t have control over. Obama’s trials and tribulations didn’t rise to the levels that occurred during previous presidents, but he apologized for the deaths of the people in Benghazi though the Ambassador had been advised by many people to not go.

Our current President has never taken responsibility for any failures of his doing but has smeared and blamed everyone else for any perceived error. He can’t restrain himself nor can anyone else restrain him from lashing out in an un-presidential insulting smear. He just won’t take responsibility for anything he or his people do.

He may be the elected President but he definitely isn’t Presidential.

Tax Reform Proposal

29 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in U.S. Taxes, Uncategorized

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When I was selling properties and businesses, the buyers would have to submit a business plan to get a loan. They were always optimistic to extremely optimistic on increased revenue and net profits. The increase was seldom realized because the economic conditions didn’t change and expenses couldn’t be cut enough to justify the expected increase in net.

Those experiences remind me of the tax proposal reforms being pushed in Congress and by the President’s men. About six months ago Trump said he wanted all economic reports to show 1% more than the actual G.D.P. and projections. If the reform is based on losing 150 billion each year and the projection is based on hot air, then we are in more trouble.

When an economy that is as big as ours jumps to 3%; that’s huge. In today’s world of offshore cheap labor and robotics being introduced in those same industrial areas, big G.D.P. jumps in only one country and not others would be very unusual.

I am afraid with the proposed tax cuts, keeping the yearly deficit under one trillion will be impossible. I had hoped the reform would cut our deficit and pay down the 20 trillion debt.

Billionaires live off ever increasing debt and the administration’s finance people used loans as a way for them to get rich and then bail on loans. Countries like ours can’t bail so we must raise taxes or brutally slash expenses like social programs conservatives don’t like. This includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Tax cuts are not what we need at this time. We need the debt paid down before interest rates on it raise, causing more debt. The same applies to Illinois’ debt. We can’t keep kicking the can down the track because there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

So Far So Good

29 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in Climate Change, Global Warming

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The debate over climate change by people who disbelieve the overwhelming amount of evidence by saying we need more reminds me of an old construction joke.

A worker fell off a high rise and was heard to say as he passed each floor, “So far so good.” It’s the same as continuing to accumulate repetitive evidence on the heat records for each year. Just as the worker went by each floor, with each passing year’s heat records, the deniers say it’s not so bad.

Environmental scientists are worried it may already be too late to avoid many of the disastrous changes predicted years ago. If we acted now, we may have broken bones but no splat!

Psychology of Violence

26 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in Violence

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I am extremely concerned about the psychology of violence being inflicted upon young Americans through video games, TV and movies. Video games have gone from shooting monsters and aliens to killing enemy soldiers and possibly civilians. TV glamorizes the combat between special operations troops and enemy soldiers. We are awash with war movies depicting extremely graphic killings.

After 9/11 attacks, the psychological aspects of killing humans have been ramped up with more life-like graphics and special effects. The scripts make the Americans seem almost invincible. It has always been a principle of the military’s command and control that 18 to 22 year olds can be the most aggressive and violent. Starting the de-humanizing and the feeling of invincibility as pre-teens increases the desired feelings wanted in a soldier.

Are we developing a generation of youthful killers? History is full of example where youth was indoctrinated to kill without even considering the moral issue. Solders use demeaning terms to describe the enemy. Today it is RAGHEADS, but before it was JAPS, NIPS, KRAUTS, and GOOKS. The idea is to make the people you are expecting to kill appear less human.

I wonder if the same principles apply to the little kids that join gangs. They don’t seem to fear death and shooting at people is similar to the way they play video games.

I wonder if we are on a very dangerous track that may not be in the long term best interest of our country.

Quiet Guns

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Gun Control, Politically Correct

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Until a few years ago an incident where three people were killed and twenty wounded wasn’t considered a mass shooting. It required four dead. Now it is based on number shot.

The gun manufactures, through the NRA and other groups, got their stooges in Congress to overthrow Reagan era gun control laws and buying a gun became a sacred right. People were told to buy guns to protect themselves from Obama’s people; the military would confiscate them to prevent crime. After everyone bought one, Congress decided to let you buy $1,000 silencers.

The above 92 words represent the average number of Americans killed by gunfire each day in the United States.

We Should Learn From History

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in War

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I have studied battles and wars from the Peloponnese to our current battles with the Taliban and Isis. Every war has mistakes in tactics and strategy which cost the lives of many soldiers. Some mistakes are so bad it cost them a victory. Many mistakes have been because of bad leadership – either by the generals or the country’s leaders. The bigger the war, the bigger the consequences from a mistake.

Thousands died in the Civil War from bad tactical decisions. Hundreds of thousands in World Wars I and II from battles that should never have been attempted.

Setting aside whether or not we should have been in Viet Name, the was badly managed. General Westmoreland was a poor choice to command it. That was evident in 1967 but he wasn’t sacked (He was bumped up) for two more years.

President Johnson’s strategy of trying to keep it low key and directing the war from the White House cost lives and perhaps the war’s outcome. For instance, the planes that bombed North Viet Nam had to use the same entrance and exit points day after day so North Viet Nam piled their anti-aircraft weapons in those corridors.

To a great extent the current battle of words between Trump and Kim reminds me of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Nasser’s big mouth caused Meir to attack before the Egyptian army could jump off.

The sanctions against North Korea remind me of our sanctions against Japan in 1941. I am sure others started by too much chest thumping and poorly conceived sanctions.

Knowing what has went on in the past causes me great concern. Boxing a country into a corner often starts a war neither wanted. Giving Iran a fair deal, avoiding a terrible war and giving North Korea a fair deal will save millions of lives and trillions of dollars.

Look For The Truth

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in False News, U.S. President

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Polls supposedly show 58% of Americans get their news from FaceBook, but only 18% believe it. I bet the true figure is over 40%; they just don’t want to admit their gullibility.

Gullibility is what the Russian trolls used to sucker people into voting for a man they knew could be manipulated. Putin knew where he stood with Clinton so he had thousands of stories put out against her and for Trump. Twitter’s role in the election is being concealed by the company. The result was a carefully planned strategy for winning a few toss-up states.

After having the election manipulation exposed and the bi-election being almost two years away, Putin has decided to create as many divisions as possible. We already know they have stirred up people with the “Black Lives Matter.” They play both sides so they can incite everybody gullible enough to fall for it.

Putin’s interference should call for severe sanctions, overt help to Ukraine, and basing more troops in the Baltic countries. He must understand it will only get worse until he closes down the interference in ours and other countries.

Where do Russian internet trolls do so well in swaying American public opinion? Why do so many believe the outrageous statements the Russians put on FaceBook, Twitter, and other social media sites? Why? Maybe because the gullible believe the half truths and lies told by their President.

Greed Versus Altruism

05 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by in National Debt, U.S. Economy

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In the age of billionaires running our country, I worry about their decisions affecting the rest of us. Given a choice between costing them a chunk of money or doing what is best for our country; which will they choose?

In their businesses, they would not want to intentionally lose money each year. They why are they looking to cut corporate and individual taxes to the point of increasing the National Deficit over $150 billion each year? If the most optimistic deficit for this year is over $700 billion without changes, why do the billionaires what to make it close to a trillion? It is already $20 trillion.

These are the same people who have been criticizing the last two administrations for the increasing debt. These tax cuts put money in their packets so its okay.

They tell us the cuts are good for us because it puts more money into reinvestment. These are the same people who have sent jobs and investments out of the country to put more money in their pockets.

Warren Buffet has said he is able to pay a smaller percentage of his income that his secretary. Trump hides his income tax statements, but most of the other Republican and Democratic nominees and Presidents pay in the mid-teens. Why cut their taxes from 35% when they pay half that now. They bought the voters to get the deductions so cutting the rates will mean they may end up paying little or no taxes.

There are some billionaires that I think care about the people than their pockets but they aren’t in government. I haven’t seen any of those billionaires in the cabinet donating any big money to help the people; they donate to super pacs that try to take over the government. Looks like their money was well spent.