Trump's Coming Non-existent National Emergency to Fund his Wall

At Trump’s February 5^th State of the Union address, he said “In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built…simply put, walls work and walls save lives,” But saying walls work and walls save lives is like saying ‘life vests work and life vests save lives’, so is everyone supposed to now wear a life preserver whenever they go outside, and especially if they cross a bridge or walk next to a lake? Did the Great Wall in China keep out the plundering hordes from the north - which was its intended purpose? Did the Maginot Line in France keep out Germany in 1940? If you want to get Biblical, did the walls at Jericho protect them from Joshua’s army?

Trump claimed ownership for the shutdown in his Jan. 31st Oval Office press conference, “If I didn’t do the shutdown, people wouldn’t know — they wouldn’t understand the subject. Now they understand the subject. They realize what a humanitarian crisis it is.” The shutdown was an educational opportunity for Trump to help Americans understand what a humanitarian he was by drawing attention to his manufactured emergency subject ---> Mexico hasn’t held up their end of Trump’s campaign promise so Trump decided it is only right that Americans should come up with the Border Wall money instead! Maybe somewhere, somehow, some way, someday, Mexico might reimburse us, who knows? This stupid semantics game needs to end. The issue is not about ‘border security’ even though that’s how Trump and the GOP try to frame it. The issue is about who pays for Trump's big beautiful wall.

Not one U.S. penny should be spent on a wall Trump boasted, bragged, and guaranteed his crowds that Mexico would pay for…gladly.

Still, Trump has used the past few days sugar-coating the fresh fecal material that he was feeding his base after losing the government shutdown confrontation. The ‘president’ then insinuated he’d won…

…by issuing a threat.

“If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, (‘fair deal’ means you give me what I want) the government will either shut down on Feb. 15, again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,” Trump said Friday.

Dammit, one of you reporters should have immediately asked him to cite where in the Constitution he is granted those powers. It’s guaranteed he wouldn’t have been able to do it. (It’s in Article II.)

But there is no emergency.

None.

He is shouting “fire” in a crowded theater where there is no fire.

Trump even states he is "prepared to shut down the government again if my demands aren’t met.” Does this sound like a negotiator or a Mafia boss? So once again the nation's safety has to be put at great risk, government functions grind to a halt, and federal employees are forced to go without paychecks because no one is giving in to the demands of the petulant five-year-old-acting president. Trump frequently sounds like a child arguing with his mother.

The fact that Trump doesn’t recognize the emergency right now, or at any time during the 35-day shutdown, attests to the lack of a crisis.

This past record-breaking shutdown was entirely based on a campaign promise Trump couldn’t keep. It was done by Trump to placate his bruised ego.

The Congressional Budget Office released a report showing Trump’s shutdown cost taxpayers an additional $11 billion tacked on to the federal deficit. Think about what we COULD have used that money for.

With all this Trump-induced chaos, one has to wonder what we’re going to miss if Trump declares his National Emergency. We’ve been so distracted by the daily Trump-inflicted wounds on America that we’ve lost sight on what’s going on in the Middle East, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. This distraction has only helped our adversaries. They can see what is happening across the nation and they are taking full advantage of it. We’re going to pay a lot for that negligence down the road.

And it’s all because of Trump.

The Fallacy of Voting for the "Lesser of two Evils"

The following is a blog written in October 2012 by Jon Rappoport, a former candidate for the 29^th Congressional District in California and Pulitzer Prize nominee. His observations are even more succinct four years later.

For decades, disaffected Americans have been trudging to the polls and voting for the lesser of two evils. That’s how they register their preference for a presidential candidate.

Choices based on that dubious strategy seem to work for the short-term (at best). But in the long run, the law of diminishing returns sets in.

Term after presidential term, the lesser of two evils lowers the quality of life for everyone and keeps nudging the decline of the American Republic. The hole to dig out of becomes deeper, and successive presidents—each one the lesser of two evils—are less capable and willing to do the necessary digging.

That’s the story of leadership in America.

But prompted by new and more desperate created crises, citizens resort to the “lesser” strategy every four years, believing they must.

“I’m not that enthusiastic about either man, but I have to choose one. I have to go with the lesser of two evils because this country is in real trouble.”

Where does it stop? “Look, this time, I’m picking the lesser of two evils because the national crisis is so terrible. But next time, I promise I’ll do something else.” Really? What else will you do? Hope the sun comes out?

The voter who is chronically addicted to the lesser of two evils is like a man in debt who borrows to pay it off. Each time he borrows, the debt gets bigger. He says, “I know this is crazy, but what else can I do? Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul is the lesser of two evils. If I don’t do it, I’m sunk. I promise I’ll straighten this mess out—but not right now. I have a payment coming due. I have to borrow again.”

And just like the federal debt, which keeps swelling, the election of one lesser after another as the president keeps expanding the national misery. Finally, the idea that voters can step outside the two-party system to find a real president who actually believes in the Constitution seems like a pipe dream because all the prior lessers have screwed things up so badly, have sold so out badly, have trampled on the Constitution so crazily…the shell-shocked public accepts these lessers as the status quo.

At that point, people say, “Stop all this nonsense about a third-party candidate. Get real. We have to choose from the two candidates in front of us. That’s what life and elections are all about. Be an adult. Make your decision. Go for the lesser of two evils.”

A national poll might prove quite interesting. Ask people, “In the presidential election, are you voting for the lesser of two evils? Are you voting for the candidate who is “less bad” than the other guy?”

Better yet, let’s have a candidate who says, up front, “Hi, I’m Gil Fulbright, the lesser of two evils, and I’m running for president. Let’s not kid each other. You know, I know, and everybody knows that my opponent and I are both morons and sell-outs. We got where we are by lying and stealing. What else did you expect? We’re both puppets for larger forces. But at least I’m willing to admit it. And I believe, in my heart, that I’m the lesser of two evils. What do you say? Cut me a break. I really want to live in the White House and be the commander-in-chief. And my wife? Don’t get me started on what she wants.”

So the next time a “smarter, wiser” friend, who “really knows how the world works,” tells you you’ve got to choose the lesser of two evils, realize who’s smart and who the idiot is.

This fake political ad for Gil Fulbright is an example of what you get from voting for the lesser of two evils. Copy and paste address below in Google search.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQTqB5jZ4Lc


Politicians won't change if they know we'll vote for them anyway. Good candidates seldom receive the support they need to become viable. The problem of bad choices are thereby perpetuated, and the nation's political process continues to deteriorate until the day when our choices will be an Adolf Hitler or a Joseph Stalin.

Liars for America - An Olympic Dream

America's new Mount Rushmore of Olympic Liars

No apologies…none…there will be no mea culpa from Ryan Lochte and the three other U.S. swimmers at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Know why? Because of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, that’s why! If it’s good enough for presidential candidates to never own up to a lie, why should it be any less for Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympians?

Donald wouldn’t apologize for being an American and neither should these world class  liars…uh, that is, athletes. Only losers apologize. Only someone who recognizes and practices right from wrong apologies. These classic American swimmers represent the best of America. The America that Donald Trump wants to make great again and that Hillary believes she is entitled to lead. We’re not great until we have athletes who can kick any other country’s ass in the pool, then kick the ass of the host countries gas station attendants who think their private property is somehow off limits to inebriated American Olympians. All the guys wanted was some respect, even if they were too drunk to understand what that was. Only security guards armed with loaded weapons put the brakes on the whole episode. And that’s just wrong. It is certain these Americans are better than Brazilians, because, you know…the Olympics. And they just won Gold. They have a right to make up any story they want explaining themselves. If they choose to blame the Brazilians for holding them accountable, who can blame them for pulling a story right out of their ass(es)?

Olympic Gold Medalists show host country why U.S. is better

Lochte understands, based on listening to Donald Trump and/or Hillary Clinton that he owes nothing to anyone for pissing outside a restroom, vandalizing the facility, and fighting against those attempting to prevent the swimmers from leaving the crime scene. Because those Brazilians may have become some of the rapists and drug runners Trump warned us about in 2015, or that might have read some of Hillary’s unsecured emails and provided that information to ISIS. Sure, some of them may be good people, but actually, Donald was talking about Mexicans, not Brazilians so never mind. We don’t know who read Hillary’s emails, so we can conjecture that it may have been these Brazilians, who, in a moment of sympathy for radical Islamic terrorists, supplied ISIS with some trivial nonsense that they could later claim was a reason to blow someone up. See what Hillary’s unsecured server could lead to?

If their mouths are open, they're lying.

Ryan Lochte has lost his endorsement from Speedo thanks to this misunderstood episode, but as the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. It may be that he won’t need Speedo’s tainted money anyway. Both Trump and Clinton will need a speech writer, and given their penchant for playing fast and loose with the truth, Lochte will be the right person in the right place at the right time...an Olympic liar with the job of making two of the worst candidates for president look Abe-Lincoln-honest in comparison. Talk about an Olympic task!

...including lying!

JFK Assassination fallout - Liars-in-Chief

What if...?

          May 29, 2016 marked the 99th birthday of John F. Kennedy. He probably wouldn't have lived that long but the history of the past 53 years would be vastly different if he had not been murdered. Thanks to his assassination we have been cursed with a parade of Liars-in-Chief holding the highest office in the land.

          When the American people allowed whoever it was that killed JFK to get away with his murder, the killers and those who supported them realized they could lie to us and we wouldn’t do anything about it.  

          I prefer to say things up front. John F. Kennedy WAS killed by a conspiracy, and the people who carried it out are still being protected by elements within our government…the FBI, the CIA, and the military. Lee Oswald didn’t kill anyone on November 22, 1963…not Tippit and not Kennedy. However, he has been vilified since then as the lone nut assassin. He was silenced by Jack Ruby so that the blame could be pinned on him without any recourse or anyone challenging it. He was exactly what he shouted in the halls of the Dallas Police Department, “I’m just a patsy”.  

The liars saw it and said that it was good.

          Are you satisfied with the course our country has taken since November 22, 1963? Kennedy’s death led to one liar after another holding the office of presidency. If any of these men had been Pinocchio, there wouldn’t have been enough wood available to keep extending their nose. Look at just a few examples of each:

None of these men would have become president if JFK had not been assassinated

          Lyndon Johnson will forever be remembered as the liar who pushed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which was used to justify the American military buildup in South Vietnam and a war that killed over 58,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, nurses...and over a million Vietnamese.

          Richard Nixon lied about a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam to get elected, then illegally invaded Laos and Cambodia while lying to cover it up…and lied about virtually everything else until he resigned.

          Gerald Ford lied about what was in the Warren Commission testimonials. He knew the truth because he was ON the commission but still lied to protect the predetermined solution to the murder...that Oswald was the sole assassin.

          Jimmy Carter lied about being a “nuclear physicist and a peanut farmer.” He was neither: he held only a bachelor’s degree, and he owned a peanut warehouse.

          Ronald Reagan's lies started before he even got into office. Remember his famous “There you go again” line to Carter at the debate on October 28, 1980? Carter had just accused Reagan of being against Medicare and Social Security. Carter was right and Reagan was wrong, Reagan had recorded a record album in the 1960s opposing Medicare and Social Security because he claimed it was leading us down a socialist path. But Reagan got away with it because he got a laugh from the line. He also lied about the illegal war in Nicaragua that he initiated, the Iran-Contra deal, his environmental policies…the list goes on.

          George H.W. Bush – remember “read my lips, no new taxes”? He then passed the biggest tax increase in our nation’s history to that date. Also, unlike 99% of Americans alive then, Bush says he can't recall where he was the day Kennedy was shot, (even though there’s a picture of him standing outside the Texas School Book Depository that afternoon). I guess CIA agents don’t need to have reliable memories.

George H.W. Bush chats with other CIA and FBI agents while police sweep the TSBD.

          Bill Clinton lied about his numerous extra-marital affairs; even going so far as to try to redefine what “is” is during the run up to possible impeachment proceedings. Of course, when smoking pot, he didn't inhale, either.

          George W. Bush – lied about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and dragged the U.S. into two wars.

          During a Joint session of congress in 2009 discussing health care reform, Barak Obama said: "There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." In a breach of decorum South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson pointed at Obama and shouted, "You lie!" twice. But Wilson was right. Numerous cases have turned up where illegal immigrants had no problem getting on the Affordable Care Act. Obama even got MIT Professor Jonathan Gruber to identify the American voters as stupid people for passing the act. Not a lie per se, but a serious misjudgment.
          This is what our chief executives regularly pull off because it has become "part of the job"..  

          In November 2013 CNN even did a story about how and why presidents lie: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/24/politics/presidents-lie/

          As if that makes it okay.

If the president's lips are moving, he's lying.

          Lying now defines American politics and presidents. They consistently lie because the U.S. government, to this day, continues to lie about the Kennedy assassination. Lying did not start there; it just became accepted and expected from that point on. It set a precedent that the liars in our government continue to build on.

          As long as we let the assassination lies and the liars who maintain it continue to rot American history and politics, our image around the world will sink lower and lower. We used to be considered “a shining beacon on a hill”. Now, thanks to lies that justify numerous wars we initiated or expanded since the JFK assassination, allow or encourage rampant CIA intrusions into foreign affairs, kill countless people the government gets to define as “bad”, and show callous disregard for the rights of other people or nations, we are the bully on the block...the rich, drunken, quarrelsome doofus that no one trusts.

      Are you pleased with what the U.S.A. has become?

          Then do something about it, because we are about to hold an election where we’ll have to choose from two more proven liars for the presidency.

They move in the same circles when they're not running against each other.

Ban all Religions Until the Test Results Come Back Positive

        

        Last week Donald Trump, in his usual inimitable fashion, again made an incendiary comment that aroused great anger, from fellow Republican presidential candidates, and almost everyone to the left of Trump. But not to his supporters; they loved it. They can’t wait to have Trump banning Muslim immigrants...actually anyone they don’t like...and ignoring established U.S. laws, policies and regulations….”Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...and turn them away."

         But as wrong as I think Trump is, he may have stumbled onto a very good idea. It just isn’t restrictive enough. Let’s run with his idea of banning a religious group. If I agreed with his position, then we shouldn’t stop there; we should go even further. Let’s not just ban Muslims from entering the U.S., let’s ban ANY religious person. Yes, ban them all… until they’ve passed a test indicating they understand the separation of church and state, that they will uphold and defend that separation, and that our Constitution supersedes ANY law that's in someone’s holy book.

        This ban would not just apply to foreigners hoping to resettle in America, but also to anyone who already lives here. For example, if Christians promote an interpretation of their God’s laws as somehow overriding the Constitution, they need to be removed to another place, say, the Vatican, until such time as they take a test proving they understand this is a secular nation and the Constitution is the ONLY law of the land. They can practice whatever religion they want in their own homes or in a place of worship (that would no longer be tax-exempt), but they cannot claim their God’s law is higher than Constitutional law.

        It doesn’t matter if the believers are Hindu, Mormon, Buddhist, Shinto, Zoroastrian, or they worship of a pile of rocks. They must show, via both written and verbal testing, that they acknowledge their religious laws stop at our border. They do not supplant any U.S. law at any time…period!

         If they are Muslim and disagree; Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Yemen, and even ISIS are all trying to implement Sharia. Let them live there and practice their faith. Or if they are Mormon and believe that what Elohim says overrides U.S. law, expel them to one of the uninhabited islands of the Alaska archipelago until testing confirms they fully understand and comply with the Constitution.

         Trump's not the first. Whether anti-British, anti-Chinese, anti-Japanese, anti-black, or anti-Commie...down through history, Americans have loved vilifying and repressing others.

        

         Now, far be it for me to point out to the oh-so-wise and well-informed Trump, who clearly hasn’t studied U.S. history, we already tried banning certain groups…the Chinese in the late 1800s, the Japanese in World War Two, and Communists during the 1950s. It just doesn’t work, and won’t work, even if we turned this nation into a completely fascist dictatorship like, say, Nazi Germany. So rather than banning, the best step is to make sure everyone understands we are not bound by the religious laws of any gods, or any religious sects.  

        Trump’s pandering to squeamish, anxious white xenophobes gets great press, but it won’t get him elected president. However, if he’d go along with a test given to every religious person immigrating here, or living here, so we can get them up to speed on how the Constitution works, then he and I might have some common ground to discuss ideas.

Know your Constitution