George Will on Trade Policy and Thomas Friedman on Israel explain why what Trump is proposing will not help the people they are aimed at helping.
Link to George Will column
Link to Thomas Friedman
And if you bothered to click on this post, I have a depressing reward for you. Millions of American Voters on both sides of the partisan divide believe in conspiracy theory and distrust government officials who try to persuade them otherwise. That is not a good thing for our democracy.
Link to Washington Post column on Conspiracy Belief
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Friday, December 23, 2016
Israel is Reckless, not the U.S. abstention from a U.N. Vote
It is the legislative GOP that termed the U.S. failure to veto a U.N. resolution condemning illegal West Bank Settlements as reckless. The Settlements are what is reckless.
If you don't give the Palestinians a state with enough land for the people to live on, they will live in Greater Israel and they will be the majority. You then have the vision to see what will happen. There is no room for an Israeli democracy, there is only room for either a South African Apartheid system which will generate unending violence in protest of such a system or an Israeli generated genocide against those Palestinians who cannot live on the land that Conservative Israelis want to live on. Both would shame me as an individual of Jewish descent.
I don't understand why a majority of Israeli's don't see this. And I don't understand why the GOP doesn't understand this.
If you don't give the Palestinians a state with enough land for the people to live on, they will live in Greater Israel and they will be the majority. You then have the vision to see what will happen. There is no room for an Israeli democracy, there is only room for either a South African Apartheid system which will generate unending violence in protest of such a system or an Israeli generated genocide against those Palestinians who cannot live on the land that Conservative Israelis want to live on. Both would shame me as an individual of Jewish descent.
I don't understand why a majority of Israeli's don't see this. And I don't understand why the GOP doesn't understand this.
Wow, Jennifer Rubin Blasts Donald Trump (again)
For those of you who do not know, Jennifer Rubin is a believer in a very conservative form of government and has consistently supported main stream members of the GOP even when they were acting outrageously.
But she has no tolerance for Donald Trump.
Link To column on Trump's love of chaos
But she has no tolerance for Donald Trump.
Link To column on Trump's love of chaos
Monday, December 19, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Ayn Rand Wins
It comes out somehow that the reason Donald Trump likes Rex Tillerson is they are both fans of Ayn Rand. So is Paul Ryan. And when you look at the mix of Billionaire and ex-Military men in the nominated Cabinet members it is easy to discern Trump's philosophy of he only likes people around him who project strength and a willingness to use the rules and power they have to enrich themselves and protect themselves from any attack. This of course has led to abuse of power and contracts in many cases in history.
I have not read Ayn Rand, I tried once but it was too dense for what I like to read. The synopsis of what she stands for is "own Happiness is the primary goal of each individual" and anything that encourages that should be allowed by the government.
But in our corporate America, with the premise in place by the Supreme Court that corporations are individuals, that can lead to a principle that corporations should have the power to maximize shareholders wealth over all other interested parties including society at large.
While it is certainly true that individual's rights are greater than society in some or many cases, there are other cases where society's need is greater than the individual's rights. Freedom of speech and the right to not be discriminated against are in the 1st category, while the need to pay for national defense, protect the environment and provide a social safety net are in the latter category. Where you draw the line on this is the basic difference between the parties and the campaign was not run in a manner where these lines were clearly delineated because the campaign was run in the gutter.
So while Trump did not get a mandate, he is preparing to govern like he did get a mandate. Lord help the balance that we have seen in the past between Republican and Democratic Presidents has been tossed out the door and right now I can only imagine the worst as "individual pursuit of happiness" becomes the governing mantra.
As this becomes clearer, I get madder and madder at the Clinton campaign. They believed they had an electoral college strategy, but they lost the 12 swing states by 800,000 votes. I truly believe they were so full of themselves and convinced they had the right strategy that they never operated below 30,000 feet and got trampled in rural America because they ignored rural America.
Democrats have to find a set of policies and communication strategies that appeal to rural America.
Meanwhile, the Senate Democrats are going to have to find a balance between obstruction and getting things passed that can help Democrats campaign in rural America.
I have not read Ayn Rand, I tried once but it was too dense for what I like to read. The synopsis of what she stands for is "own Happiness is the primary goal of each individual" and anything that encourages that should be allowed by the government.
But in our corporate America, with the premise in place by the Supreme Court that corporations are individuals, that can lead to a principle that corporations should have the power to maximize shareholders wealth over all other interested parties including society at large.
While it is certainly true that individual's rights are greater than society in some or many cases, there are other cases where society's need is greater than the individual's rights. Freedom of speech and the right to not be discriminated against are in the 1st category, while the need to pay for national defense, protect the environment and provide a social safety net are in the latter category. Where you draw the line on this is the basic difference between the parties and the campaign was not run in a manner where these lines were clearly delineated because the campaign was run in the gutter.
So while Trump did not get a mandate, he is preparing to govern like he did get a mandate. Lord help the balance that we have seen in the past between Republican and Democratic Presidents has been tossed out the door and right now I can only imagine the worst as "individual pursuit of happiness" becomes the governing mantra.
As this becomes clearer, I get madder and madder at the Clinton campaign. They believed they had an electoral college strategy, but they lost the 12 swing states by 800,000 votes. I truly believe they were so full of themselves and convinced they had the right strategy that they never operated below 30,000 feet and got trampled in rural America because they ignored rural America.
Democrats have to find a set of policies and communication strategies that appeal to rural America.
Meanwhile, the Senate Democrats are going to have to find a balance between obstruction and getting things passed that can help Democrats campaign in rural America.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Ignorance Should be a Disqualification for Senior Government Jobs
But what can you expect from a reality TV star.
The Head of the EPA will be a climate denier.
The Head of HUD doesn't seem to recognize reality outside of the operating room.
The Head of Labor should be heading the Commerce Department.
I am sure this list will get longer but I have to go to Virginia for the weekend and a majority of voters in too many states couldn't care less.
The Head of the EPA will be a climate denier.
The Head of HUD doesn't seem to recognize reality outside of the operating room.
The Head of Labor should be heading the Commerce Department.
I am sure this list will get longer but I have to go to Virginia for the weekend and a majority of voters in too many states couldn't care less.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Why I Think Donald Trump Won the Election
Well, he didn't win the popular vote so you cannot say the Democratic ideas were rejected by a majority of the people. But he did win the Electoral College by winning about 100,000 votes across some key states.
Yes, he coalesced the Alt-Right in all its variations but they haven't voted for a Democrat in a good number of years. So that is not the reason 100,000 people who used to vote for a Democrat voted for Trump.
I think the reason is these people (i) could not afford gridlock in Washington anymore and (ii) they are so cut off from their traditional points of education (unions, union shops, factory floors, mines) that they swallowed Trump's anti-immigrant anti-free trade economic policies even though the ideas they bought will never be implemented; although Trump will do his best to create the aura that he is doing something along those lines.
There isn't much the Democrats can do to restore the traditional points of education, but neither can the Republicans do that. So the Democrats have to find a way to end gridlock while protecting the economic interests of the middle class. I know it is ironic and heartbreaking to reward Mitch McConnell's "Just Say No" policy, but the Democrats have to become the party that has policies and Congressional action that gives these 100,000 people hope. Because it was 100,000 people this year, it could be 500,000 or 1,000,000 people in a few more years. Economic interests are not unique to white voters.
The Democrats must find a way to be competitive in most of the 50 states without giving up protections for every individual and the environment.
Yes, he coalesced the Alt-Right in all its variations but they haven't voted for a Democrat in a good number of years. So that is not the reason 100,000 people who used to vote for a Democrat voted for Trump.
I think the reason is these people (i) could not afford gridlock in Washington anymore and (ii) they are so cut off from their traditional points of education (unions, union shops, factory floors, mines) that they swallowed Trump's anti-immigrant anti-free trade economic policies even though the ideas they bought will never be implemented; although Trump will do his best to create the aura that he is doing something along those lines.
There isn't much the Democrats can do to restore the traditional points of education, but neither can the Republicans do that. So the Democrats have to find a way to end gridlock while protecting the economic interests of the middle class. I know it is ironic and heartbreaking to reward Mitch McConnell's "Just Say No" policy, but the Democrats have to become the party that has policies and Congressional action that gives these 100,000 people hope. Because it was 100,000 people this year, it could be 500,000 or 1,000,000 people in a few more years. Economic interests are not unique to white voters.
The Democrats must find a way to be competitive in most of the 50 states without giving up protections for every individual and the environment.
Saturday, December 3, 2016
The Importance of Being Able to Trust Your Government
I had to answer some questions about what I what I thought about the presidential election and after I finished I realized that I was depressed in a way in the aftermath of the election. Then RSL and I went to a movie last night. On the way, she told me that she had to let a rant go and I shouldn't say anything to interrupt her.
Her main point was that she could not trust anything representatives of the incoming government say and that meant she could not watch the nightly news and would have to read various publications to find out the truth. While there has always been a truth to that condition, it is especially important since we have a President elect that sees lying as a tool of manipulation to get what he wants. And we have a GOP Congress that has used words to camouflage their real intent for 20 years or so. So you cannot trust the GOP's words, you have to follow their actions which makes watching the TV news worthless.
So why is it important for people to able to trust their government? I think the answer to that question leads us back to civil order and the condition that people must be able to trust their government if they are to support that government. If that condition is not met, people are unnerved, in distress emotionally and there is the potential for civil disorder if a critical mass of such people form a group.
That is why words and truthfulness matter. If leader's words promote a lack of order it can communicate to other people that they will be able to get away with things that appear to be in sync with those words. No where is this more true than with the reality that people in authority (police and random white males) are murdering black males of all ages on a semi-routine basis all over this country. And I can only see racist behavior, supported by an unmeasurable but fairly widespread basis of fellow white people, as the root cause of this rampage. Nothing Donald Trump or GOP Congressional legislators has said could be considered supporting punishment for white people who murder black men. And now in 2 days we have a star football player shot dead in front of a gas station at 3:45 p.m. by a businessman after a traffic incident and a lone juror wants to find the S.C. policeman who shot an unarmed Walter Scott in the back innocent.
Civil Order is at risk because words matter. Policies matter. Every citizen deserves to be treated with respect by both representatives of the government and each other. When representatives of the government use words to encourage discrimination they reduce trust in government by those who will be subject to that discrimination and those who disagree with the government.
P.S. I forgot to mention the movie we saw last night, Loving. It was about the true story of how Virginia in 1958 still had a law that they enforced forbidding interracial marriage. Many of the arguments used in support of that law are being used today by various GOP politicians and supporters to justify their positions on a number of issues. Fortunately, the Supreme Court in 1967 ruled the Virginia marriage law unconstitutional. I wonder if the Robert's Court would do so once Trump gets done with his Supreme Court appointments over the next 3 years. That is enough to make me distrust this incoming government and I am generally not a cynic.
Her main point was that she could not trust anything representatives of the incoming government say and that meant she could not watch the nightly news and would have to read various publications to find out the truth. While there has always been a truth to that condition, it is especially important since we have a President elect that sees lying as a tool of manipulation to get what he wants. And we have a GOP Congress that has used words to camouflage their real intent for 20 years or so. So you cannot trust the GOP's words, you have to follow their actions which makes watching the TV news worthless.
So why is it important for people to able to trust their government? I think the answer to that question leads us back to civil order and the condition that people must be able to trust their government if they are to support that government. If that condition is not met, people are unnerved, in distress emotionally and there is the potential for civil disorder if a critical mass of such people form a group.
That is why words and truthfulness matter. If leader's words promote a lack of order it can communicate to other people that they will be able to get away with things that appear to be in sync with those words. No where is this more true than with the reality that people in authority (police and random white males) are murdering black males of all ages on a semi-routine basis all over this country. And I can only see racist behavior, supported by an unmeasurable but fairly widespread basis of fellow white people, as the root cause of this rampage. Nothing Donald Trump or GOP Congressional legislators has said could be considered supporting punishment for white people who murder black men. And now in 2 days we have a star football player shot dead in front of a gas station at 3:45 p.m. by a businessman after a traffic incident and a lone juror wants to find the S.C. policeman who shot an unarmed Walter Scott in the back innocent.
Civil Order is at risk because words matter. Policies matter. Every citizen deserves to be treated with respect by both representatives of the government and each other. When representatives of the government use words to encourage discrimination they reduce trust in government by those who will be subject to that discrimination and those who disagree with the government.
P.S. I forgot to mention the movie we saw last night, Loving. It was about the true story of how Virginia in 1958 still had a law that they enforced forbidding interracial marriage. Many of the arguments used in support of that law are being used today by various GOP politicians and supporters to justify their positions on a number of issues. Fortunately, the Supreme Court in 1967 ruled the Virginia marriage law unconstitutional. I wonder if the Robert's Court would do so once Trump gets done with his Supreme Court appointments over the next 3 years. That is enough to make me distrust this incoming government and I am generally not a cynic.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)