Why Do You Care?

Some of the issues that seem to be the most divisive are things that really mean almost nothing.

For example who cares if you have to push one to continue in English?

I was brought up to respect the flag, but I also realize that it isn't particularly significant and if someone wants to wear a flag bikini its pretty meaningless.

I suppose there might be situations where I am using a bathroom where someone enters who makes me feel uncomfortable, but I don't use a lot of public bathrooms in the first place and even if it did it probably wouldn't scar me psychologically.

I will say that I don't care what you call yourself but I a too old to keep learning new terms.  If I call you by a gender defining term that is not to your liking, I don't mean anything by it and why does it matter?

There are many other trivial things that get people excited when we should really focus on things that make a difference.

If you think you are woke, you are likely just differently prejudiced, thinking all those unwoke people are the problem.

Impeachy?

There isn't any reasonable doubt about the fact that the phone call involved a request for a favor, which included an investigation of a political rival.

The question is whether this is an impeachable offense?

The constitution talks about High Crimes and Misdemeanors, but the definition of those is pretty much up to the Congress.

So naturally it will be contested.

There are a long list of actions which some consider impeachable and some don't.

Violations include campaign finance rules, obstruction of justice and others.

Still at this time these violations are being tolerated by many in his party.

So impeachment yes, conviction probably not, re-election seems unlikely.

Time will tell.

Swing States

The next election is going to be decided by a fairly small number of people living in the swing states.  Of course every vote counts but most of us who live in states that are certain to go a certain way, barring some miracle, their electoral college votes are already determined.

So it will come down to certain swing states.  Which way these states swing will most likely determine our next president.  The last election was a few hundred thousand votes elect someone who got 3million less votes than their opponent.

The system isn't going to change anytime soon so the question facing Democrats is should they select a candidate who is the most popular overall, or, one who can win those states.

Clearly it would be ideal if that was a single candidate, but the progressive wing, which dominates the coastal area with the largest population, may vote for a candidate who will be "too left" for those voters.

Of course the policies of the left, universal health care, income equality, climate change policies, etc. could be popularized before the election in those states but that is potentially high risk.

Of course any Democratic candidate will support those policies to some extent so the progressive agenda might be sufficient. 

Christians?

When you consider the state of Christianity today its not very promising.  In its early days it was a religion that offered a message of love, a chance to be "born" again into a community where you were expected to love God and your fellow man.

While that message may live on in some areas, the general view of the religion is one where many of the so called Christians seem driven by self interest and in many cases bigotry.

Those evangelicals who claim to be Christian while supporting an amoral President and hating many of their fellow men should stop calling themselves Christians.

They have in many cases turned a blind eye to love of God and kindness to others and adopted convoluted biblical interpretations.  The old testament is not a Christian document, it is the basis of Judaism.

Those who quote it as God's word should realize it is not Christian at all.

They are no different from the Scribes and the Pharisees and the money lenders condemned by Jesus in their behavior.

Diversions

You can feel the desperation grow as the momentum for Impeachment gains speed.

The attempt to divert the public's attention and point out supposed "violations" by the Democrats is unlikely to work.

It is of course the main strategy of the desperate and it has worked to some extent in the past.

However, when you have dug a hole as deep as this, it takes more than meaningless exhibitions to fix it.

Some will go along with it, and maybe it will provide enough cover to give the required number of Senators cover to vote to acquit.

Maybe not.

When the hearings do go public the criminal and selfish behavior will be on display for all.

Some will ignore it but most won't.

Its not fake news, its fake diversions.

Modern Benedict Arnold

Breaking security rules was a cause celebre for many of the Republicans who did just that yesterday.

Taking and using a cell phone in a SCIF is a serious violation and the culprits are unlikely to be punished.

Arguing that Republicans are being locked out of the hearings when nearly half the committee members in the meetings are in fact Republicans shows that this was purely a publicity stunt.

In some ways I don't mind the meaningless protest, they are having trouble finding productive ways to defend the President.

He wasn't exonerated by the Miller report, he obstructed justice but since then he has continued to violate various laws and worse engaged in behavior that is getting our allies killed and displaced.

What he calls a big success is a blemish on this country that will outlive his Presidency and him.

He is the Benedict Arnold of foreign policy.

Fiddling While Earth Burns

Many of us heard about the time in ancient Rome when the Emperor Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned.

Of course it isn't completely true, fiddles weren't invented yet but the essence of the story has some validity since the fire cleared out an area of Rome which he wanted for a Palace and was effectively a slum before the fire.

In the end it was blamed on the Christians who were then martyred but eventually Nero was killed and replaced.

By this time Rome was already master of the known world but its was generally at its peak leading to power struggles and eventual decline.

Today we see much of the world effectively fiddling while the Earth burns.

Climate change is real and getting worse.  The changes it makes to the Earth accelerate the changes to come.

It may in fact already be too late to stop it as some of the effects take a situation initiated by human behavior but which after a tipping point is accelerated by natural ones.

Take the simple fact that ice reflects heat while bare earth tends to absorb it.  So when a glacier recedes exposing earth, the warming accelerates.

Further a lot of methane trapped in the permafrost starts to be released as the permafrost melts.

We need to reduce our contribution to this process and possibly find ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere instead of increasing it.

If we care about the future.

Steal the Oil?

We apparently have a pirate at the helm of the country who thinks we can grab some country's natural resources because, well, we can.

Whatever the mess is in the middle east, it isn't going to get better by acting like a colonial power and stealing stuff.

You would think that with a genius in charge we could come up with a better plan than a repeat of the colonial expansions of the 19th century.

Of course it is never going to happen, we have people who know how wrong it would be.

The only one who doesn't get that is the one at the top.

Of course he thinks in ways the rest of us can only be astonished by.

Public Servant

Getting elected President effectively means the country has selected you for a specific job.

It is a powerful job, perhaps the most powerful in the World, but its still a job, making you a public servant.

As such you are supposed to serve the public, its right there in the name.

Not just some of the public, all of it, although of course at times the public may be in conflict with themselves.

The public is not there to serve the President.

When a President forgets is it leads to behavior which is self serving, not public serving.

Promises?

When you consider the impetuous nature of our President its a wonder things aren't worse.

Of course according to him things are going just fine.

Our skyrocketing deficit caused in part of the tax law he pushed which spurred a brief increase in profitability gets bigger and bigger.

While unemployment is low, the jobs being created are not high paying manufacturing or mining but mostly low paying service jobs.

Income inequality continues to grow. Many people are being forced to work multiple jobs to cling to the American lifestyle.

Homelessness is at an all time high as well as opioid addition as the demands become greater and greater.

Our trade wars hurt many sectors with the full impact still to come.

We have lost influence in Asia, the middle east and have betrayed one of our allies.

We are about to turn Afghanistan back to the Taliban, an oppressive regime that promoted terrorism.

He has adopted policies that treat fellow humans in humanely.

He has reached out to foreign Governments to attack his political opponents and has welcomed their interference in our elections.

The only promise he has kept are the ones to his Russian master and his rich cronies.

The rest of us are on our own.

They Didn't Make Tea

Hopefully the silliness over the e-mails is finally over.

It was never a thing in the first place.

The point is that the use of a private e-mail server is simply not even riskier than the Government systems which have been hacked many times.

People who deal with sensitive issues write e-mails and classified items are almost always given special attention.

However, sometimes a reference can be made to something in an e-mail that can be referring to something classified.

Especially when you reclassify items after the fact.

The simple fact is that outside of politics it was clear there was no real issue.  The people involved weren't trying to compromise any issues, they were simply communicating about their jobs.

Sometimes they may have failed to properly mark a document but they weren't disclosing secrets to the enemy.

We have much worse going on now, and the people who created the tempest in the teapot are suddenly quiet.  The teapot was empty but we certainly have lots of caviar and vodka now.

Ranter in Chief

When you consider the two people involved its pretty obvious which one was likely to lose control and engage in an insulting rant, the its not the one with the Italian last name.

I can't imagine even his most ardent supporters thinking that he was the cool headed one.

Not that they care, they hate everyone who isn't their idol anyway.

So does it matter that he went on a rant?

He seems to mostly rant on twitter, so its a bit different when he does it in a meeting.

Still its who he is so no real surprise there.

Still its a bit of a surprise, but hey she wasn't at Normandy was she?

Debates

When you listen to the pundits discuss the Democratic candidates and the various groups in the Democratic party, it just seems like they get it very wrong when they think it is divisive.

Certainly there are differences in the positions and many different factions that support different approaches to goals and aims.

It is the way we work these things out and as we move forward we will sort out the outliers and the voters in the primaries will make choices.

At this time there is too much time, too many candidates and too many issues to know who will emerge.

Hopefully, unlike in 2016 we will see a leader with charisma emerge who will build momentum and get the nomination, like in 2008.

As much as I admire and respect some of the candidates for their long service, I would personally prefer someone younger with broad appeal to emerge.

Either way, no matter who the candidate, the party will be energized by the liar in the White House who has jeopardized the rights of minorities, our climate, our health care, our international relations and ultimately our economy.

The economy was on a strong recovery when he was elected and all he has accomplished was to increase profitability for his cohorts, not the well being of the middle class.

We need to get America back on track to our future.

Our Future

What kind of country do we want to live in.

Because of our history as a frontier country we started with very few rules.

This worked for some, not the native Americans or African Americans generally, but a certain group were able to accumulate great wealth and many others were able to be "free" and worship as they pleased, live as they pleased and escape the restrictions of the old world.

It was never as free as we sometimes pretend it was, but it was a time when an ambitious person could make his or her fortune with a little gumption and a little luck.

This was in fact what was know as the American dream where people of modest origins could succeed greatly.

Not everyone did of course, most didn't, but we were generally the best place to try.

A land of opportunity is part of our identity, but everyone should have a chance to pursue opportunities.

To do this we need to assure we have good schools for all.  This should include advanced levels of both academic nd technical training.  The young people need to be prepared for their roles going forward without saddling them with ridiculous levels of debt.  Perhaps in exchange they can provide some time in public service.

We need a health system that serves all of us without requiring decisions about whether we can afford to be well.

Finally we need to provide security to our older citizens.  They have earned that much.

Moving Forward

It would be a  better world if we all led a lives that followed the golden rule, love thy neighbor as you love thyself.

We seem however to have problems with the definition of neighbor.

Most of us have replaced it with a version that goes, watch out for number one.

This is becoming more and more prevalent in our country and our world.

People in need are ignored and the mantra you hear is very nationalistic in tone.

The idea that this attitude can somehow make a county great is mistaken.

Greatness is a product of innovation and spirit.

If you have a closed mind and a desire to stay the same you will never be great.

There is no example in history of a closed society being great, it stagnates and gets passed by others.

Lets welcome the future and not try to recreate a past that we remember better than it actually was.

Immigrants R Us!

One of the ironies in this country is the fact that people who were looked down upon when they were part of an immigrant wave, have now switched to the ones who want to discriminate.

Our earliest inhabitants who weren't native Americans were English, French and Spanish with some Dutch and Swedish people mixed in.  Of course we had the African Americans who were brought here against their will.

Subsequent waves of immigrants including Irish, Eastern European, Southern European and Asian were all initially discriminated against.

We now are applying that discrimination to current immigrants from Central America.  It should be noted that many Puerto Ricans and Cubans went through this in the 50s and 60s who are now generally accepted.

In fact, except for African Americans the history shows that after a generation or at most two the immigrants are fully integrated into our society rising to important positions in Business and Government.

African Americans and to some extent Jewish people remain easily identifiable and to that extent still experience some degree of discrimination.

We may be seeing a change in that but what is more certain is that the Central American people who are considered inferior now will be fully integrated into society in a generation or two.

Why make them wait?

Dont trust US

Its pretty obvious that our "genious" president isnt very good at foreign affairs.  The examples are piling up with the latest being hi decision to give Turkey free reign in northern Syria.

Besides the fact that this promotes the interests of Russia and Iran, it also puts the Kurds in a perilous position.

If betrayal of an ally isnt bad enough, the Kurds have been guarding thousands of Isis fighters who are now likely to go free.

So increased used potential for terrorism both abroad and here.

Isis is not likely to send us a thank you, at least not a peaceful one.

Make the World risky again, anyone?

Demographics

If you consider the future of America based on every demographic trend, its darker in complexion than it is now.

Between immigration and birth rates, people of African, Hispanic and Asian ancestry are increasing faster than people from people of Northern European ancestry.

It really shouldn't be an issue, everyone will be an American after all, except we have some politicians and a party that has sold its future for current advantage.

Trying to convince "white" Americans that they are in some sort of danger and need to adopt restrictive voting measures, stringent immigration strategies, and other measures to maintain their control is short sighted.

Even Republicans realize they need to expand their appeal to more minorities, but that becomes a bit of a conflict with the current repressive approach.

Generally more and more voters are not registering with either party, but minority voters are not trending in favor of Republicans.

Considering the trends this is a recipe for disaster for them but while the inevitable looms, they rely on an aging base.

The "victory" in the last presidential election was by the slimmest of margins in a few states that swayed the electoral college.

Repeating that will be almost impossible and will continue to get more and more difficult.

Any Farfetched Theory Will Do

Watching the current situation in Washington, it seems like the administration is simply floating any theory it can think of hoping one will stick.

The primary theory seems to revolve around proving some sort of conspiracy where the deep state, foreign countries and anyone else they can think of conspired to defeat Trump.

Obviously they didn't do it well, primarily because they didn't do it well.

The fact that enough voters held their nose and voted for the Republican candidate because they were fed so many lies and conspiracies about his opponent led to a electoral college victory while he was thumped in the popular vote.

No one conspired against him except maybe himself, as no one thought he was going to win in the first place.

The assistance he got from foreign governments (Russia), Wiki leaks, the FBI, and to some extent the progressive part of the Democratic party allowed him a victory which was more accident than historic.

Why would there be a conspiracy?

It would have been silly at the time.

Helping People, Radical?

One of the main themes of the upcoming election is that some of the candidates are just too radical for America.

Providing everyone with health care, the right to love anyone you want, the right to control your own body, the idea that income should be more equally distributed, humane treatment of immigrants and refugees are some of the radical ideas attacked

In sum one party is saying we can't afford it as a country or certainly can't afford it for non-citizens.

All of this while some people are amassing wealth that would embarrass the robber barons of the past.

Economic conditions in this country have actually deteriorated for the majority of people while improving for others.

It is a skill based technology based world where many of the things that were simply taken for granted about employment no longer are givens.

Good medical care, and adequate pension, job security are mainly things of the past or things reserved for the few, not the many.

Our employer based system for providing them has been collapsing as technology and greed has reduced benefits and driven up employee contributions.

The idea that it is radical to want everyone in this country to have access to health care and everyone an opportunity to retire with dignity is, well, radical itself.

The country is wealthy because of its people, all its people, both new and old.

They all should share in it.

Tough Audience

If I don't trust you I'm not going to believe much of what you say.

In much of Rural America, experience has taught them that politicians can't be trusted.

They have generally seen declines in many areas important to them because of the ongoing economic trends in the country and the world.

A lot of manufacturing that provided jobs has gone away unable to compete with cheaper imports.

Medical care has become more expensive and difficult to obtain as the number of medical professionals in these areas have declined.

Young people have opted to move to bigger cities where there is more opportunity.

The country as a whole seems to have abandoned some of their basic core values concerning religion and sexual preferences.

Illegal immigration has led to increases in crime, welfare and a general attack on their way of life, at least as they see it.

They are older, angrier and certain that America has lost its way.

When they hear promises about universal health care, taxing the wealthy, reducing student debt, none of it resonates with them, it just sounds like bigger government and more taxes.

They don't support impeachment and probably never will.

Medicare Fixes?

It seems like our President is about to announce his plan to make Medicate more affordable and sustainable.

It seems to consist of a number of actions, none of which can be forced.

The primary driver would be to expand telecare.  This is a system that I think it fairly universal in health plans already, where you can call a number to get medical advice.

It does reduce cost but only if people use it instead of actual visits.  We are talking about Medicare and many of the senior are unlikely to switch to an automated system, at least no in enough number to impact spiraling costs very much. Still doing something that health plans already do is about as innovative as this administration gets.

The other ideas involve getting health companies to share some of their profits with subscribers and reducing payments to those negotiated in some Medicare advantage plans.

There is nothing wrong in any of this except it is probably going to have almost no actual impact.

It will be hyped as the greatest reform ever, but when you look behind the curtain there is only a sad little man pulling the levers.

The Big Lie

There is so much lying going on in Washington right now that it is hard to  weed them out and get to the truth.  It is likely a deliberate policy and designed to throw everything into some level of confusion for those not paying a lot of attention.

Oddly despite clear evidence a certain number of the public believe things that are contrary to what their own leadership admits.

Simply put, if you believe that people are spreading lies about the President, you disregard almost everything.

Of course we have some wild accusations being spread by the administration which once again is designed to make everything seem questionable.

It was  tactic used by various totalitarian regimes, the big lie.

Take Germany's invasion of Poland, which was claimed by the Germans to be self defense.

As ludicrous as that seems it was in line with other lies they had gotten away with concerning how Germans in other countries were being oppressed under foreign regimes.

The Russian rolled out that lie about the Crimea.

The know not everyone will believe it, but they only need enough to cause inaction.

Its the same tactic about the administration misbehavior.  Of course he sees a real possibility of losing the electoral vote this time as well as the popular vote.

Its close to desperation time.

Alternate Realities

As the truth about the President's malfeasance sinks in with the American public, his defenders are trying to revive the old hits from the past, especially related to Hillary Clinton.

Of course she isn't even in the current race and the attempts to deflect attention are unlikely to succeed.

First, because her use of a private server indicated no actual leak of classified information.

She  never colluded with a foreign poser to try to steal an election.

Sometimes the old standards just don't work anymore.

The only real question is, after the other disgraceful things he managed to get away with, talking degradingly about women on tape, using derogatory language on tape, insulting war heroes and gold star families, spreading lies and misinformation about many things, including immigrants and supporting racists and white nationalists, is this enough to bring him down?

That remains to be seen, but it will probably have to happen quickly to be effective, the more time passes the more he comes up with alternate versions of reality.