March 2, 2017

New Mexico republican party praises t's speech (of course)

These people seem to think trump shits ice cream and they're all making sundaes.

Press Release:

Albuquerque, NM – Today, the Republican Party of New Mexico released the following statement on President Donald Trump's first address to a joint session of the United States Congress:

"Last night, President Donald Trump laid out to the American people and their representatives in Congress a thoughtful, bold legislative vision that should transcend partisanship," said Republican Party of New Mexico Spokesman Tucker Keene. "In his first 40 days, President Trump has already delivered on many of his biggest campaign promises, from bringing jobs back to our country, nominating a conservative to the Supreme Court, and putting our national security first. In last night's speech, Trump expanded upon his plan to vigorously pursue a legislative agenda that will put America first, address the critical issues facing our nation's citizens, and strengthen our economy. It is our sincere hope that Democrats will work with President Trump to address the problems facing our state and our country and work to make America great again."

Most New Mexicans, however, hope that Democrats will block anything and everything excreted by trump and the "party of trump".

February 27, 2017

Teddy Roosevelt on truth

Nearly 100 years later, Roosevelt's words are equally apropos today:

"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole.
Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile.
To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about anyone else."
— Theodore Roosevelt, op-ed in The Kansas City Star, 18 May 1918

February 27, 2017

White House survey request - Let's all respond!

Don't know how I got on this mailing list, but let's take advantage of the opportunity. If you can get through the e-mail without puking, or even if you do, follow the link to the survey. Good pic on the survey page - an empty podium.

Here it is:
In just two days, President Donald J. Trump will deliver his highly anticipated first Address to a Joint Session of Congress.

There is an incredible spirit of optimism sweeping across the Nation, and in preparation for this address, the President has hosted numerous listening sessions at the White House. During these meetings he has heard from men and women from all over the country about issues that are impacting American families, communities, and workers.

Now is your chance to give your input. We want to know what issues you want President Trump to focus on and your ideas for the future of our country.

It will only take a couple minutes to complete the survey.
Take the Survey Now

The President is checking off the promises he made to the American people, and he won’t stop until the job is done.

The forgotten men and women of this great Nation will be forgotten no longer. That is the heart of this movement. As President Trump has made clear, this is your country and this is your Government, and now we want to hear from you.

Take the Survey Now


[link:https://www.whitehouse.gov/joint-address-issues-survey?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20170226_ADM_JSOC_pre-issues-survey|

February 26, 2017

New Mexico Senator Encourages Activism

Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) sent this letter to his email subscribers:

Dear Friend,

Over the past few weeks, I have been hearing from New Mexicans in truly unprecedented numbers. People from every corner of the state have been reaching out to me in letters, phone calls and emails to ask the same question: what can I do to make a difference?

I want to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time to contact me; I hear your voices, I am listening, and I am taking your opinions into account when I cast my votes.

There is a lot at stake today. Especially now, when our country seems so divided, it is easy to lose hope. But I am urging you not to lose sight of the incredible power our democracy gives to each and every one of us. Your voices matter now more than ever. I am telling you: Washington is listening. Keep speaking up.

Speaking with constituents at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee field hearing in Albuquerque

But progress doesn’t just come from the halls of Congress or the White House. Change happens when people gather in living rooms, on campuses, and at matanzas across our state and decide to work together to make a difference. Here are some of the many ways you can effect positive change in New Mexico and across our nation:

Contact your U.S. representative and both your senators via mail, telephone or email.
Start a letter writing campaign with your friends or family.
Organize or join a community group focused on an issue that you care about.
Schedule meetings with your local, state and federal representatives to advocate for your cause.
Attend local city council meetings, business meetings, town halls, and forums—and speak up!
Organize a demonstration or a rally to make your voice heard.
Register to vote and help get out the vote on local, state, and general election days.

I’ll keep fighting in the Senate for opportunity and progress for every New Mexican. I hope you’ll keep fighting with me. As Margaret Mead, the accomplished American anthropologist, once said:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Cheers,

Tom Udall
United States Senator

February 18, 2017

Puzder, the humanitarian

An editorial from "Undeniably Right" in our local online news, the Grant County Beat:

But isn’t it interesting that the liberals are so outraged that a highly qualified man should be vilified because he chose to hire and help out a woman who had come to America only to better her situation and make a better life for her family. Let’s not forget that several members of the liberal elite have done similar things but that’s OK for them.

I'm sure the CEO of a corporation that endorsed worker exploitation paid her most generously.

February 17, 2017

McMorris Rodgers "misquotes" Fire Marshal

From Occupy Democrats

“The decision to limit the number of people in the Spokane office was made after consultation with the fire marshal, who issued a written ruling that only two members of the public could safely occupy the office on the sixth floor of the Peyton Building at a time,” she continued, also adding, that the arrangement allowed concerned citizens to meet with staff members individually, which promoted a “better dialogue.”

But in reality, this was a sleazy way for McMorris Rodgers to avoid her duties as a representative and to scapegoat Miller, who is not happy about being used in this way.

“I think somebody got badly quoted,” he said. “I did not issue any ruling saying only two members of the public could be in Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ office at the same time.”

He issued a statement which clarified that McMorris Rodgers was full of it “Based on Washington State’s currently adopted International Fire Code, International Building Code, and local municipal codes, the maximum capacity of the entire tenant space is 30 people.”

This is Republican “alternative facts” in action. Miller, the fire marshal, says the max occupancy of McMorris Rodgers’ office is 30 people, so she conveniently claims it is two—totally disregarding the truth.

I foresee many political careers coming to a screeching halt next year. In the meantime, if these cowardly congresscritters are so afraid of their constituents, resignations will be gladly accepted.

February 17, 2017

Another congressional office lockout - New Mexico

Yes, NM-02's very own representative of the 1%, Steve Pearce.

At a time when Republican Congresspersons are under fire for cutting off town halls and canceling public events, New Mexico’s sole Tea Party Congressman just went one step further.

Thursday afternoon, over fifty people from around New Mexico’s Second Congressional District – some traveling from more than 100 miles away – came together at the Las Cruces field office of their Congressional Representative, Steve Pearce, during office hours to ask for a chance to talk to their Congressman face-to-face about his support for President Trump.

But the staff snuck out the back door then refused to open the front door or take phone calls. Then it turned into a thing.

It all started with an awkward Telephone Town Hall

The first caller was probably a shill, started off with a bunch of ass-kissing, then rattled on without asking a question.

Promptly at 1:30pm, just as constituents were arriving to meet, the office locked the door. ProgressNowNM’s local organizer Lucas Herndon caught Pearce’s outreach coordinator, Peter Ibarbo, slunk out the back door, jump in his truck and drive away.

Driving away, Ibarbo tells constituents that staff is in the office to meet with those gathering. BUT… they found the doors locked and staff refused to answer the phone.

Here's the rest, with videos:
[link:http://progressnownm.org/2017/02/16/rep-steve-pearce-and-his-staff-refuse-to-see-or-hear-constituents/|

February 11, 2017

Poor suffering trumpsters

I know comments like this have been posted before, but this is the most extensive list I've seen:

A Trump supporting Facebook friend told Scott Mednick, "We suffered for eight years. Now it’s your turn.”
Scott wrote a brilliant response asking how exactly his friend had suffered under Obama:
"I am surprised you would wish suffering upon me. That of course is your right, I suppose. I do not wish harm on anyone. Your statement seems to continue the ‘US v THEM’ mentality. The election is over. It is important to get past campaigning and campaign rhetoric and get down to what is uniting, not dividing and what is best for
ALL Americans.
There will never be a President who does everything to everyone’s liking. There are things President Obama (and President Clinton) did that I do not like and conversely there are things I can point to that the Presidents Bush did that I agree with. So I am not 100% in lock step with the outgoing President but have supported him and the overall job he did.
And, if you recall, during the Presidential Campaign back in 2008 the campaign was halted because of the "historic crisis in our financial system." Wall Street bailout negotiations intervened in the election process. The very sobering reality was that there likely could be a Depression and the world financial markets could collapse. The United States was losing 800,000 jobs a month and was poised to lose at least 10 million jobs the first year once the new President took office. We were in an economic free-fall. So let us recall that ALL of America was suffering terribly at the beginning of
Obama’s Presidency.
But I wanted to look back over the last 8 years and ask you a few questions. Since much of the rhetoric before Obama was elected was that he would impose Sharia Law, Take Away Your Guns, Create Death Panels, Destroy the Economy, Impose Socialism and, since you will agree that NONE of this came to pass,
I was wondering:
Why have you suffered so?
So let me ask:
Gays and Lesbians can now marry and enjoy the benefits they had been deprived of. Has this caused your suffering?
When Obama took office, the Dow was 6,626. Now it is 19,875. Has this caused your suffering?
We had 82 straight months of private sector job growth - the longest streak in the history of the United States. Has this caused
your suffering?
Especially considering where he the economy was when he took over, an amazing 11.3 million new jobs were created under President Obama (far more than President Bush). Has this caused
your suffering?
Obama has taken Unemployment from 10% down to 4.7%. Has this caused your suffering?
Homelessness among US Veterans has dropped by half. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama shut down the US secret overseas prisons. Has this caused your suffering?
President Obama has created a policy for the families of fallen soldiers to have their travel paid for to be there when remains are flown home. Has this caused your suffering?
We landed a rover on Mars. Has this caused your suffering?
He passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Has this caused your suffering?
Uninsured adults has decreased to below 10%: 90% of adults are insured - an increase of 20 Million Adults. Has this caused
your suffering?
People are now covered for pre-existing conditions. Has this caused your suffering?
Insurance Premiums increased an average of $4,677 from 2002-2008, an increase of 58% under Bush. The growth of these
insurance premiums has gone up $4,145 – a slower rate of increase. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama added Billions of dollars to mental health care for our Veterans. Has this caused your suffering?
Consumer confidence has gone from 37.7 to 98.1 during Obama’s tenure. Has this caused your suffering?
He passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Has this caused
your suffering?
His bi-annual Nuclear Summit convinced 16 countries to give up and destroy all their loose nuclear material so it could not be stolen. Has this caused your suffering?
He saved the US Auto industry. American cars sold at the beginning of his term were 10.4M and upon his exit 17.5M. Has this caused your suffering?
The deficit as a percentage of the GDP has gone from 9.8% to 3.2%. Has this caused your suffering?
The deficit itself was cut by $800 Billion Dollars. Has this caused
your suffering?
Obama preserved the middle class tax cuts. Has this caused
your suffering?
Obama banned solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons. Has this caused your suffering?
He signed Credit Card reform so that rates could not be raised without you being notified. Has this caused your suffering?
He outlawed Government contractors from discriminating against LGBT persons. Has this caused your suffering?
He doubled Pell Grants. Has this caused your suffering?
Abortion is down. Has this caused your suffering?
Violent crime is down. Has this caused your suffering?
He overturned the scientific ban on stem cell research. Has this caused your suffering?
He protected Net Neutrality. Has this caused your suffering?
Obamacare has extended the life of the Medicare insurance trust fund (will be solvent until 2030). Has this caused your suffering?
President Obama repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. Has this caused
your suffering?
He banned torture. Has this caused your suffering?
He negotiated with Syria to give up its chemical weapons and they were destroyed. Has this caused your suffering?
Solar and Wind Power are at an all time high. Has this caused
your suffering?
High School Graduation rates hit 83% - an all time high. Has this caused your suffering?
Corporate profits are up by 144%. Has this caused your suffering?
He normalized relations with Cuba. Has this caused your suffering?
Reliance on foreign oil is at a 40 year low. Has this caused your suffering?
US Exports are up 28%. Has this caused your suffering?
He appointed the most diverse cabinet ever. Has this caused
your suffering?
He reduced the number of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Has this caused your suffering?
Yes, he killed Osama Bin Laden and retrieved all the documents in his possession for analysis. Perhaps THIS caused your suffering?
From an objective standpoint it would appear that the last eight years have seen some great progress and we were saved from a financial collapse. Things are not perfect. Things can always be better. We are on much better footing now than we were in 2008.
I look forward to understanding what caused you to suffer so much under Obama these last eight years."
Copy & paste to share. I hope you will.

February 10, 2017

Is ICE Becoming the Border Nazis?

This was posted previously, but didn't seem to get much attention. This is serious stuff; looks like Immigration & Customs Enforcement is self-appointing itself menacing powers based on trump's proclamations and to hell with the courts.

Canadian woman denied entry to U.S. after Muslim prayers found on her phone

Fadwa Alaoui is a Moroccan-born Canadian citizen living in Brossard, Quebec. Like a lot of Quebecers, she sometimes drives down to Vermont to take advantage of the deals. But on Saturday, when her family pulled up at the border, Alaoui encountered something new.
After the usual set of questions, Alaoui says she was asked about her religion and her thoughts on U.S. President Donald Trump. She says border agents took her phone and fingerprints. Four hours later she was told that her family wasn't welcome and she was forced to turn back.
The rest of the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.3972400/canadian-woman-denied-entry-to-u-s-after-muslim-prayers-found-on-her-phone-1.3972404

February 5, 2017

Temper Tantrums

Our local online news site has posted a couple of editorials about demonstrators' "temper tantrums". Since the only tantrums I've noticed have emanated from the White House, I responded as follows:

Temper Tantrums?
There have been a couple of recent editorials referring to “temper tantrums” at protests over the president’s actions. For example:
“When Obama was elected, when Clinton was elected, when George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush were elected, people who didn't vote for them didn't throw a temper tantrum because they lost, and they certainly didn't hire people to torch cars and break store windows on the day of our peaceful transition of power when the presidents came into office.”

Yes, a few people have let their anger get out of control; there is no evidence that anyone was “hired” to vandalize.

The four presidents mentioned above were elected and accepted as reasonable men.
None of them insulted leaders of other countries.
None of them stalked their opponent during a debate and called her “nasty”.
None of them refused to release their tax returns.
None of them threatened their opponent with arrest and prison.
None of them appointed a Nazi racist as a chief advisor
None of them claimed to be immune from conflicts of interest.
None of them have nominated cabinet members whose records show they will disable the agencies to which they have been appointed.
None of them have promised to “Run the country like I run my businesses”, six of which have gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Never have we had a Congress so determined to undermine the programs we depend on: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
Never have we had so many Republican Senators and Representatives who do not represent their constituents, but are only capable of rubber-stamping the destructive policies of party leaders.

No, it is not temper tantrums we see, but a quiet rage that is building and will continue to build until the Legislative Branch recognizes this rage and reins in both themselves and the administration.

John
Mimbres, New Mexico