Message auto-removed

A Future Nightmare?

I love the country in which I was born, the United States of America, it is a special place and I would do anything to defend her. I believed “my country, may she always be in the right; but my country, right or wrong, my country.” This is why during the Vietnam War, although I had a student deferment, I volunteered for the draft (and almost caused my Mom to have a heart attack.) I have traveled the world, and been in many places; including where there was a soldier on every street corner, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, making sure people did not speak their mind. So what makes my country so special?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." ... "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

These words were the seeds from which an exceptional nation grew; a nation where the people were the sovereign, not some king by divine right. A nation where people could pursue happiness within the framework of promoting the general welfare; for only this could establish justice and secure the blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our children. Only in this, is the United States exceptional: We the People have the oldest democracy in the world, we can be tranquil in knowing that our government only gets its powers from the consent of the governed, and we all have an equal voice in what it does.

To preserve and protect this exceptional nation over the years, many good and brave men and women have given their lives. Now it is our turn to preserve and protect this exceptional nation. Not by giving up our lives, or carrying a gun, but rather like Thomas Jefferson, picking up a pen. "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC said money is just a form of free speech, so anybody can give whatever amount they want to a super-PAC to buy 1000's of 30 and 60-second television commercials. These ads will be repeated over and over again with catchy slogans, jingles, and images, lots of accusations and lies, but little discussion of the details of policies enacted if elected. That is because these ads are meant to evoke emotion, not understanding. As Adolf Hitler said: "It is not truth that matters, but victory."... "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." ... "I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few."

I would venture to say that the man who has a million dollars to give to a political campaign, has a little more influence on its outcome, then the man who can only give his one vote. I do not believe this is what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he wrote, "all men are created equal." While being able to give unlimited money to influence the political process may only be the exercise of free speech in theory, in practicality, it undermines the very foundation on which this nation was built.

We often take the exceptional nature of our nation for granted. For most of us, except for the two months before an election, we ignore what goes on in the world of government and politics. We are low information voters; we vote based on the way we feel about a candidate. Make no mistake, every 30 and 60-second television ad is a piece of propaganda, intended not to inform, but only to manipulate how a person feels about a candidate. As Adolf Hitler stated: "All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach."... "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed."

I fear a nightmare scenario for the United States since Trump was elected President. He will implement the Ryan budget plan, which cuts taxes for the "investor class" (aka the rich and already done), while reducing government spending by cutting programs that benefit the poor, working and middle-class families. Since money knows no nationality and owes no loyalty but to itself, most of the tax cut the rich receive will be invested in emerging market countries, where it will get the greatest return, or deposited in the secret bank accounts of "offshore tax havens", or hidden away in Bitcoins. This money will not circulate through the American economy, create demand, and help the economy grow.

Meanwhile, since Trump promised not to increase the deficit, the budgets would be slashed for programs like: crop insurance for farmers, natural disaster relief, food inspection, interstate highway repair and maintenance, school nutrition programs, unemployment insurance, student financial aid, food stamps, employment training, "Head Start", "aid for dependent children", etc. Cuts in federal grants to local and state governments would mean the layoff of policemen, firemen, and teachers. Of course, all these things and people consume "goods and services" which employ people to meet this demand. To the extent demand is now lessened, employers will cut back and factories may close, jobs will be lost, and the unemployment rate will rise. Rather then the agonizingly slow but steady economic growth we presently have, the economy will begin to shrink, we will be in a recession.

The Trump/Ryan budget will increase economic inequality, in that, it gives significant tax cuts to the rich while cutting benefits such as unemployment insurance, student financial aid, food stamps, employment training, "Head Start", school nutrition programs, etc, mostly used by the poor. This will revive and reinvigorate an "Occupy Wall Street" type movement, perhaps to the extent where the size of its demonstrations will match those against the war in Vietnam. Some of the demonstrations may deteriorate into riots, as they have done in London, Greece, and Spain. These will only be splinter groups but media reports, especially Fox News, will focus on them.

Trump will be pressured by his "hard right" supporters, including Rush Limbaugh, into declaring the demonstrators are terrorist, because of the riots, and evoking the "Patriot Act." Many of the illegal actions in regards to the anti-war movement for which Nixon was impeached in Watergate, would today be perfectly legal under the "Patriot Act."

But what is most terrifying of all, is as Martin Luther King Jr reminded us, "We must never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal." Both Hitler and Mussolini, in a time of political and economic distress, in a sloppy and flawed political process, achieved office democratically. It was only after taking office, did they reinterpret and expand the powers they had, becoming a dictator. We say it could never happen here, but as the little known "plot against FDR" shows, it is not unthinkable.

Getting Rid of Trump Accomplishes

Pence becomes POTUS. He may not be crazy like Trump, but he is also not the rallying cry Don-the-Con is. His policies will be the same, he may even accomplish more of them. But many on the fringes of the resistance to Trump will feel they have accomplished what they wanted and melt away

Some Observations From A Former Republican

I am a lifelong Republican who supported Mitt Romney's father in 1964 (but not Mitt in 2012), McCain, and both Bush's. But this new Republican party is not the one I knew and loved. I remember there was a time when rivers caught fire (Cuyahoga River in Ohio), homes were built over raw toxic waste (Love Canal), a million children with disabilities had no access to the public schools, people died by breathing the air (smog), and 1000's of babies were born with birth defects from unregulated drugs (Thalidomide), etc. Republican President Nixon created the EPA and Republican President Theodore Roosevelt created the FDA. Republican President Ford created the first federal regulatory program in education, with a program for special needs children. Republican President Eisenhower warned: "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, by the military–industrial complex" and was responsible for one of the largest Infrastructure projects in American history (Interstate Highway System). These men were not Left-wing radical hippies, but the "New Republican Party" and their supporters in Congress would call them Socialist. Both parties worked together to find common solutions to our problems and compromise was not a dirty word. I am worried about the direction in which the United States is headed.

The Dominican Republic where I now live, as an expatriate absentee voter, never had a government that looked out for its people, all wealth was concentrated and went to the elite. I am sure you remember Rafael Trujillo. This is why this country is so poor. The elite never paid taxes for the public good. Yes, the poor are better off in the United States then in this country, because in most of our history we had a government that cared about ALL the people. This was true for both Republicans and Democrats, but now that is changing in this new Republican party. They sound as if they would be delighted if the United States had a government which emulated the Dominican Republic.

I was considered a successful small businessperson, yet I have never made a business decision based on taxes. They never deterred me from expanding when I saw an opportunity to meet a demand by consumers. Taxes never took 100% of any additional income I made by expanding my business. However if there was no demand, I would not expand no matter how low the taxes. If 90% of the people have no money how can they buy my products? In fact, taxes were just a cost of doing business like any other necessary cost. They paid for services my business and I, (as an individual), needed. As my father used to express it "some for me and some for my uncle (Sam)." Besides, the psychic income, of pride and a sense of achievement, gained from building a business was never taxed. Those who say taxes kill jobs have their own agenda, that does not include paying for the common good, which benefits all of us.

Awful - Veterinarian Shot and Killed Neighbors Dog for Barking! Let's Get Her License Revoked

On December 13, 2017, Kelly Folse carried over a gun to her neighbor’s house and shot the fifteen-month-old American Bulldog named Bruiser who was contained in a fenced-in yard. His family rushed him to the Abadie Veterinarian Hospital (ironically the same hospital Folse worked at), where he sadly died as a result of the shooting. Folse was not involved in the care of Bruiser at the hospital.

Thankfully, the hospital fired Folse and she was arrested on charges of aggravated animal cruelty, illegal discharge of a weapon, and two drug offenses for prescription narcotics found in her house without a prescription. Folse’s reasoning for shooting and killing the dog? He was barking.

This shocking display of violence shows that Folse is not only unstable, but demonstrates a complete disregard for animal life, and she does not deserve the title of veterinarian and should have her license revoked. A petition on Care2 has been written to do just that. Please take a moment to sign the petition.

The link to the petition can be found at the source http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/veterinarian-shot-and-killed-neighbors-dog/