Only in America!

Only in America do we have a wonderful and secure form of government .
It allows self-centered nit wits to run things…into the ground !
As I have studied history and such , it occurs that democracy is too organized and solid .
Our system does not allow for the people to truly be the government , only those elected to the post and make their own rules and actions .
Lately , it has been , as one person said , “ Wrong !
Wrong !
Wrong !
” Sounds like an alarm clock with a low battery .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Only in America can you alter an election , via Eurasian forces , lurking in the midst and causing us to obtain the worst administration ever conceived .
Only in America can that group avoid everything and guarantee that the head person , President Trump , is not impeached or held accountable for what many view as treasonous acts and the lack of responsibility to the people that he is supposed to serve .
That ’ s right !
Trump is supposed to serve us , not the other way around .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants it though , the opposite is the norm .
Unfortunately , it also lays down the ground work for negative outcomes , which have been pouring in like water over an embankment .
The mishandlings of the Trump Administration has been nothing less than abysmal and at best , like a high school baseball team playing in the World Series .
Sorry sports fans , there will be no World Series this year and possibly way into the future , thanks to El Presidente Loco por Coco Puffs !
When a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ , ‘ empathy ’ , or something of that nature , Trump has to pull out a dictionary .
Why ?
Because those are all foreign words to the man , if he desires to call himself that .
Donald Trump is a comic tragedy in the making .
They could name an opera after him called , ‘ La Bonehead ’ .
It would center on the happenings of a leader of a great nation ( let ’ s make it Great Again !
Remember that one ? )
, whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , shouts and does just about everything that is the opposite of what he should be doing as the so-called ‘ leader of the free world ’ .
Again…free .
Are we COVID free and who do we have to thank for that one , huh ?
Well , we are not anywhere near COVID free and we have no one to thank , certainly not Trump or his gang of merry marauders .
Kushner really needs to look in the mirror , as does McConnell and a slew of others .
Kushner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be in a tree making cookies , and the others , well…there are not enough derogatory things to say about them , so we ’ ll just stick with this for the time being .
Only in America can we handle something like the present crisis with absolute chaos and lack of leadership .
True that we are not the only ones that could have done better in handling the COVID deal , but by far , we lead in deaths and lack of comprehensive actions .
What is said is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It can not be blamed that the general public didn ’ t figure on this virus being so potent and damaging on so many levels .
SARS ( relative to the Corona Virus ) was not taken all that serious back-in-the-day since it was nothing near the catastrophe that this situation has been and become , respectively .
Why should we worry ?
Diseases are always present somewhere in the world and never really materialize into something significant…that was until recent history .
Enter 2020 .
We were all duped into believing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plenty of promise .
There was no real reason to think otherwise .
That has changed dramatically and in a drop dead sort of way ( 100,000 deaths you say ?
! )
.
Life has been changed and evolved into an utmost challenge and gloomy prospect .
20 million plus not getting back to work .
What are they going to do ?
Where can they go considering ‘ social distancing ’ and all else ?
Can attend or watch sporting events , or much other ado in the arts and entertainment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do .
What to do .
Hmmm !
Only in America can such a faux pas occur on a huge scale .
If this were another country or political system , then the removal of such a moron and his crew would not be too much of a problem .
Civil war ?
That would be the best and greatest answer .
The outrage at the incompetence and obligatory way that this crisis has been dealt with would embroil a force that could conceivable be the cure for this and all else .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have enlisted the military to take car of things .
Mind you , they do normally result in dictatorships since armed force personnel run the show .
However , considering the way things turn out when inept leaders are in place and the welfare of the many is ignored , et cetera , does anyone wonder why a violent uprising would occur and always does somewhere in the world ?
Don ’ t think that can ’ t happen here in the Good Ol ’ U. S. of A. ?
Think again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are groups of all kinds , military , paramilitary and even civilian that fit the mold .
Fortunately , most of them have singular points of view and don ’ t combine very well .
It is that indifference that saves us as a nation and a society .
Just on a curious note , what if they found that all of them share a real common interest ?
That might well lead to a Coup d ’ e ’ tat , which might temporarily cure the fact that we have ill equipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what ?
Whom would replace that and could it be worse that those that we deposed ?
The mere prospect of that possibility is frightening indeed .
It would get Trump out along with all his so called ‘ people ’ ( if one cares to refer to them as such ) , but would also lead to anarchy and what to fill that with , respectively .
It is a long shot that things would be better if military forces took the White House and effectively took over the government and generally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows that nations partaking in such actions as a revolutionary force leads to no good .
The main thing is that it would have to be military and that faction normally proves to be at least a tad bit on the dictatorship side of things .
They would be impossible to get rid of if all proved to be a bad thing since another force to take them out would be also necessary .
We see this overseas all the time and mostly it creates a horrible atmosphere .
The Constitution of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since that too has been absent for some time .
Wouldn ’ t be surprising .
Only in America could we become great again .
We are great in the number of COVID cases and deaths .
We ’ re great !
We a great in fascist and racist retort to all .
We ’ re great !
We have tens of millions out of work and so many of those will not return to work at all even when this mess is said and done with .
We ’ re great again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amount of trillions to fix this matter at hand .
Again , great again !
We are at each other ’ s throats on a constant basis regarding just about everything .
Great once again !
We , thanks to Trump and his unabated mouth and actions , alienate us from the rest of the world on such a grand scale .
Now that ’ s great again , isn ’ t it ?
Fake news ?
Got that too I guess , though if the truth is spoken , doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , matter of opinion I reckon .
If America is great now , what was it before all this ?
Feature this , it was always great in one way or another .
Trump and a scant strong minority didn ’ t think so .
Tired of hearing something other than English , seeing people darker than George Lopez , along with relaxed drug laws and attitude was just irking those same folks that protested the lockdowns and such .
They share the same brain and are comfortable in their world of indifference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those gun toting , non mask wearing , shouting bands that inhabited the steps of state capitols looked basically the same .
Think about that one people !
Those that were in the news and in view were normally of a common demographic .
White , between the ages of teens to thirties , then jumps up to the silent minority ( those folks of retirement on up ) , wearing clothes that were probably bought at a thrift or discount store , and shouting and chanting like a church congregation , proclaiming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meister Brau must of made a fortune during those sessions .
Thank the Lord that they are pro Trump supporters , otherwise they might well overrun him and his troops , take over , then we ’ d have to listen to them and follow accordingly .
Blessed all that is Holy that they are not in charge .
That would truly be scary beyond comprehension .
The fear of a coup taking over is real , though distant , still , a bad deal nonetheless .
Only in America can I write @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whereas in another country I could be rounded up with other writers as myself , arrested , tortured , jailed and killed , maybe not in that order .
Only in America can we elect a clearly incapable and inept president and allow his minions to run everything into the ground for their own selfish agendas and short sightedness .
Only in America can we have a great portion of the population believe that we can go back to the way things were in a wanton fashion .
I have got bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Get used to it and figure out what is real and important , both .
Forget about the inconvenience of social distancing being the imperative .
Just getting through this current state of affairs will be daunting enough .
The future is going to be much more challenging .
Only in America can denial and inaction be so prevalent and obvious .
Folks simply don ’ t want to digest any of this with decorum .
We ’ d rather protest all and follow the Baby into the abyss .
Pretty pathetic !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and front line people doing miracles for all of us in general .
The essential workers , as myself , and all the others will continue to fight for the better end of things .
We will perform the all services that none of us can not do without .
People with brains and compassion will unify and actually make America Great Again !
This will take a tremendous amount of time , money and coordinate effort .
What hurts about wearing a mask anyway ?
Trust me , many folks aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them donning a cloth over their faces helps us all !
Trust me , it does .
Jokin ’ aside , we need to unify for the same thing , getting over this COVID thing and recovering from the damages that it has done and will do .
We are looked upon for leadership from the rest of world .
Let ’ s not let them down either .
If hope is somewhere , we ’ ll find it somehow , someway .
Not in the form of a real Coup d ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and action as Americans .
We ’ ve done it before , we ’ ll do it again !

Coup d'état
By
Mike Arroyo
Only in America do we have a wonderful and secure form of government. It allows self-centered nit wits to run things…into the ground! As I have studied history and such, it occurs that democracy is too organized and solid. Our system does not allow for the people to truly be the government, only those elected to the post and make their own rules and actions. Lately, it has been, as one person said, “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” Sounds like an alarm clock with a low battery. It is right, it is wrong.
Only in America can you alter an election, via Eurasian forces, lurking in the midst and causing us to obtain the worst administration ever conceived. Only in America can that group avoid everything and guarantee that the head person, President Trump, is not impeached or held accountable for what many view as treasonous acts and the lack of responsibility to the people that he is supposed to serve. That’s right! Trump is supposed to serve us, not the other way around. Servitude to him is the way he wants it though, the opposite is the norm. Unfortunately, it also lays down the ground work for negative outcomes, which have been pouring in like water over an embankment. The mishandlings of the Trump Administration has been nothing less than abysmal and at best, like a high school baseball team playing in the World Series. Sorry sports fans, there will be no World Series this year and possibly way into the future, thanks to El Presidente Loco por Coco Puffs! When a person mentions ‘care’, ‘duty’, ‘empathy’, or something of that nature, Trump has to pull out a dictionary. Why? Because those are all foreign words to the man, if he desires to call himself that. Donald Trump is a comic tragedy in the making. They could name an opera after him called, ‘La Bonehead’. It would center on the happenings of a leader of a great nation (let’s make it Great Again! Remember that one?), whom upon arrival dictates, screams, pouts, shouts and does just about everything that is the opposite of what he should be doing as the so-called ‘leader of the free world’. Again…free. Are we COVID free and who do we have to thank for that one, huh? Well, we are not anywhere near COVID free and we have no one to thank, certainly not Trump or his gang of merry marauders. Kushner really needs to look in the mirror, as does McConnell and a slew of others. Kushner should be selling junk bonds and McConnell should be in a tree making cookies, and the others, well…there are not enough derogatory things to say about them, so we’ll just stick with this for the time being.
Only in America can we handle something like the present crisis with absolute chaos and lack of leadership. True that we are not the only ones that could have done better in handling the COVID deal, but by far, we lead in deaths and lack of comprehensive actions. What is said is the apathy or absence of a clue. It cannot be blamed that the general public didn’t figure on this virus being so potent and damaging on so many levels. SARS (relative to the Corona Virus) was not taken all that serious back-in-the-day since it was nothing near the catastrophe that this situation has been and become, respectively. Why should we worry? Diseases are always present somewhere in the world and never really materialize into something significant…that was until recent history. Enter 2020. We were all duped into believing that this year was a fresh start with plenty of promise. There was no real reason to think otherwise. That has changed dramatically and in a drop dead sort of way (100,000 deaths you say?!). Life has been changed and evolved into an utmost challenge and gloomy prospect. 20 million plus not getting back to work. What are they going to do? Where can they go considering ‘social distancing’ and all else? Can attend or watch sporting events, or much other ado in the arts and entertainment department at this point. What to do. What to do. Hmmm!
Only in America can such a faux pas occur on a huge scale. If this were another country or political system, then the removal of such a moron and his crew would not be too much of a problem. Civil war? That would be the best and greatest answer. The outrage at the incompetence and obligatory way that this crisis has been dealt with would embroil a force that could conceivable be the cure for this and all else. Countries that have leaders they would rather not have enlisted the military to take car of things. Mind you, they do normally result in dictatorships since armed force personnel run the show. However, considering the way things turn out when inept leaders are in place and the welfare of the many is ignored, et cetera, does anyone wonder why a violent uprising would occur and always does somewhere in the world? Don’t think that can’t happen here in the Good Ol’ U. S. of A.? Think again! The mere possibility exists that there are groups of all kinds, military, paramilitary and even civilian that fit the mold. Fortunately, most of them have singular points of view and don’t combine very well. It is that indifference that saves us as a nation and a society. Just on a curious note, what if they found that all of them share a real common interest? That might well lead to a Coup d’e’tat, which might temporarily cure the fact that we have ill equipped leadership and effectively remove that. Then what? Whom would replace that and could it be worse that those that we deposed? The mere prospect of that possibility is frightening indeed. It would get Trump out along with all his so called ‘people’ (if one cares to refer to them as such), but would also lead to anarchy and what to fill that with, respectively. It is a long shot that things would be better if military forces took the White House and effectively took over the government and generally proves false in the end. History shows that nations partaking in such actions as a revolutionary force leads to no good. The main thing is that it would have to be military and that faction normally proves to be at least a tad bit on the dictatorship side of things. They would be impossible to get rid of if all proved to be a bad thing since another force to take them out would be also necessary. We see this overseas all the time and mostly it creates a horrible atmosphere. The Constitution of the United States might well become toilet paper since that too has been absent for some time. Wouldn’t be surprising.
Only in America could we become great again. We are great in the number of COVID cases and deaths. We’re great! We a great in fascist and racist retort to all. We’re great! We have tens of millions out of work and so many of those will not return to work at all even when this mess is said and done with. We’re great again! We’ll rack up untold amount of trillions to fix this matter at hand. Again, great again! We are at each other’s throats on a constant basis regarding just about everything. Great once again! We, thanks to Trump and his unabated mouth and actions, alienate us from the rest of the world on such a grand scale. Now that’s great again, isn’t it? Fake news? Got that too I guess, though if the truth is spoken, doesn’t it remain the truth? Oh well, matter of opinion I reckon. If America is great now, what was it before all this? Feature this, it was always great in one way or another. Trump and a scant strong minority didn’t think so. Tired of hearing something other than English, seeing people darker than George Lopez, along with relaxed drug laws and attitude was just irking those same folks that protested the lockdowns and such. They share the same brain and are comfortable in their world of indifference. It is funny that almost all those gun toting, non mask wearing, shouting bands that inhabited the steps of state capitols looked basically the same. Think about that one people! Those that were in the news and in view were normally of a common demographic. White, between the ages of teens to thirties, then jumps up to the silent minority (those folks of retirement on up), wearing clothes that were probably bought at a thrift or discount store, and shouting and chanting like a church congregation, proclaiming God and Country, et cetera. Meister Brau must of made a fortune during those sessions. Thank the Lord that they are pro Trump supporters, otherwise they might well overrun him and his troops, take over, then we’d have to listen to them and follow accordingly. Blessed all that is Holy that they are not in charge. That would truly be scary beyond comprehension. The fear of a coup taking over is real, though distant, still, a bad deal nonetheless.
Only in America can I write all this and get away with it, whereas in another country I could be rounded up with other writers as myself, arrested, tortured, jailed and killed, maybe not in that order. Only in America can we elect a clearly incapable and inept president and allow his minions to run everything into the ground for their own selfish agendas and short sightedness. Only in America can we have a great portion of the population believe that we can go back to the way things were in a wanton fashion. I have got bad news…things will never be the same…NEVER! Get used to it and figure out what is real and important, both. Forget about the inconvenience of social distancing being the imperative. Just getting through this current state of affairs will be daunting enough. The future is going to be much more challenging. Only in America can denial and inaction be so prevalent and obvious. Folks simply don’t want to digest any of this with decorum. We’d rather protest all and follow the Baby into the abyss. Pretty pathetic!
Only in America can we have caring and front line people doing miracles for all of us in general. The essential workers, as myself, and all the others will continue to fight for the better end of things. We will perform the all services that none of us cannot do without. People with brains and compassion will unify and actually make America Great Again! This will take a tremendous amount of time, money and coordinate effort. What hurts about wearing a mask anyway? Trust me, many folks aren’t all that attractive, so having them donning a cloth over their faces helps us all! Trust me, it does. Jokin’ aside, we need to unify for the same thing, getting over this COVID thing and recovering from the damages that it has done and will do. We are looked upon for leadership from the rest of world. Let’s not let them down either. If hope is somewhere, we’ll find it somehow, someway. Not in the form of a real Coup d’e’tat, but through solidarity and action as Americans. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again!
Only in America!
************************************************************


Forewarned is Forearmed!

If Only He Knew !
If only he knew !
Although many of us in the public didn ’ t figure on him actually becoming president , Donald Trump proved otherwise .
Quite a feat considering all , though Russia remains a mysterious shadow with near evidence of their so called ‘ involvement ’ with it , there remains simple facts .
Many Americans , especially white , rural and mid range aged , felt sleighed by the Obama Administration and its short comings .
Though it is interesting to know that President Obama got anything accomplished in light of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Regardless , America voted Trump in and there you have it , the beginning of a new era .
It is sad that this is the era and there is no escaping it , just dealing with it is a full time job ( which many wished they had at this moment ) .
From the start there has been nothing less than suspicion , scrutiny and outright rage in regards to the Trump Administration .
He in particular is an interesting person in spite of anything good or bad to say on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own rite , Donald Trump has been and remains , not boring by any degree .
Having risen to the top and becoming rich and powerful catapulted him to where he is now .
Celebrity and all else , Trump is now our so called ‘ leader ’ .
Did he really know that there would be a path to all that ?
Perhaps confidence and attitude were on his side and it is a good thing , depending on how that is applied , which is what the main issue is with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is fair to say that the man was caught off guard by events that were filled with surprises and outright challenges .
Match that with his overall personally and it is clear that the whole current affair of things would be stirred up much like a Molotov cocktail .
The result of which are self evident by the results that are present .
Did he figure on all the things that he has already have to deal with ?
From the allegations of Russian involvement and influence on the election , to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to prevent or cure anything like illegal immigration along our borders ( most folks come in by plane and ship , by the way , not the Rio Grande as much ) .
What about having a hubris in speaking foul and afoul about a great deal of people and organizations ?
There and with many other factors , it all led up to his pending impeachment that never happened .
Much like him pardoning and exonerating his ‘ friends ’ .
People on his side that shared his views .
Very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotions and how those close to him should be ‘ yes ’ people , both men and women .
Might explain why there was a delay in his reaction to the Corona Virus ( our friend COVID-19 ) .
There are so many examples of what Trump has done and how many times they were either failures to some degree , if not totally , that the discussion could take place now and not end until the second COVID waves comes and goes in the not too distant future .
Could the man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Of course not !
Even the best psychics probably had some clouded visions as to any specifics .
There was never any way of anyone knowing or coming close to knowing how things would progress from 2016 and beyond .
2020 .
How we miss the good ‘ ol days before thee !
I am convinced that Donald Trump feels the same way in light of all and what he ever wanted in life for whatever motivation and reasoning .
If only he knew that the path of his existence would lead to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stressful jobs in the world .
President of the United States of America .
It is the hardest occupation ever !
For four years , the person is in charge of so much and demand is a middle expectation within its core .
Though we know that Trump craves attention and notoriety and all else , still , it can be like an unwelcome tsunami considering what he ’ s required to do and acknowledge .
Reactions from him are rash and vindictive , not calm and to the point .
He broke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nay Hoover , nay W Bush , nay Nixon , has done or could ever do a worse job than what we have at this moment .
Maybe Jesse Ventura could be president ?
We could do worse and we always have .
This point in history is a landmark indeed !
Trump wants all his ‘ rights ’ but none of the ‘ responsibility ’ of his position .
He tries his best to pervert the law and disregard the Constitution of the United States of America .
The president is supposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
When has he really done that ?
He is supposed to be composed and logical .
Again , when has he really done that either ?
Logic and compromise are major qualifications required .
Once again , we haven ’ t seen that either .
What we have seen is a person that is so insecure that he needs truckloads of attention and admiration in order to exist .
That is something that can never end with him and his agenda .
We can ’ t ask him to stop breathing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so why take away the main thing in his life…recognition ?
Could he not realistically look at his personal business endeavors , many of which have failed miserably or had to recover and know from that that his qualifications simply were not there to begin with in regards to the presidency ?
You can ’ t run your own businesses , but you can run the government ?
!
If Trump failed at his own , what would make him think , or anyone else for that matter , that he would succeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him because he is deluded !
Trump is a legend in his own mind , obviously .
What ’ s worse is that his motivations , judgment and overall reactions for the lack of better words…stink !
It is amazing to see these COVID mask protesters that hold signs that say , ‘ Keep America Great !
’ .
How can anyone think that anything at this exact moment is great ?
The world death rate is terrible , ours is one of the worst .
Unemployment is spinning out of control .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID crisis .
We have people ignoring the warnings and results of the recent wave and we ’ re expecting more .
We have racist killings and shooting deaths in regards to wearing masks .
The world despite rosy news of some countries beating the virus , is basically in the toilet at the same time no matter how nominal .
Things are not getting better any time soon , though we seek victories , nonetheless .
If only he knew !
If Donald Trump could have foreseen things as they turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ path and he , along with the rest of us , would have been better off by a grand scale .
We would not have the troubles we have now if things were done differently , which they weren ’ t .
The man , if he was able to see down the line up to this point would most likely done things differently .
Celebrity would have been fine , but beyond that would never be recommended by anybody .
The man likes to dabble , which he did a decade plus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a short time and quickly redrew from since it was not near his time in 2000 .
Curious and testing the waters , as it were .
If he could have seen all the chaos that has developed , that his ways don ’ t provide for a dictatorship , that removing good things because they simply don ’ t suit him , along with firing everyone that dissented from his strict and narrow views , et cetera , would he have not even thought of becoming president ?
I reckon that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House as his new home , which he didn ’ t really care for by the way .
Too many contradictions to what he really wanted and now has to contend with simply prove the point .
That if he could see this time and how it has developed , Donald Trump , probably would have become another TV icon , play pro golf or simply jet set as he always has and even does now .
The future is always unknown .
If only he knew !

If Only He Knew!
By
Mike Arroyo
If only he knew! Although many of us in the public didn’t figure on him actually becoming president, Donald Trump proved otherwise. Quite a feat considering all, though Russia remains a mysterious shadow with near evidence of their so called ‘involvement’ with it, there remains simple facts. Many Americans, especially white, rural and mid range aged, felt sleighed by the Obama Administration and its short comings. Though it is interesting to know that President Obama got anything accomplished in light of Republican opposition on almost every avenue. Regardless, America voted Trump in and there you have it, the beginning of a new era. It is sad that this is the era and there is no escaping it, just dealing with it is a full time job (which many wished they had at this moment). From the start there has been nothing less than suspicion, scrutiny and outright rage in regards to the Trump Administration. He in particular is an interesting person in spite of anything good or bad to say on his behalf. An icon in his own rite, Donald Trump has been and remains, not boring by any degree. Having risen to the top and becoming rich and powerful catapulted him to where he is now. Celebrity and all else, Trump is now our so called ‘leader’. Did he really know that there would be a path to all that? Perhaps confidence and attitude were on his side and it is a good thing, depending on how that is applied, which is what the main issue is with him and responses to all. It is fair to say that the man was caught off guard by events that were filled with surprises and outright challenges. Match that with his overall personally and it is clear that the whole current affair of things would be stirred up much like a Molotov cocktail. The result of which are self evident by the results that are present.
Did he figure on all the things that he has already have to deal with? From the allegations of Russian involvement and influence on the election, to the notion that a ‘wall’ was going to prevent or cure anything like illegal immigration along our borders (most folks come in by plane and ship, by the way, not the Rio Grande as much). What about having a hubris in speaking foul and afoul about a great deal of people and organizations? There and with many other factors, it all led up to his pending impeachment that never happened. Much like him pardoning and exonerating his ‘friends’. People on his side that shared his views. Very obligatory! He made decisions based on emotions and how those close to him should be ‘yes’ people, both men and women. Might explain why there was a delay in his reaction to the Corona Virus (our friend COVID-19). There are so many examples of what Trump has done and how many times they were either failures to some degree, if not totally, that the discussion could take place now and not end until the second COVID waves comes and goes in the not too distant future. Could the man ever figure on any of that? Of course not! Even the best psychics probably had some clouded visions as to any specifics. There was never any way of anyone knowing or coming close to knowing how things would progress from 2016 and beyond. 2020. How we miss the good ‘ol days before thee! I am convinced that Donald Trump feels the same way in light of all and what he ever wanted in life for whatever motivation and reasoning.
If only he knew that the path of his existence would lead to one of the lowest paying, most stressful jobs in the world. President of the United States of America. It is the hardest occupation ever! For four years, the person is in charge of so much and demand is a middle expectation within its core. Though we know that Trump craves attention and notoriety and all else, still, it can be like an unwelcome tsunami considering what he’s required to do and acknowledge. Reactions from him are rash and vindictive, not calm and to the point. He broke the mold. No one president, nay Hoover, nay W Bush, nay Nixon, has done or could ever do a worse job than what we have at this moment. Maybe Jesse Ventura could be president? We could do worse and we always have. This point in history is a landmark indeed! Trump wants all his ‘rights’ but none of the ‘responsibility’ of his position. He tries his best to pervert the law and disregard the Constitution of the United States of America. The president is supposed to look after the welfare of the country. When has he really done that? He is supposed to be composed and logical. Again, when has he really done that either? Logic and compromise are major qualifications required. Once again, we haven’t seen that either.
What we have seen is a person that is so insecure that he needs truckloads of attention and admiration in order to exist. That is something that can never end with him and his agenda. We can’t ask him to stop breathing (or wear a mask), so why take away the main thing in his life…recognition? Could he not realistically look at his personal business endeavors, many of which have failed miserably or had to recover and know from that that his qualifications simply were not there to begin with in regards to the presidency? You can’t run your own businesses, but you can run the government?! If Trump failed at his own, what would make him think, or anyone else for that matter, that he would succeed otherwise? So many clear indications eluded him because he is deluded! Trump is a legend in his own mind, obviously. What’s worse is that his motivations, judgment and overall reactions for the lack of better words…stink! It is amazing to see these COVID mask protesters that hold signs that say, ‘Keep America Great!’. How can anyone think that anything at this exact moment is great? The world death rate is terrible, ours is one of the worst. Unemployment is spinning out of control. All aspects of life are affected by the COVID crisis. We have people ignoring the warnings and results of the recent wave and we’re expecting more. We have racist killings and shooting deaths in regards to wearing masks. The world despite rosy news of some countries beating the virus, is basically in the toilet at the same time no matter how nominal. Things are not getting better any time soon, though we seek victories, nonetheless.
If only he knew! If Donald Trump could have foreseen things as they turned out might well have taken a different path and he, along with the rest of us, would have been better off by a grand scale. We would not have the troubles we have now if things were done differently, which they weren’t. The man, if he was able to see down the line up to this point would most likely done things differently. Celebrity would have been fine, but beyond that would never be recommended by anybody. The man likes to dabble, which he did a decade plus ago when he initially ran for president for a short time and quickly redrew from since it was not near his time in 2000. Curious and testing the waters, as it were. If he could have seen all the chaos that has developed, that his ways don’t provide for a dictatorship, that removing good things because they simply don’t suit him, along with firing everyone that dissented from his strict and narrow views, et cetera, would he have not even thought of becoming president? I reckon that he would have not pursued the White House as his new home, which he didn’t really care for by the way. Too many contradictions to what he really wanted and now has to contend with simply prove the point. That if he could see this time and how it has developed, Donald Trump, probably would have become another TV icon, play pro golf or simply jet set as he always has and even does now. The future is always unknown. If only he knew!
************************************************************************


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I support @ @ @ @ @ that makes Kentucky a model for other states .
Assisting producers in diversifying their operations @ @ @ @ @ , low interest loans to beginning farmers and helping farmers with energy efficiency investments are @ @ @ @ @ things we can do to grow our ag communities .

The people, settings and events of Kentucky agriculture combine to form the cornerstone of our Commonwealth. I support innovative approaches to agricultural diversification that makes Kentucky a model for other states. Assisting producers in diversifying their operations, funding youth leadership programs, low interest loans to beginning farmers and helping farmers with energy efficiency investments are just a few of the things we can do to grow our ag communities.


dailykos--2020-05-12--Here’s Why the Covid Crisis Will Be Worse Than the 1930s

• The St. Louis Fed released `` ) unemployment figures at 14.7 on May 8 , 2020 • The highest unemployment during the Great Depression hit 15.01 in 1931 • Wall Street , major corporations and the top 10 % will bounce back , but not the 90 % We are not experiencing one crisis caused by the Corona virus calamity , but four .
The other three are hidden under it .
They remain largely undetected in the mainstream media .
They are about to surface for , as that intrepid investor Warren Buffet once quipped , “ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out that we see who has been swimming naked.
” I ’ ll discuss the first in this post .
Not only are they going to cause an increase in the coming economic disaster , as they are main methods of siphoning up the wealth of a nation to the wealth class , their invisibility will be staunchly protected — and they will remain in full effect after the next recovery .
As historian Walter Scheidel wrote in his insightful book a couple of years ago , The Great Leveler , “ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decreases economic inequality , it is the government ’ s response ” .
For a time , the government ’ s response to a crisis created economic equality , but then the ultra-high net worth group learned how to ensure that they profited from a crisis and not the salaried classes .
Recall that the reforms after the Great Depression created economic equality by giving the stimulus funds by mortgage relief to the homeowners ( not the banks ) , social security and the Security and Exchange Commission .
By 2008 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; the income and wealth of the salaried classes stagnated .
That was no accident .
And we see that much of the 2020 Corona virus stimulus package is being grabbed by big businesses that can show bleak financial statements with absolutely no reserves for any downturn in the economy— a reserve fund they once kept .
This failure to prepare was a conscious decision .
Not many voters understand that these businesses voluntarily put themselves in a position so , against all risk management principles , they would not have a penny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was no public support for true reforms that could be demanded as part of the present handouts to corporations .
True , the Democrats got some , but temporary , restrictions on a few of the mechanisms for the upward transfers of wealth to the super rich .
But they entirely missed this one : shareholder value .
It ’ s too late to save our economy , but we might be able to prevent this from happening again for the sake of our grandchildren .
It will take discipline to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As head of the Grantland L. Johnson Institute of Leadership Development , Lee Turner , wrote to me , the average reader lacks the ‘ scaffolding ’ to understand these issues .
So , here ’ s an attempt to bridge that gap .
It ’ s not an easy read because some of the concepts are unfamiliar .
A full two years before the new coronavirus challenge emerged , analysts warned that corporations were taking on so much debt that many would likely default on these debt payments on the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had abandoned the practice of keeping a rainy-day fund for the bad times .
Jeff Cox writing for CNBC in 2018 reported a massive corporate debt bomb was bubbling in the US economy ” .
How come this mountainous corporate debt when the 2008 reforms returned corporations to prosperity ?
The fault lies with the neo liberal school of economics and especially with one of its most respected promoters , Nobel prize winner , Milton Friedman .
With the assistance of the authority of the New York Times , in 1970 ( note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of economic equality ) , Friedman promoted the theory of shareholder value .
The purpose of a corporation , he theorized from his armchair at the University of Chicago , is to maximize value for shareholders .
It became known as the Friedman doctrine .
So , what happened ?
I can do no better than to repeat how , in 2012 , Cornell Law Professor Lynn A. Stout captured the aftermath in her article in the `` ) ; Harvard Law Review : In the quest to Of course , her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lists demands a full article , but this post will focus on ‘ leveraging firms until they teeter on the brink of bankruptcy ’ .
‘ Leveraging ’ is a bit of jargon to hide that what the corporations are really doing is going into debt for business expanses so there is money to pay shareholder dividends .
Previously , sound corporate practice required saving 50 % of profits for future needs , such as product development , expansion and the like , but also for risk management because of expected downturns in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day provision for the totally unexpected .
Businesses knew to expect the unexpected and provide for it .
All that prudence was abandoned after `` ) ; background-size : 1px 1px ; background-position : 0px calc ( 1em + 1px ) ; background-repeat : repeat no-repeat ; '' > 1970 to strip every cent of profit by dividends to shareholders .
There is a false image in the public mind that all shareholders contribute cash to a corporation , but these shareholders only extract value from the corporation , giving it no benefit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who took high risk by funding the founders when they were working out of their garage .
They are the money managers of hedge , equity and pension funds who search for well-established corporations with assets that they can wrest from the corporation .
The money that they pay for the shares does not go to the corporate treasury , it goes to prior shareholders .
That ’ s why the corporation gets no benefit .
Why the Shareholder Value Theory Is Nonsense The purpose of a corporation is to protect the personal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can go into a high-risk ventures and lose only the money that they put into the corporation if it fails .
Creditors can not sue them personally .
Let ’ s go back about a hundred years to the early days when the idea of a corporation was being worked out .
It involves the landmark decision in corporate law , which by the way is one of the very few decisions that has remained unaltered since its pronouncement : Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd. [ 1896 ] UKHL 1 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a sole proprietorship .
He decided to incorporate .
He sold his shoe factory to this new corporation Salomon Ltd. As the corporation had no money , it gave Joe a mortgage on all of its assets–the shoe factory .
Unfortunately , after a time , Salomon Ltd. failed .
The factory was worth , let ’ s say , $ 1 million , and the corporation had creditors of that amount .
The creditors got a judgment against the corporation and tried to seize the assets .
Joe said , sorry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The creditors cried foul and sued in court .
The court agreed with Joe .
Although it is a legal fiction , the corporation is a separate entity in law , called a person , and the mortgage between it and Joe was valid .
The court commented that creditors had the opportunity to protect themselves .
They should ’ ve checked that the assets were free and clear before selling to the corporation on credit .
And so , if you ’ re a small businessperson , you will see that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small corporation without more ; it always requires a personal guarantee from the controlling shareholder .
The purpose of a corporation is clear in an example like our Joe Solomon case .
The creditors could never have sued Joe personally for the the goods sold to the corporation that it didn ’ t pay for .
It also applies to public corporations .
If you buy one share in a corporation and it tanks , the creditors can not come after you .
But this protection of your personal assets comes at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brilliance of the concept of the corporate form .
Shareholders are not owners .
And to the contrary ( complete contrary I emphasize ) to what Friedman alleged , they don ’ t have the slightest control over the CEO .
The concept of corporate ownership is divided .
It ’ s probably safe to considerate the division as 99 % in the Board of Directors and the CEO , leaving 1 % to the shareholders .
Test this out .
Buy some shares in Apple Computer , drive down to Cupertino , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shareholder , you want to see the new plans for the next product and see how impressed the security guards are with your claims to ownership as they escort you off the premises .
As a shareholder , you have very limited rights such as notice of the annual general meeting , to see the annual financial statements , attend the AGM and vote for directors who you probably have never heard of , but little else .
And your vote is as effective as your vote in a government election .
Try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the AGM .
You won ’ t even be able to do that .
So , after your trip to Cupertino , you will complain to me that my estimate of 1 % ownership is probably an exaggeration .
When Can Inexperience Pass for Expertise - When You ’ re an Economist As noted above , any risk management plan demands something be set aside for the unexpected .
And while we average citizens may not have considered a return of the modern plague , some in the business community were discussing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bill Gates said this at the Munich Security Conference : “ The next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus … or a super contagious and deadly strain of the flu.
” Why should some abstract theory of some guy , like Freidman , who has never run a corporation , and has no background in corporate law , spread like a tsunami through the corporate world toppling all wise planning in it ’ s wake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ignore the warnings of one of the most successful and experienced business man of our era ?
Does greed make intelligent men stupid ?
Follow the money—who profits .
Executives love it because they have huge holdings of shares in their own corporations thanks to a bungled attempt by the Clinton administration in 1993 to put a cap on CEO pay .
More on how the Democrats helped The CEOs pay gap more than the Republicans `` here .
Banks , equity , hedge and pension fund money managers love it because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lucrative and frequent dividends .
Equity-hedge funds scour the nation to find vulnerable corporations that have cash or assets that can be converted to cash and then plundered through dividend extraction .
Union pension fund money managers even invest in hedge funds that loot worker pensions .
I explain the various techniques in the equity– hedge fund playbook and how they screw worker pensions in a series of posts beginning with this one using the recent Sears bankruptcy as an example .
Best of all , 80 % of shareholders are in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inequality , which means more money in the pockets of the wealthy to buy politicians to preserve the upward transfer of wealth that has been going on since the 1970s .
So , no , greed does not make intelligent men stupid , it makes them sociopathic .
They care only for the money mounting in their bank accounts , but not for the effect on others in their society .
They are definitely not stupid for they have manipulated the situation so the taxpayers once again bear the burden of the crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Those in control of a corporation are not going to give up the shareholder value policy that has made them so wealthy by articles like this that expose its fallacious assumption .
Legislative change to the corporation acts specifying that the duty of the Board of Directors is to the corporation and not the shareholders would puncture the Friedman doctrine .
In 2019 , the Trudeau government passed such an amendment to Canada ’ s business corporation act specifically overruling shareholder value by stating just that : the directors of the corporation had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corporation and not shareholders ( s122 ) .
Albeit , that is only a small step , but in the right direction .
The corporate situation may appear very bad , but it gets worse .
The two remaining camouflaged causes — coming soon .
Jan D. Weir is a lawyer who has advised international corporations , banks and accounting firms .
He has taught business law at the University of Toronto , and is the co-author of The Critical Concepts of Canadian Business Law ( 6e ) Pearson .
Follow him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

We are not experiencing one crisis caused by the Corona virus calamity, but four. The other three are hidden under it. They remain largely undetected in the mainstream media. They are about to surface for, as that intrepid investor Warren Buffet once quipped, “It’s only when the tide goes out that we see who has been swimming naked.” I’ll discuss the first in this post.
Not only are they going to cause an increase in the coming economic disaster, as they are main methods of siphoning up the wealth of a nation to the wealth class, their invisibility will be staunchly protected — and they will remain in full effect after the next recovery.
As historian Walter Scheidel wrote in his insightful book a couple of years ago, The Great Leveler, “It is not a crisis that increases or decreases economic inequality, it is the government’s response”. For a time, the government’s response to a crisis created economic equality, but then the ultra-high net worth group learned how to ensure that they profited from a crisis and not the salaried classes.
Recall that the reforms after the Great Depression created economic equality by giving the stimulus funds by mortgage relief to the homeowners (not the banks), social security and the Security and Exchange Commission. By 2008, the stimulus money benefited only the 10%; the income and wealth of the salaried classes stagnated. That was no accident. And we see that much of the 2020 Corona virus stimulus package is being grabbed by big businesses that can show bleak financial statements with absolutely no reserves for any downturn in the economy— a reserve fund they once kept. This failure to prepare was a conscious decision.
Not many voters understand that these businesses voluntarily put themselves in a position so, against all risk management principles, they would not have a penny put aside for a crisis. Thus, there was no public support for true reforms that could be demanded as part of the present handouts to corporations. True, the Democrats got some, but temporary, restrictions on a few of the mechanisms for the upward transfers of wealth to the super rich. But they entirely missed this one: shareholder value.
It’s too late to save our economy, but we might be able to prevent this from happening again for the sake of our grandchildren. It will take discipline to understand how it’s being done. As head of the Grantland L. Johnson Institute of Leadership Development, Lee Turner, wrote to me, the average reader lacks the ‘scaffolding’ to understand these issues. So, here’s an attempt to bridge that gap. It’s not an easy read because some of the concepts are unfamiliar.
Unnecessary Unmanageable Corporate Debt
A full two years before the new coronavirus challenge emerged, analysts warned that corporations were taking on so much debt that many would likely default on these debt payments on the next mild downturn in the economy. They had abandoned the practice of keeping a rainy-day fund for the bad times. Jeff Cox writing for CNBC in 2018 reported a massive corporate debt bomb was bubbling in the US economy”.
How come this mountainous corporate debt when the 2008 reforms returned corporations to prosperity? The fault lies with the neo liberal school of economics and especially with one of its most respected promoters, Nobel prize winner, Milton Friedman.
Friedman on receiving his Nobel Prize
With the assistance of the authority of the New York Times, in 1970 (note this date as the beginning of the end of economic equality), Friedman promoted the theory of shareholder value.
The purpose of a corporation, he theorized from his armchair at the University of Chicago, is to maximize value for shareholders. It became known as the Friedman doctrine.
So, what happened? I can do no better than to repeat how, in 2012, Cornell Law Professor Lynn A. Stout captured the aftermath in her article in the "); Harvard Law Review: In the quest to
“unlock shareholder value” they [CEOs] sell key assets, fire loyal employees, and ruthlessly squeeze the workforce that remains; cut back on product support, customer assistance, and research and development; delay replacing outworn, outmoded, and unsafe equipment; shower CEOs with stock options and expensive pay packages to “incentivize” them; drain cash reserves to pay large dividends and repurchase company shares, leveraging firms until they teeter on the brink of insolvency;…”
Of course, her warning was ignored.
Every item she lists demands a full article, but this post will focus on ‘leveraging firms until they teeter on the brink of bankruptcy’. ‘Leveraging’ is a bit of jargon to hide that what the corporations are really doing is going into debt for business expanses so there is money to pay shareholder dividends.
Previously, sound corporate practice required saving 50% of profits for future needs, such as product development, expansion and the like, but also for risk management because of expected downturns in the business cycle with a special rainy day provision for the totally unexpected. Businesses knew to expect the unexpected and provide for it. All that prudence was abandoned after "); background-size: 1px 1px; background-position: 0px calc(1em + 1px); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;">1970 to strip every cent of profit by dividends to shareholders.
There is a false image in the public mind that all shareholders contribute cash to a corporation, but these shareholders only extract value from the corporation, giving it no benefit. These shareholders are not the investors who took high risk by funding the founders when they were working out of their garage. They are the money managers of hedge, equity and pension funds who search for well-established corporations with assets that they can wrest from the corporation. The money that they pay for the shares does not go to the corporate treasury, it goes to prior shareholders. That’s why the corporation gets no benefit.
Why the Shareholder Value Theory Is Nonsense
The purpose of a corporation is to protect the personal assets of businesspeople and investors so they can go into a high-risk ventures and lose only the money that they put into the corporation if it fails. Creditors cannot sue them personally.
Let’s go back about a hundred years to the early days when the idea of a corporation was being worked out. It involves the landmark decision in corporate law, which by the way is one of the very few decisions that has remained unaltered since its pronouncement: Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd. [1896] UKHL 1.
Joe Salomon operated a successful shoe factory as a sole proprietorship. He decided to incorporate. He sold his shoe factory to this new corporation Salomon Ltd. As the corporation had no money, it gave Joe a mortgage on all of its assets–the shoe factory.
Unfortunately, after a time, Salomon Ltd. failed. The factory was worth, let’s say, $1 million, and the corporation had creditors of that amount. The creditors got a judgment against the corporation and tried to seize the assets. Joe said, sorry blokes, my mortgage takes first. The creditors cried foul and sued in court. The court agreed with Joe. Although it is a legal fiction, the corporation is a separate entity in law, called a person, and the mortgage between it and Joe was valid.
The court commented that creditors had the opportunity to protect themselves. They should’ve checked that the assets were free and clear before selling to the corporation on credit. And so, if you’re a small businessperson, you will see that a bank will never give a loan to a small corporation without more; it always requires a personal guarantee from the controlling shareholder.
The purpose of a corporation is clear in an example like our Joe Solomon case. The creditors could never have sued Joe personally for the the goods sold to the corporation that it didn’t pay for. It also applies to public corporations. If you buy one share in a corporation and it tanks, the creditors cannot come after you. But this protection of your personal assets comes at a price; and that is the brilliance of the concept of the corporate form. Shareholders are not owners. And to the contrary (complete contrary I emphasize) to what Friedman alleged, they don’t have the slightest control over the CEO.
The concept of corporate ownership is divided. It’s probably safe to considerate the division as 99% in the Board of Directors and the CEO, leaving 1 % to the shareholders. Test this out. Buy some shares in Apple Computer, drive down to Cupertino, tell the receptionist that you are a shareholder, you want to see the new plans for the next product and see how impressed the security guards are with your claims to ownership as they escort you off the premises.
As a shareholder, you have very limited rights such as notice of the annual general meeting, to see the annual financial statements, attend the AGM and vote for directors who you probably have never heard of, but little else. And your vote is as effective as your vote in a government election. Try just to get something on the agenda of the AGM. You won’t even be able to do that. So, after your trip to Cupertino, you will complain to me that my estimate of 1 % ownership is probably an exaggeration.
When Can Inexperience Pass for Expertise - When You’re an Economist
As noted above, any risk management plan demands something be set aside for the unexpected. And while we average citizens may not have considered a return of the modern plague, some in the business community were discussing its realistic possibility. In 2017, Bill Gates said this at the Munich Security Conference:
“The next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus … or a super contagious and deadly strain of the flu.”
Why should some abstract theory of some guy, like Freidman, who has never run a corporation, and has no background in corporate law, spread like a tsunami through the corporate world toppling all wise planning in it’s wake. And why would all corporate types ignore the warnings of one of the most successful and experienced business man of our era? Does greed make intelligent men stupid? Follow the money—who profits.
Executives love it because they have huge holdings of shares in their own corporations thanks to a bungled attempt by the Clinton administration in 1993 to put a cap on CEO pay.
More on how the Democrats helped The CEOs pay gap more than the Republicans "here.
Banks, equity, hedge and pension fund money managers love it because they earn fabulous commissions on the now more lucrative and frequent dividends. Equity-hedge funds scour the nation to find vulnerable corporations that have cash or assets that can be converted to cash and then plundered through dividend extraction. Union pension fund money managers even invest in hedge funds that loot worker pensions. I explain the various techniques in the equity– hedge fund playbook and how they screw worker pensions in a series of posts beginning with this one using the recent Sears bankruptcy as an example.
Best of all, 80% of shareholders are in the 10%. It means more income inequality, which means more money in the pockets of the wealthy to buy politicians to preserve the upward transfer of wealth that has been going on since the 1970s.
So, no, greed does not make intelligent men stupid, it makes them sociopathic. They care only for the money mounting in their bank accounts, but not for the effect on others in their society. They are definitely not stupid for they have manipulated the situation so the taxpayers once again bear the burden of the crisis as the elite float above it.
The Solution
Those in control of a corporation are not going to give up the shareholder value policy that has made them so wealthy by articles like this that expose its fallacious assumption. Legislative change to the corporation acts specifying that the duty of the Board of Directors is to the corporation and not the shareholders would puncture the Friedman doctrine.
In 2019, the Trudeau government passed such an amendment to Canada’s business corporation act specifically overruling shareholder value by stating just that: the directors of the corporation had to act in the best interest of the corporation and not shareholders (s122). Albeit, that is only a small step, but in the right direction.
The corporate situation may appear very bad, but it gets worse. The two remaining camouflaged causes — coming soon.
Jan D. Weir is a lawyer who has advised international corporations, banks and accounting firms. He has taught business law at the University of Toronto, and is the co-author of The Critical Concepts of Canadian Business Law (6e) Pearson. Follow him for updates on laws that affect inequality.
Acknowledgement: Title image courtesy of Blue Lagoon, Iceland, on Pexel.


dailykos--2020-05-12--The Prevaricator in Chief

The Prevaricator in Chief

Trump is a pathological prevaricator !
One reason he can not help but lie , even though he may be aware he has previously espoused the opposite view , is his mental illness !
He can not ever be wrong in his own mind .
He can never be anything but the smartest , most brilliant mind on the planet .
His mental facility will allow for no other conclusions , so in his diseased mind , whatever he is saying currently has to be the truth because he can not perceive that he has ever made an incorrect decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Find me one instance where he has taken credit for a misstep or admitted he was wrong about something , in his entire life !
This makes him dangerous because he will bomb people , let more people die in a pandemic , let potentates murder , rather than admit he is not perfect !
Then when the whole world is calling him out , all of a sudden he claims he has always known it was , in this latest example , a pandemic , and claims he was the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and stated views were just the opposite only days ago !
He has a mental disease , he should not be anywhere near the power centers of our country .
I can not believe that everyone can not see this !

Trump is a pathological prevaricator! One reason he cannot help but lie, even though he may be aware he has previously espoused the opposite view, is his mental illness! He cannot ever be wrong in his own mind. He can never be anything but the smartest, most brilliant mind on the planet. His mental facility will allow for no other conclusions, so in his diseased mind, whatever he is saying currently has to be the truth because he cannot perceive that he has ever made an incorrect decision or ever been in error, ever! Find me one instance where he has taken credit for a misstep or admitted he was wrong about something, in his entire life! This makes him dangerous because he will bomb people, let more people die in a pandemic, let potentates murder, rather than admit he is not perfect! Then when the whole world is calling him out, all of a sudden he claims he has always known it was, in this latest example, a pandemic, and claims he was the first to say so, while his opinions and stated views were just the opposite only days ago! He has a mental disease, he should not be anywhere near the power centers of our country. I cannot believe that everyone cannot see this!


Equality

Regardless of our differences , every American is an America .
Whether we seek pay equality or justice equality or @ @ @ @ @ is applied equally ( and blindly ) is of the greatest concern to me .
@ @ @ @ @ inherent equal rights , where our system fails us is when our rights become secondary @ @ @ @ @ special interests .
I believe that our system has failed our rights to equality .
@ @ @ @ @ in housing and healthcare and education among other things .
We must do more to @ @ @ @ @ of Americans long suppressed to gain equality with other Americans .

Regardless of our differences, every American is an America. Whether we seek pay equality or justice equality or religious equality that the law is applied equally (and blindly) is of the greatest concern to me. As Americans we already have inherent equal rights, where our system fails us is when our rights become secondary to corporate profits or other special interests. I believe that our system has failed our rights to equality. This systemic inequality manifests itself in housing and healthcare and education among other things. We must do more to implement systemic protections for classes of Americans long suppressed to gain equality with other Americans.


dailykos--2020-05-14--Some random thought of an old, retired soldier

This is just like the title .
I left a link to the John Hopkins site … every body here @ @ @ @ @ I have no news links , this is just a rant .
Have fun , @ @ @ @ @ it , leave comments if you want .
… I just felt like screaming and @ @ @ @ @ am just sitting here wondering what will happen next .
I suspect that we could @ @ @ @ @ the Attorney General of the Justice Department to start putting his people to work picking @ @ @ @ @ placing them in re-education camps or just making them disappear .
McConnell will keep pushing @ @ @ @ @ then action will get heavier on people of color .
Of course ... it might @ @ @ @ @ Democratic Party wins in 2020 , and there is a peaceful exchange of power .
@ @ @ @

This is just like the title. I left a link to the John Hopkins site … every body here probably already follows it. I have no news links, this is just a rant. Have fun, enjoy it, or pan it, leave comments if you want. … I just felt like screaming and feel better now.
I am just sitting here wondering what will happen next. I suspect that we could see much more action by the Attorney General of the Justice Department to start putting his people to work picking up the wrong people and placing them in re-education camps or just making them disappear. McConnell will keep pushing in new federal justices and then action will get heavier on people of color. Of course ... it might be somewhat different if the Democratic Party wins in 2020, and there is a peaceful exchange of power. Hope blooms eternal.


dailykos--2020-05-15--His Pandemic Response Will Seal The Name Trump In To The Written History Of The World

It is now sealed .
Donald Trump will not only go down as the worst president in America ’ s history , that is already inarguable .
He has secured a place in the world ’ s history as a member of a select group .
He now joins Nero , Caligula , Hitler , Mussolini , Stalin , Pol Pot , Franco and others whose heinous deeds secured them infamously in to the human record .
When all of his deeds come to light , and they will , he will be forever associated with our nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here 500 years from now , every school student will know the name Trump , even then .
They will speak of his cruelty , his pathological narcissism , his crimes against his fellow human beings throughout his life .
He will be remembered for enabling tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths through his vain inaction in the early stages of a pandemic .
His ineptitude as a leader contributed to a reorganization of power in the world and America ’ s loss of status .
He will be remembered for the caging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mothers .
The failed attempt to build a wall to divide nations and the rise of a hate movement that chanted his name in the arenas and in the streets .
I pray for the soul of the man , Donald Trump , who must now carry this burden throughout eternity .

It is now sealed. Donald Trump will not only go down as the worst president in America’s history, that is already inarguable. He has secured a place in the world’s history as a member of a select group. He now joins Nero, Caligula, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pol Pot, Franco and others whose heinous deeds secured them infamously in to the human record.
When all of his deeds come to light, and they will, he will be forever associated with our nation’s darkest days. If human are still here 500 years from now, every school student will know the name Trump, even then. They will speak of his cruelty, his pathological narcissism, his crimes against his fellow human beings throughout his life.
He will be remembered for enabling tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths through his vain inaction in the early stages of a pandemic. His ineptitude as a leader contributed to a reorganization of power in the world and America’s loss of status. He will be remembered for the caging of children and removing them from their mothers. The failed attempt to build a wall to divide nations and the rise of a hate movement that chanted his name in the arenas and in the streets.
I pray for the soul of the man, Donald Trump, who must now carry this burden throughout eternity.


dailykos--2020-05-15--God as a Conspiracy Theory; reflections on entitlement politics, ramping up paranoia, and Joe Biden

While it ’ s quite true that how you behave to other people can make a difference in how you are treated in return , the same is not true with respect to the greater universe .
Indeed , the larger the context , the more your life depends on factors which , random or not , are out of your control .
When the alternative is a universe where random factors rule supreme , and they don ’ t care whether you succeed or fail , then the temptation to grab hold of some concept that might , just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be irresistible .
Add being raised believing that if you don ’ t have some sort of edge , your only option is to fail , and you will cling like a lamprey to whatever seems to most strongly offer that edge .
And you will forcibly resist any attempt to modify whatever it is .
What you will not do , under almost any circumstances , is trust anyone who doesn ’ t agree with you .
And the more precarious the universe seems to you , the stronger that propensity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to sell is a conspiracy theory , and your ability to protect people from the travails of the conspiracy , what you have to do is ramp up the paranoia in your audience .
I ’ ve seen a lot of people scratching their heads and wondering where all the whackos are coming from .
The answer is not that they were always there , it ’ s that they increase with the ambient levels of paranoia , and retreat into normalcy and interactive human behavior when the levels go down again @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and egg here ; How do you ramp up the ambient paranoia ?
Increase the number and levels of conspiracy theories .
Make the universe seem more random , multiply crises , push inconsistency from day to day .
Enough of this will push even the least paranoid into full-blown lamprey mode .
This is what Donald Trump is very , very good at .
It ’ s not specific to him alone , of course — we can all name a few ( or more than a few ) other politicians , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ etc.
, whose business is to do precisely that , to bring their followers to a more and more fervent pinnacle of fear .
And right now we have a full phalanx of these idiots , feeding into each other , and there hasn ’ t seemed to be any way to get off the merry-go-round .
( Yes , I ’ m mixing my metaphors well past legitimate boundaries .
So ? )
Enter Joe Biden .
He ’ s normal .
He says things could just as well go right , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think that just being an individual human being might be enough , for a change .
That most people are okay , just the way they are .
It might just be enough .
Let yourself slow down and let the high-powered hype go for a while .
It ’ s his gift ; make the most of it .

God, karma, balance, Justice. White Supremacy, Dominionism, patriarchy, dogma. Morality. The Golden Rule. Overwhelming firepower. Rationality. Party loyalty. Patriotism. Safety. Science. Kindness. Sanity.
Something appealing, something appalling, something for everyone…
Did I miss anybody?
While it’s quite true that how you behave to other people can make a difference in how you are treated in return, the same is not true with respect to the greater universe. Indeed, the larger the context, the more your life depends on factors which, random or not, are out of your control.
When the alternative is a universe where random factors rule supreme, and they don’t care whether you succeed or fail, then the temptation to grab hold of some concept that might, just maybe, give you an edge, can be irresistible. Add being raised believing that if you don’t have some sort of edge, your only option is to fail, and you will cling like a lamprey to whatever seems to most strongly offer that edge. And you will forcibly resist any attempt to modify whatever it is.
What you will not do, under almost any circumstances, is trust anyone who doesn’t agree with you. And the more precarious the universe seems to you, the stronger that propensity is.
Remember — ANYTHING can become part of a conspiracy theory if people are paranoid enough.
So, if what you have to sell is a conspiracy theory, and your ability to protect people from the travails of the conspiracy, what you have to do is ramp up the paranoia in your audience. I’ve seen a lot of people scratching their heads and wondering where all the whackos are coming from. The answer is not that they were always there, it’s that they increase with the ambient levels of paranoia, and retreat into normalcy and interactive human behavior when the levels go down again.
Now, watch me play chicken and egg here; How do you ramp up the ambient paranoia? Increase the number and levels of conspiracy theories. Make the universe seem more random, multiply crises, push inconsistency from day to day. Enough of this will push even the least paranoid into full-blown lamprey mode.
This is what Donald Trump is very, very good at. It’s not specific to him alone, of course — we can all name a few (or more than a few) other politicians, radio and cable personalities, evangelists, etc., whose business is to do precisely that, to bring their followers to a more and more fervent pinnacle of fear. And right now we have a full phalanx of these idiots, feeding into each other, and there hasn’t seemed to be any way to get off the merry-go-round. (Yes, I’m mixing my metaphors well past legitimate boundaries. So?)
Enter Joe Biden. He’s normal. He says things could just as well go right, if we care. He makes you think that just being an individual human being might be enough, for a change. That most people are okay, just the way they are.
It might just be enough. Let yourself slow down and let the high-powered hype go for a while. It’s his gift; make the most of it.


dailykos--2020-05-16--OR Rep Schrader votes against relief; why ??

The news is just amazing to this district resident , I ’ m not too politically connected anymore and I ’ m just hoping to find any source with any information .
Rep Kurt Schrader , Oregon 5th District , longtime ultra-centrist Democrat who is finally in a primary fight finishing Tuesday against a progressive local mayor , Mark Gamba , has VOTED AGAINST today ’ s HEROES Act HR 6800 .
While he ’ s bombarding the district with flyers calling himself a progressive in big letters .
No statement from him shows up on Google , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might have for this .
Maybe he thinks that in Oregon many of us do mail in our ballots early — ours went out today for Gamba — and if he just keeps his head down nobody will notice ?
?
Does he have polling showing he ’ s going t win the primary ?
I don ’ t think any local TV stations are covering this much , local journalism has much deteriorated before the virus shock to everybody ’ s ad budget .
The local weekly that likes to parade its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a double game in consistently endorsing ( and rating highly in periodic surveys they publish ) mainstream , non-particularly-progressive Dems ; they endorsed Schrader and their next issue , that may or may not cover his deceit , comes out on Wednesday .
Thanks in advance to anyone who care share any info .
And it is part of my intention here just to spread the news about Schrader .
I ’ ve known for several years that Schrader is one super moderate Dem never to be trusted .

The news is just amazing to this district resident, I’m not too politically connected anymore and I’m just hoping to find any source with any information.
Rep Kurt Schrader, Oregon 5th District, longtime ultra-centrist Democrat who is finally in a primary fight finishing Tuesday against a progressive local mayor, Mark Gamba, has VOTED AGAINST today’s HEROES Act HR 6800. While he’s bombarding the district with flyers calling himself a progressive in big letters.
No statement from him shows up on Google, and I just need to hear whatever excuse he might have for this. Maybe he thinks that in Oregon many of us do mail in our ballots early — ours went out today for Gamba — and if he just keeps his head down nobody will notice ?? Does he have polling showing he’s going t win the primary?
I don’t think any local TV stations are covering this much, local journalism has much deteriorated before the virus shock to everybody’s ad budget. The local weekly that likes to parade its wokeness in all things cultural does play a double game in consistently endorsing (and rating highly in periodic surveys they publish) mainstream, non-particularly-progressive Dems; they endorsed Schrader and their next issue, that may or may not cover his deceit, comes out on Wednesday.
Thanks in advance to anyone who care share any info. And it is part of my intention here just to spread the news about Schrader. I’ve known for several years that Schrader is one super moderate Dem never to be trusted.


dailykos--2020-05-16--Why Florida's Unemployment System is Rigged, Broken, and Ineffective in Times of Great Need

Unemployment benefits come from a business insurance program that gives employees that are terminated or furloughed money to pump back into the local economy .
In Florida the trust fund was underfunded because business owners lobbied the Republican legislature and Governor to keep premiums at the status quo .
Even though Republicans fought against President Obama ’ s stimulus bill in 2009 the Republican dominated legislature and Republic Governor took the “ socialist ” money and propped up the inadequately funded program rather than make changes that would bolster the economy when it needed an infusion of cash .
At @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make claiming of benefits difficult .
For one , the onus of responsibility for proving dismissal or furlough was put on the employee rather than the employer ; because this change built in factors that made it hard to claim benefits denials skyrocketed .
At the same time a trigger was put in the system that automatically denied benefits if there was not enough money in the trust fund .
In other words , people would have to be entering the work force in greater numbers than were leaving it because entry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of great need , like now , the system churned out denials as the fund went in the red .
Over the last few months millions more were spent to “ fix the broken system ” , a system that was rigged against the beneficiary in the first place .
Governor DeSantis was warned about the problems that were built into the system , though he acts “ surprised ” .
Voters should investigate these actions and vote for the party , senators , governor , and representatives that represents your economic interest @ @ @ @

Unemployment benefits come from a business insurance program that gives employees that are terminated or furloughed money to pump back into the local economy. In Florida the trust fund was underfunded because business owners lobbied the Republican dominated legislature and Republican Governor to keep premiums low. Even though these same Republicans fought against President Obama’s stimulus bill in 2009 and also refused to expand Medicaid they took the “socialist” money and propped up the inadequately funded program. Rather than make changes that would bolster the economy when it needed an infusion of cash at a time of great unemployment, such as now, then Republican Governor Scott spent millions of tax payer money and hired a contractor to make claiming of benefits difficult by rigging the system at the cost to the unemployed. (Scott’s company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid but the uninformed still voted him in.) For one, the onus of responsibility for proving dismissal or furlough was put on the employee rather than the employer; because this change built in factors that made it hard to claim benefits denials skyrocketed. At the same time a tripwire was put in the system that automatically denied benefits to applicants if there was not enough money in the trust fund. Denials occurred even when applicants qualified. Denials were issued until enough premiums were entering the system through employment of new employees. The trust fund would go up because employers were charged premiums for those on its payroll. Because Floridians were entering the work force in greater numbers than were leaving it before the pandemic surfaced the inherent flaws of the system were opaque to the populace . However, the new governor, another Republican, knew the rigged system was rigged but did nothing to fix until it collapsed, Over the last few months Governor De Santis sent millions of taxpayer dollars to more “fix the broken system”, a system that was rigged against the beneficiary in the first place. Now he is blaming the unemployed for filing duplicate claims and is claiming that fraudsters are making false claims.
De Santis has followed Trump’s playbook to a letter. He just fired a woman in the Florida administration who refused to tinker with the COVID19 deaths to cover up the consequences of his decision making. He resisted calls to close Florida down before Spring Break, promoting the spread of the virus within and outside the states as youngsters drank, dined, beached, and partied and then took the virus home. He opened Florida up before it reached the milestones outlined by the much maligned CDC. He, Scott, Trump, and there enablers are happy for millions to die as the pandemic rages. They have no skin in the game but are happily reaping dollars as the stock market recovers. Voters should investigate these actions and vote for the party, senators, governor, and representatives that represents your economic interest and have integrity. These sycophants must be brought down by the people who still believe that the government is by the people and for the people. It is your civic duty to protect the vulnerable because one day it might be you that is on the front lines exposing yourself to COVID19.


Obamagate is Real

Yes , Obamagate is real .
After all , O presidented while black .
For eight years !
Can ’ t have that in a white , gun worshipping , Christian 'Merika .
Couple that with O ’ s drop the mike put down of the Donald at the correspondence dinner ... well uppity was probably the least of the foul words doing the rickoshay around the orange dotard ’ s brain pan .
I ’ m thinking that sleepy eyed Joe Biden ( the sleepy eyed reference probably came from a movie studio ’ s hyping of a Robert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davis eyes ) should tell Donny that he can ’ t fix the pandemic by firing Meatloaf because it really is “ a big fucking deal !
“ Ah , Joe Biden , Pennsylvania ’ s third senator ; Joseph wears the coat of many colors ... all the colors of the democratic coalition… black , brown , white and all the colors of the rainbow .
Marriage equality , indeed !
But back to Obama to complete the frame .
In a few hours a billion plus will again hear the man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Words speaking the truth to our reality .
Tingle away Chris Matthews .
Now I leave you with this.. roll this phrase around your brain pan ... Supreme Court Justice Obama .
Image O doing a twenty spot justicing away on highest court of the land .
I Do .

Yes, Obamagate is real. After all, O presidented while black. For eight years! Can’t have that in a white, gun worshipping, Christian 'Merika. Couple that with O’s drop the mike put down of the Donald at the correspondence dinner...well uppity was probably the least of the foul words doing the rickoshay around the orange dotard’s brain pan. I’m thinking that sleepy eyed Joe Biden ( the sleepy eyed reference probably came from a movie studio’s hyping of a Robert Mitchum movie..a male counterpart to those Betty Davis eyes) should tell Donny that he can’t fix the pandemic by firing Meatloaf because it really is “ a big fucking deal! “ Ah, Joe Biden, Pennsylvania’s third senator; Joseph wears the coat of many colors...all the colors of the democratic coalition… black, brown, white and all the colors of the rainbow. Marriage equality, indeed! But back to Obama to complete the frame. In a few hours a billion plus will again hear the man speak. They will be hopeful words. Words speaking the truth to our reality. Tingle away Chris Matthews. Now I leave you with this.. roll this phrase around your brain pan...Supreme Court Justice Obama. Image O doing a twenty spot justicing away on highest court of the land. I Do.