Wednesday, August 31, 2016

OF WALLS AND MIGHTY EMPIRES

In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte is alleged to have said, "China? There lies a sleeping giant. Let him sleep! For when he wakes he will move the world."  Perhaps, Napoleon was mindful of the fact that a few centuries before, China was the sole hyperpower in the world, much as the United States is today.

In the 16th Century, China began to build a virtual wall, around China, to seal themselves off from foreign influences.  By the 19th Century, relatively small European powers, using technologies, many of which originated in China, but refined in the rest of the world, were able to force the establishment of enclaves, in mainland China, where their laws prevailed and not those of China, to the humiliation of the Chinese people.

In history, walls have usually marked the limits of the power of a nation, not something that made a nation great.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

GUEST POST

New post on The Octogenarians

The Run-up to the Presidential Debates

by daedal2207
The Donald purports to be reaching for black voters saying that he will ensure their not getting shot down in their own streets."What do you have to lose" he bawls.To Hispanics he promises to reconsider his deportation position.His official platform has not shifted but the shape shifters are at work selling a more palatable image(Connoly,Ailles,Archer,Bannon)The media are consumed by presenting contrasting images of Clinton vs Trump,helping us to be myopic about the crippling issue of increasing inequity in the face of national refusal to act on tax and immigration reform, drug cost abuse,undermining of "affordable care"through the issuance of relatively inexpensive catastrophic policies depleting the eligible pool of payers,corporation inversion etc.Free enterprise cannot be unrestricted because greed cannot be limited.Hillary's tight and unappealing legalisms attract media attention but her program plans on view at her website do not.
When will the serious conversation begin?

Friday, August 26, 2016

DON'T GET ME WRONG

Hillary Clinton gave a sad speech, in Nevada, yesterday, detailing how a fringe group, taking advantage of the weakness of the Republican Party, was taking it over.  Don't get me wrong.  It was a great speech, but the sad part is that it had to come from a candidate and not from investigative journalism expected from a vibrant free Press.  For me, it demonstrates how weak the Press has become since the Reagan Administration allowed the consolidation of the media to fall into the hands of a small number of people.

WHAT CAME AS A SURPRISE TO ME

It comes as no particular surprise that Donald Trump is marching towards the center on immigration.  There is a post, in this, blog written months ago, that he would.  The flabbergasting surprize is that the etch-a-sketching is coming before Labor Day and not after.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

DONALD'S FLEXIBILITY

Now that Trump has fully embraced Jeb Bush's position on immigration, which he so viciously attacked during the primary campaign, why can't Jeb finally endorse him?  After all, Trump has proven his flexibility, with this change, and I'm sure that Trump can find it in his heart, to forgive Bush for having been his adversary, once, of course, Jeb gives his endorsement.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

NO INTEREST IN ANY OTHER TYPE OF INFORMATION

During the Primaries, the Press began to clamor, almost incessantly for Hillary to release transcripts of her speeches to business groups, saying, "why not just release the transcripts if you don't have anything to hide".  Their requests for the transcripts came to an almost immediate halt when Hillary agreed to release the transcripts if Trump released his speeches before the same type of audiences.  There seemed to be no interest, on the part of the media, for Trump's transcripts, but only Hillary's.

The same media seems to have tired, quickly, in requesting Trump's tax returns, after he claimed that they were under audit and he could not release them, nor have they shown the same enthusiasm and intensity, to obtain them, now that we have learned that Trump will not release any of his tax returns, even those that have been audited.  I have yet to hear a single media organization ask Trump why he felt the need to lie about the reason for not releasing his tax returns.  I have yet to hear a single question asked of Trump, or his organization, as to the report of his son claiming that Trump would be foolish, to release his tax returns.

Wouldn't it be foolish for anyone not to take his campaign's words and actions as prima facie evidence that he certainly does have something to hide?  Why isn't the same question, "if you don't have anything to hide, why don't you release your tax returns?", with the same frequency and intensity as was asked of Hillary about her speech transcripts?

The answer, seems to be, that they have Hillary's tax returns and there's nothing there to use to attack her, and they really have no interest in any other type of information.

Monday, August 22, 2016

SPECIAL PROSECUTORS TO INVESTIGATE LICIT ACTIVITIES?

Now that Donald Trump has confirmed that even though some of his tax returns have completed their audits, he still will not make them public, it is, in my opinion, unconscionable, for the Press to give any credence to his allegations of criminal activity by a person who has released 33 years worth of returns. 

The media should preface any reporting of Trump's allegations, by a statement that Mr. Trump, by refusing to release his returns, may not have clean hands, in any matter in which he is accusing Hillary Clinton.

The Supreme Court has already ruled that arranging a meeting with a Government official is  unacceptable evidence of there being a quid pro quo, since it is a public duty of officials to meet with citizens, yet Trump is calling for a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton having, for donors to the Clinton Foundation, a bona fide charitable organization, noted for its good works, facilitated meetings with officials, which is a licit activity.   Better, Mr. Trump be pressed to tell the American public what he is hiding.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

STRONG LEADERSHIP REPUBLICAN STYLE

With the buildup of the forces, under U.S. leadership, for the assault on Mosul, the first Iraqi city to fall to ISIS, most of their forces outside of Mosul, in Iraq, have gone back to being guerrilla units as they were in the days of George W. Bush.

If Republicans win the coming Presidential election, they promise they will provide the strong leadership to rid us of the threat once and for all.  They claim that the ISIS only exists because of the weak leadership of Obama.  Yet, Bush had 160,000 U.S. boots, on the ground, in Iraq, and could not defeat the guerrilla insurgency that raged there.  Inherited by Obama, from his first day in office, was an ongoing guerrilla war, with a date certain for U.S.troop withdrawal, negotiated by his predecessor.  

In many ways, the position of the U.S. is much stronger now, with few boots on the ground, than it ever was under Bush.  Bush's man Maliki has been replaced by a Government of inclusion and Iraqi forces, including the Kurds, assisted by U.S. Special Forces,  are actually doing the fighting, and winning.

Republicans, always better at criticizing than doing, promise to change all that.  

SINCERE CONCERN FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

If Donald Trump is so concerned with the well-being of the African-American community, wouldn't it be a nice gesture, of his sincerity, if he would come out, forcefully, against his own party's admitted attempts to suppress the black vote?  

Friday, August 19, 2016

IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN A DUBROVNIK VACATION AND MANAFORT'S RESIGNATION?

With the Feds closing in on Paul Manafort, for possible violations of the law requiring agents of foreign governments  to register, it became necessary, for the Trump family, to establish alternate ties to a rich source of funding that the former Soviet Union represents.

There may be no coincidence that Ivanka Trump chose this time to vacation with an old friend, the girl friend of Vladimir Putin.  There may also be no coincidence in the timing of Manafort's resignation, and rumors of the formation of another news agency by the Trump family, which will include Roger Ailes and Stephen Bannon.  It may be that Putin has given his financial blessings to such a venture. 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

IS TRUMP THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WITH AIDS?

The only medical document, submitted to the public by Trump, issued by his Gastroenterologist, clearly states that his test results are all positive.  We assume that, as is normal, his tests included one for the HIV virus.  Based on his own physician's report, Trump is HIV+ and thus shows the medical strides that have been made in the field, as well as the social progress made in the philosophy of the Republican Party, in accepting Trump as a candidate.   

Saturday, August 13, 2016

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION BY INNUENDO VS. TAX RETURNS

Many of those innuendos about corruption and ties to foreign governments can be cleared up through examination of income tax returns.  For example, if only Hillary Clinton would release her tax returns, it might clear up all those innuendos about she and her husband having profited from the Clinton Foundation.  Up to date she has only released 34 years of her returns; we don't know what happened 35 years ago.

Donald Trump, however, because he is a Republican candidate, should be taken at his word that he has no ties to the Russian government, and there is nothing to learn from his tax returns.

TRUMP'S SURROGATES

Basis media interviews with Trump's surrogates, on TV and radio, one can only conclude that they are expected to know everything about Hillary Clinton and nothing about Trump, whatsoever.  When questioned,  by the interviewer, about the Donald, they immediately launch into a diatribe against Clinton, offering little or nothing about their candidate.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

EXTORTING POWER FROM THE BARREL OF A GUN

"SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS" folks who think that their guns will allow them to retain rights, bestowed by a society, to the detriment of that society, without amendment, should remember that guns are not very effective against weapons that require the resources of an organized society.








Tuesday, August 9, 2016

BIRTH OF A NEW PERVASIVE CLINTON LIE

Within days of release, by the State Department, of one of the unclassified emails that were on Clinton's server, dealing with an Iranian defector who returned to Iran, that defector was executed by the Iranian government.

On learning of the fact, that the defector was executed, the Republican smear machine, immediately, went into action to blame the hacked Clinton emails, for the defector's death, even though there has never been any evidence that Clinton's server was hacked, the defection occurred 7 years ago and Ameri, the scientist returned to Iran 6 years ago, in 2010, and Clinton's last year, in office as Secretary of State, was 2013.  Her emails were released by the State Department, to the public, in 2016.  An  unclassified email dealing with Amiri, sent by another State Department employee to Clinton, not reclassified, among the batch. was the only one that could have borne on the matter was made public, but not by Clinton, and years after she had left office.

All of the foregoing notwithstanding, and the absurdity of  alleging that her emails were hacked and this led to a defector's death years after she had left office, once the Republican smear machine gets to endlessly repeat the lie, it will be come a fact for the  dittoheads and nothing will dislodge it.  The fact finders will tire of debunking the claim and the Republican rank and file will accept what their smear machine tells them.

NO ABORTION FOR ZIKA VICTIMS

Marco Rubio wants to ban abortions for Zika virus victims.  Of course, funds to provide social services to children born with microcephaly will be made available, according to Mr. Rubio, with corresponding cuts in other assistance programs.  After all, if someone does not have the funds to provide for themselves, they shouldn't contract the virus in the first place.

WRONGFUL DEATHS

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed, against Hillary Clinton, for the death of a family member who died in Benghazi.

I hope that it doesn't get thrown out of court, as that might open up the possibility of filing some 4000 wrongful death lawsuits against Bush/Cheney for having lied us into the Iraq war.  Additionally, there are some 3000 lawsuits that could be sustained for the people killed at the Twin Towers.  There is more substantial circumstantial evidence that Bush/Cheney arranged for the attack, to set the grounds for the Iraq war, than allegations that Clinton's emails contained classified information or that they may have been hacked, neither of which was proven after a lot more investigations than was afforded to 9/11 or the Iraq War. 

Monday, August 8, 2016

TRICKLE DOWN = TORRENT UP

Despite centuries of proof, even before feudal times, that trickle down economics are a complete societal failure, and is the reason for wealth inequality, as well as being a factor in the demise of a society, here in the second decade of the 21st century we are still debating the issue.

Even though several decades of trickle down economics have contributed to a deep sense of discontent, in American society, leading to the empowering of demagogues such as Donald Trump, we are still debating whether to continue with tax cuts with the wealthy or return to a tax system that we had in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.  It was the tax code in those decades that enabled us, as a society, to build the dams, roads and infrastructure to win World Wars, educate a whole generation of workers and go to the moon, things that seem to be beyond us, now.   

Sunday, August 7, 2016

PUTIN ALLIES WITH TRUMP IN UNION BUSTING

I often speculate how much better the world would be if Gorbachev would have been Premier of the Soviet Union, during the Carter Presidency instead of Reagan.  Reagan, who considered, perhaps correctly, that it was actually the old, evil Russian Empire that needed dismembering,  wanted to preside over its dissolution, and succeeded in doing so.  Gorbachev wanted to reform the Union over which he presided, not dissolve it.

Putin who swore his allegiance, as a KGB officer, to that Union, and who has as long a memory, for perceived wrongs, as his compadre Trump, would like nothing better than to return the favor and witness the dissolution of our own Union. 

Trump, who is, possibly, the neediest of any candidate for the U.S. Presidency, and who may already be kept afloat by Russian Federation interests, has already begun laying the groundwork by claiming a rigged system months before the General Election, and like Trump's "Birther Conspiracy", to become an everlasting issue to sow discord in the electorate, 

Thursday, August 4, 2016

GUEST POST

Note, this post arrived minutes after I had posted my own thoughts on Personality Disorders, appearing below  HW


Narcissistic Personality Disorder

by daedal2207
Rep.Karen Ross(D-Calif)in a Change.org petition,called for mental health professionals to demand a mental health evaluation of the Donald for the safety of the nation. She went on to list some of the 9 characteristics listed in the latest DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) only 5 of  which are needed for the diagnosis.Two problems bedevil such a diagnostic pronouncement. The first is that it is a matter of the degree to which these characteristics are displayed and the second is the social context in which they are displayed.
In a society which idolizes economic opportunism and  success, often in a zero sum economic & psychological context(racist and sexist to boot e.g."The big swinging dicks" of  Wall Street ),a lot of the winners would score high on such a score , potentially earning only a moral indictment as well as not so secret envy.Nevertheless our nation's sociopsychological experts need to be heard from,if only to explain the difficulty.Beyond that a statement that a lack of empathy is a primary sign of one who might engender risk and one need go no further than the impassioned statement of a father(Khan} and the anguish of his wife,is in order.Thus Congresswoman Ross's call is a request for a profiling of courage as well as a warning to the nation.

EXTORTED AGAINST HIS WISHES

I am struck with amusement, at the thought that returning  one's own money to its rightful owner, could be considered a ransom, as Donald Trump has characterized that $400 million sent to Iran. But considering how the Donald must feel when he is forced to return all, or part, of the money, that he has duped out of some poor "mark", it is understandable.  To him, it is his hard earned money, that is being extorted against his wishes.

MEETING THE DESCRIPTION

I, personally, would never consider someone with a Personality Disorder as being psychotic, or meet the definition of being insane. However, if that person also had hallucinations, such as seeing Muslims, in Jersey City, cheering the destruction of the Twin Towers, or having seen a planeload of cash arriving at an airport, each of which had not been seen by anyone else, I might not preclude the possibility that there may be a co-morbidity present that could  meet that description.

Monday, August 1, 2016

OUR GREATEST PRESIDENT?

Republicans have raised the possibility that Obama, endowed by superhuman powers, is the first superhero to have become President of the U.S.  According to Republicans, Obama bears the responsibility for the death of Capt. Khan, in Iraq.  The fact that Capt. Khan died in 2004, five years before Obama took office, should have been no impediment to a man of Obama's accomplishments. 

NO GREATER SACRIFICE

For a Muslim immigrant, whose son fought and died in the service of the U.S., to criticise Donald Trump for never having made sacrifices for this nation, may be being unfair. What greater sacrifice can be made than for a man to marry and maintain three trophy wives?  

As the old poem says:

 The ultimate sacrifice
 Is when a man marries a trophy wife
 And has to support her all of her life