If the shoe fits

I know that I shouldn’t compare the way different groups of people are treated, but sometimes I just cannot help myself.

For instance, I have often heard that the law is the same for everyone, regardless of gender, race, religion, financial status…but, is it?  Really, is it?

If this were true, then why do the influential seem to get more breaks than the less fortunate?

If you or I are accused of breaking the law, we are read our rights and put in jail. Granted, sometimes the wealthy are treated the same way, but how many times have we all witnessed “special” treatment given to certain individuals.

The ultra-rich employ lawyers that act as buffers from the law. Even if accused, they simply spend enough money and twist the courts around to extend and delay any decision or trial, as long as they possibly can.

The average citizen cannot afford to play that card.

Let alone any other shenanigans like jury tampering, or jury intimidation.

The average Joe, files his taxes every year and hopes that he doesn’t have to pay more than whatever amount his employer has taken out.

The wealthy, employ CPA’s and Tax attorneys to use every loop hole possible to shelter their riches, often paying less than the average Joe.  Seems kind of unfair, doesn’t it?

Then, there is the middle class that complain about anyone in need of assistance living off the government, as though they were jealous that they too weren’t provided what they believe to be their fair share.

The rich don’t really much care, until they need to use that as rationale why the government is so much in debt. Eliminating social services and anything that helps those lower than themselves, is considered wasted government money. You know, the money that they avoided paying into the system in the first place.

The law say’s it is equal for all, but it really isn’t – now, and never has been.

Those that dreamed up the idea, may have had the best intentions in mind, but reality doesn’t support that dream.

Women are not treated equally, if they were an entire Amendment wouldn’t have been needed.

Non-white people are not treated equally, if they were Civil Rights wouldn’t have been necessary.

Many people that cannot fathom the idea that their race, their religion, or their gender is NOT superior to others. They  DO NOT, now or ever, desire EQUALITY. It isn’t in them to believe that they are not above others, and it is shown in their teachings, their philosophical positions, and their political affiliations.  They hate anything that is different from them, because that is what they have been taught and told to do.

Which is really unsettling is that those very same people worship to the same God. They are taught the same basic golden rule for treating others as you would want to be treated. They sing praises to a God and Savior that preached the opposite from how these folks behave when outside of their chosen religious gathering.

Regardless of if it is God’s law, or a Government enacted law – everyone is NOT treated the same, or provided the same opportunities.

All men are created equal, in the eyes of God.

It is your deeds, not words, by which you will be judged.

And…we all will be judged.

I’m a romantic optimist, and a believer in freedom and equality for all.

I am also a realist, which often makes it difficult being the romantic optimist believer.

The self crowned Emperor

Napoleon decided that he should rule France. So, after his coup de’ état he became the self crowned Emperor. His ruling philosophy included the idea that if anything was good for the state, it wasn’t illegal. He justified everything he did while he was Emperor, using this as rationale.

Now, doesn’t that sound familiar?

Trump just stated the exact same thing, to justify everything that he wants to do.

Some people have voiced concerns of the country becoming another Nazi Germany, but I would be weary of it becoming like France under the rule of Napoleon.

In both cases, the United States of America would no longer be a democratic republic.

The Constitution would be nothing more than an old piece of paper holding no meaning, what so ever. The 3 equal, but separate, branches of government would cease to exist.

The government by the people, and for the people would really be by the rich white people, and for the rich white people.

The only hope is that Trump endures the same fate that Napoleon saw. Emperors and Empires don’t live forever.

Make America Great Again…for who?

The greatest lie ever told.

The reality is that those on top and in power, have one objective. Take more than they give. 

The reason that Reagans Trickledown economics doesn’t work, is that the flow is controlled by the wealthy. 

That flow is just a trickle, AFTER they take what they believe is their share. They rationalize the unequal sharing by stating “if it wasn’t for them, the lower 98% wouldn’t even have jobs, or a life of any kind.

That trickle becomes just a drip, once it is distributed to the many.

The whole truth behind MAGA is that as long as they don’t have to say Great for the wealthy 2 %, the idiots that THINK it is meant for them, will follow along.  That part of the 2% are delusional and can only wish that a drip or 2 might make its way to them.

Everything that is now going on, is intentionally set up to improve the lives of the 2%.

This time, there will not even be a drip. 

Wake up America!

They just don’t care

Trump’s administration is now openly defying a federal judge’s order pertaining to his freeze of federal grant money.

A senior official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ordered subordinates to halt the disbursement of millions of dollars in federal grant funding. This is despite U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ordering FEMA to immediately disburse the money, as it had already been appropriated by Congress.

Stacey Street, who is the director of FEMA’s Office of Grant Administration, ordered the office to pause the release of funds for “emergency preparedness, homeland security, firefighting, protecting churches from terrorism and tribal security” in an email with the subject line: “URGENT: Holds on awards.” The email specifically called for holds on “all open awards, all years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).

These funds were appropriated by Congress and signed into law by the sitting president.

The current administration is violating the Constitution, and ignoring the Separation of Powers instilled in it that requires Congress to create the bills related to appropriations, and the President at the time has the ability to veto or sign the bill into law.

After a law is passed, the Judicial branch of government has the responsibility to interpret the Constitutionality of the law.  That is their primary function.

Democracy only works when the 3 branches of government stay in their lane.  Checks and Balances are in place to eliminate any one branch from doing whatever they want, however they want, whenever they want. 

If this administration wants to deny the funding for FEMA while they are in office, then do it with appropriations (if any) put into law under their watch.  Oh, but wait!  This Congress, both Senate and House – with a Republican majority can’t even agree on what, how, or when to legislate the upcoming budget.

Retracting appropriations that were granted in years before taking office is wrong.

The idiots that continue to speak as though the judicial branch is out of line, and wrong in their rulings should never have taken the oath of office. By taking an oath while stating you would uphold the Constitution and now say and do the things that you are doing – you lied.

Let’s just see how well stripping FEMA of its responsibility works when the Tornados rip apart the homes in the middle of the country, or the Hurricanes devastate the south later this year, or the forest fires, mud slides, and flooding, occur.  Let’s just see how many folks will continue to support the actions of this administration when times of real hardship and need occur.

These actions are strictly political, with no regard for the people that it will truly hurt.

This administration is so petty, uncaring, and reminiscent of an immature child.

Presidential Reorganization Authority ignored

Wikipedia provided information-

The creation of presidential reorganization authority was foreshadowed with the passage of the Overman Act in 1918, which allowed the president to consolidate government agencies, though abolishing any specific department was prohibited.

First fully extended in 1932, presidential reorganization authority has been authorized on 16 occasions. 

The Reorganization Act of 1949 was the last full statute enacted from scratch until the Reorganization Act of 1977; reorganizations occurring between the 1949 and 1977 statutes took the form of amendment and extension of the 1949 law.

The Reorganization Act of 1939 defined the reorganization plan as its own kind of presidential directive. Previously, the delegated authority had been exercised using executive orders.

As of 2017, the last major reorganization of the government using presidential reorganization authority was during the administration of Dwight Eisenhower.

All subsequent cases of the invocation of presidential reorganization authority has been to make more minor, corrective adjustments.

The last reorganization authority was passed by Congress in 1984, although there have been proposals to reinstate it since then.

In 2002 George W. Bush requested the president be granted permanent reorganization authority. No such authorization was extended. 

Also in 2002, the National Commission on the Public Service proposed extending presidential reorganization authority to substantially restructure the executive branch which, it contended, had become incoherent in the level of overlapping jurisdiction and different management structures.

During the presidency of Barack Obama, Obama requested reorganization authority from Congress which he said he would use to restructure the Department of Commerce, followed by less specific modifications to other agencies. Under Obama’s plan, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would have been transferred to the Department of the Interior while the rest of the Department of Commerce would be merged with the Small Business Administration and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and renamed. The authorization was not granted. – Thanks, Wikipedia!

There is a right and wrong way to go about reorganizing government entities, and what is happening under Musk, falls in the wrong way category. Much of what he is doing will most likely be deemed unconstitutional, when it gets to the Judicial branch.

After all, that is what dictators do.

Realizing that he might not be allowed to utilize the presidential authority (without Congressional approval), Trump decides to just ignore the legislative branch totally.

The Republicans have the majority of seats in the House and the Senate. Perhaps, the president is NOT confident that a majority of members of Congress from his own party will simply allow the king to do whatever he wants to.  Some of the Republican Congress persons are smart enough to realize, that sooner or later, they will need to face their constituents to explain why their world went to crap under their watch.

Trump will be gone after this cycle is done, but Republican Congress persons hoping to extend their political career won’t have the luxury of running away.

Nope, we cannot be friends.

If you voted for Trump in this last election, and somehow may still have me included on your “friends” list, please “unfriend” me.  

If you “follow” me, you should unfollow me.  If I unfollow you, it will be the result of you posting something that shows support for those that I cannot philosophically support.  

I respect that you are entitled to have your own opinions and beliefs, but voting for him clearly shows that we do not share the same philosophies and moral values. 

Friends care about each other. 

Friends treat each other with compassion, trust, and respect.

It has been said that politics shouldn’t tear families or friendship apart, but it will because at some point a line has to be established. Consequences for actions must be felt, or what’s the point of having beliefs and values? 

In this “free” society, everyone chooses and then, consequences occur based on the decisions they make.  

I can no longer pretend that your ignoring his past behavior, his lies and antics – is somehow okay.

I can no longer pretend that your ignoring his basic beliefs about almost everything, is somehow okay.

You may not think that by voting for him, you support that which I wrote of, but in you do.  You just don’t see that or acknowledge it. 

With a clear conscience, I cannot recognize you as a friend if you voted for Trump.

Clearly our fundamental norms for acceptable behavior, cannot bridge the vastness of our  differences. 

This goes far beyond, agreeing to disagree. 

If you cannot see that, it only supports how different we are. 

For some, this request may shock you, for that I am sorry.

Maybe, one day you will understand, if you care to even try.

I am far too old to worry about ruining a “friendship” that was not based on a shared agreement of common decency. 

With what little time I have left in this lifetime, I choose to spend it with those that I respect and love. 

Meanwhile, I will pray for blessings upon you.

Goodbye

Open your eyes

Today, the founding idea of 3 separate arms of government is under attack by a want to be dictator. 

Let there be no mistake, the actions this clown is trying to implement is purposefully attempting to dismantle the basic role of Congress.

Congress creates the laws, included in which it is their responsibility to enact spending bills.

If passed, those bills are sent to the President to either veto, or sign into law.

As the head of the executive branch, that is his choice and his choice alone. 

Once signed into law, it is the Judicial branch that then decides if actions taken are legal or not.

The judicial branch interprets the laws that Congress made and a President has signed.

Laws that are interpreted as being Unconstitutional can be resended by the Supreme Court, but only after it has been hearing arguments from both sides of the dispute. 

Currently, the President and his appointed Cabinet members have unilaterally decided to direct government officials with orders that interfere with appropriation laws passed and approved by a different administration. 

Laws that do not allow such behavior. 

The executive branch is hoping the judicial branch agrees with the ability to disavow laws that are interpreted as being in place, passed by the President at the time, and allow a different President a second swing at either veto or sign into law a bill that had previously been signed.

This is as unconstitutional of an act as ever been attempted.

If allowed by the SCOTUS, it would allow any President elected to change ALL past laws to their liking, without Congressional approval for doing so.

The basic tenants of separation of power will no longer exist.

We will become a dictatorship.

This is happening right before your eyes.  

Open your eyes and wake up.

And, if this is allowed under this political leader, it will then have to be allowed under every other afterwards.  You better think about how that will work when the party you are opposed to takes over.

This is a direct attack on the Constitution by people that should, and do, know better, so why are they doing this?

Simple

They don’t care. 

A very sad state of affairs

He does not believe in proven Science, Economic data, the Free Press, Civil Rights, the Rule of Law, Mercy, Equal Rights for everyone, the Golden Rule, Fair Trade, the 14th Amendment, or the Oath to the Constitution.

He clearly does believe in retribution over love your enemies.

He clearly thought the pain, suffering and death caused by insurrectionists was worthy of pardon, over those simply doing their jobs protecting the lives of our Representatives and the Capitol on January 6th. 

He clearly does believe he is above everyone else, and not that you are to love your neighbor as yourself.

He clearly believes that it is okay to harm the disenfranchised, downtrodden, and those in need, instead of having mercy on the weak.

He states that he will make America great again and talks as if our country has been destroyed by anyone that came before him with a different political or philosophical view for the future of America.  Catch phrases and crazy threats or promises will never build a better union, or demonstrate to the rest of the world, the reality that true Democracy offers.

He thinks he knows best but has a terrible track record that simply doesn’t support that notion. Broken vows, Lies, Bankruptcies, and Shin splints. 

He does not actually seem to know the very basics of how Government works, that was taught in High School Government and Civics class.

When you voted for him, you selected someone that reflects your beliefs too.

If you thought that his ideas will do more good than harm, you better hope you are not a woman, a person of color, a person hoping to seek asylum, a person born in America to a non-citizen, a school teacher or administrator, anyone working in the automobile industry, a union worker, a farmer, a person working in the hospitality industry, a police officer, a patient in need of an experimental cancer therapy or drug, or the purchaser of just about anything.

Good luck with that. 

Character should matter more than the price of eggs. 

Withering away, soon to be completely gone

It dawned on me that today is January 6th, forever more known as Insurrection Day.

Hard to believe just 4 years ago today, the previous and now re-elected President initiated the insurrection that occurred at the Capital in Washington D.C.

The evidence is clear, and yet, he got away with it.

There has been much talk of all of the political divisiveness and behaviors over the last decade, and what certainly appears to most likely continue into the future, has destroyed Democracy (as we know it).

It seems like half the public just doesn’t care, chooses to ignore, or don’t believe it even happened. The other half were hoping and praying for a sense of justice to be enforced, simply to reconstruct the notion that Democracy survived the attack. Perpetrators brought to justice and laws being upheld – as Democracy defines should be done.

As time has gone by, the argument has beliefs of the public have waned. They grew tired of the discussion. Half believed nothing would ever be done to the man that sat in his office and did nothing to quell the violence that day. Nothing would be done about the planting of insurrectionist plans including hanging Mike Pence because he didn’t do what the morally corrupt president wanted him to do.

Democracy is waning, it dies a little bit every time injustices are allowed to become the norm. Democracy dies a little bit, whenever oligarchs and billionaires, whom line politicians pockets, escape being held accountable like every other normal citizen that cannot use money to demand a favor.

Democracy dies a little bit every time, we the people are not treated fairly and equally, just because the color of their skin, what they believe in, or their gender.

Democracy doesn’t die all at once – like a person having a heart attack. It dies more like a person that is diagnosed with cancer. A cancer that destroys a person over time, from the inside out, eventually ending a person’s hopes and dreams.

Democracy is the little guys only hope for a better life. It should be cherished and nurtured, not ignored and pushed aside for selfish reasons.

Democracy and it’s basic principles are NOT guaranteed though. Democracy could easily all be lost, simply by indifference. If you choose to just not care, or not believe it could be taken away, you are mistaken.

We are watching the process unfold that allows Democracy to wither away to nothing.

I pray enough likeminded people find a way to get this message across to enough people, before it is too late (if it isn’t already too late).

That is a sad commentary for today, the anniversary of Insurrection Day.

Soon to become an island on the North American Continent

Isolationism is a very scary policy.

Thinking that you are going to “bully” your way into making our neighbors to the north and south, into bending a knee to his highness’s stupid tariffs and trade agreements is so dumb.

I’m a United States citizen that believes that what he is attempting to do, will ultimately make our country become an island nation isolated and surrounded by neighbors that simply do not, and won’t play, that game.

I love Canada and Mexico. Look nothing is perfect, but our relationship for hundreds of years has been free of miltary engagement. They leave us to govern the way we want to, and we have allowed them to do the same. We haven’t forced them to change their way of life, or their beliefs, and they have done the same with us.

Not many countries around the world can say that about their neighboring countries. Not in Europe, not in Asia, not in the Mid East, not in Africa.

We have had a unique situation based mostly on mutual respect for each other.

We certainly have had controversial trade agreements over the years. Some were harmful to the United States, and helpful to Mexico and Canada. The standard of living in Mexico increased because of it. Job security was achieved in some industries best suited to be done in Canada.

Politicians and Economists favored the agreements and rationalized the loss of manufacturing jobs away. Apparently, the higher paying jobs the displaced factory workers were left with were flipping burgers, running cash registers, and doing jobs that they had to be re-educated and trained to do. So, in the end we pissed off a whole bunch of people and he used the resulting job loss to fuel the fire of hate.

Trade deficits have blown way out of proportion. At one time, during the Industrial Revolution, the United States exported way more than they imported. Other than Europe, the rest of the world lagged far behind in having the machinery, equipment, and knowledge to compete.

But what they did have was an almost endless supply of manpower that would work for a lower wage than what the United States workforce would work for.

Our undying belief in a capitalistic society, and freedom to pursue massive amounts of money. Along with the belief that the Federal government should be limited in their powerful reach to control corporate decision making, led to “Industrialization” and imports from other countries around the world skyrocketed.

Not everyone was happy with this situation. Far too much dependency on other countries for critical items. Far too much migration caused by good paying jobs. The “capitalistic industrialists” had too much say and power.

To address this major concern, one President decided to enact very high tariffs on all imports. This was back when the Federal government was engaged with a nasty struggle for power against corporate America. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor essentially ended the United States isolationist policy.

The result helped create the Great Depression. The 2 World Wars created a necessary economic unification between countries. Massive amounts of materials and jobs were needed to be done to support the War effort.

Now, times and economic policies have evolved into a World economy. Nations around the world trade with each other, even during times of conflict. Some legal and some illegal, but it still happens.

The entire world has developed financial relationships, free markets, and a somewhat standardized monetary system. Once upon a time, the value of money being used was based on the value of gold. The world used a gold standard to establish how much a yen, a ruble, a dollar, or a franc was worth.

Today, the gold standard no longer exists. The standard being used now by the majority of the world’s nations is the U.S. dollar.

There are many factors behind why this happened. The issue to remember is that the standard is not locked in and can be changed.

So, keep pushing for higher tariffs and isolationism and soon countries may grow tired of dealing with your economic temper tantrums.

Why would they continue to buy U.S Treasury Bonds or Treasury Bills, if you treat their economic situation as though it is meaningless. They could just as easily just buy Chinese Yen instead.

If they are getting a raw deal on trade with us, they will just shift their imports to other countries, reduce their exports to us, and increase their exports to countries that want to establish fair trade with them.

I have a really bad feeling about the future of the United States of America.

I pray that the harm that is going to occur with our neighbors to the north and south is not permanent or irreparable.

I wish I could them how sorry I am for what he is planning on doing. What little, if any good results come from his actions, they will be short lived and unnecessary.

The guy just isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.

I guess time will tell.