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(I received this letter my sister, Sharon Franquemont, had written to a cousin….as it is, our extended family is about 50/50 Democrat or Republican, though some would be libertarian/green party etc. It got me thinking that, as it should be, we are all together, living through trying times. Internal and external forces are always at work in every society and it remains of utmost importance that here, as Americans, and elsewhere that we keep our dialogues going, open, accepting and informative.)
Thanks, sis, for the read.
“A couple of weeks ago a work colleague who voted for and admires Trump and I had a debate about voter fraud. What we soon discovered is that we both have completely different streams of news and facts. It was illuminating.
I wondered if our exchange was rooted in Russian generated disinformation campaign with the goal to create division and chaos in our country. Or was this stark reality difference guided by something more internal in USA?
BTW, I think chaos, confusion and undercutting of our Democracy was already in the Russian playbook, regardless of who won the election. if Hillary had won, we’d be hearing about her email fraud, her corrupt murders and bribery, so I don’t think this is a Trump issue. He is far worse than I expected and I expected pretty someone horrible—never believed he was a wise businessman capable of making ‘deals’ that would lead us through to the other side.
And, I never forget that many of my Republican friends were equally horrified by Obama’s Presidency.
As to Climate Change, in 1993 I met my beloved friend and soul brother, David Berry. We worked collaboratively on the volunteer Prayer Vigil for the Earth in DC for 20 years.
At the time I met David, he was working for the Department of Interior and was interested in interdepartmental sharing of environment data He formed an after hours working group across many of the departments and they began sharing data. This after hours working group eventually lead him to an assignment in the White House working directly for Katy McGinty’s Council on Environmental Quality. He later became known internationally and is now an honored elder member of the Balaton Group, an elite global sustainable group, and also chair of the USA Roundtable on Water.
Somewhere around 1999 he started very privately telling me and others that statistically there was no turning back. Humanity was over the edge and the Earth would become increasingly hot, seas would rise, and environmental degradation was already on the way. I worked through a lot of horrible thoughts and feelings about this, but landed on this may or may not happen. Thus far, it looks like it is happening.
Beyond David, Maurice Strong, the ‘father’ of global sustainability in that he convened the first UN global conversation on the issue in 1972, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio and 1995 follow-up, and his wife Hanne Strong have been friends since 1995. Although Maurice died a few years back, I’ve followed via them the perilous path of bringing these issues forward.
I have zero interest in debating Climate Change’s reality with anyone. Ultimately, time will reveal the truth. Will I stand for Climate Change work? Absolutely. Do I think, given the state of everything now, Climate Crisis is on the horizon? Yes, I do and not sure what we can do about it, but acknowledge its high probability. Humans have amazing ingenuity and adaptability, so I remain more hopeful than many, yet preparing honestly for different future topography and weather patterns seems like a good idea.
But the issue with you is far broader than Climate Change. I have zero trust in the sources you’ve been quoting and advocating since we began our conversation. And, it even goes deeper than that. Our 2016 conversation on the dock reached for me a critical point when realized how very different our values are. From that perspective, I wasn’t sure how useful our exchange could be for either of us, so was glad when we switched to saying that the systems were suspect.
You and I have been close for many decades and, perhaps lifetimes, if one believes in those things. May I request that you stop lobbying me from Breitbart or similar news sources. No, I don’t believe in Bannon’s philosophy or predictions for coming world wars, unless of course, he and the administration are instrumental in creating them.
I cannot fathom your and others continual support for Trump and his administration. God help us. I mean that literally.
With abiding affection from a different world and world view,”
Americans hold many world views and freedom of speech is a building block of our society. I have to say, it does bother me how those who oppose the views held by the Alt-right or Neo- Nazi ideologies are often referred to as Leftists in many columns. Thing is, while some who oppose the KKK and Alt-right may be leftists, the basic truth is many claims made by the alt-right, KKK, or Nazi sympathizers are not within the fundamental frame-work of ideas most thought to be American. Many who oppose the radical right marches are simply, Americans.
Simply, American.
Peace-
Franque23(Thanks for the writing, sis.)
Dale and I had the pleasure of seeing two friends who live in South Korea. One is a top IT person for Korea’s internet fire wall…In fact, she was here in the U.S. , in part, to meet with the owner of Google and then Facebook to discuss her country’s excellent firewalls’ security. Her husband is a communications director for the government, a PR person for communications with the outside world and internally. It was nice to speak with them about the issues surrounding South Korea.
The Skinny:
THAAD, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, has been set in place by the US throughout the region of South Korea. This task has not been easily accomplished and it has been met with protests in Soul and other areas of South Korea-many don’t want the U.S. presence. The new President of South Korea, Moon, has gone back and forth on this issue since May, 2017…but now, with North Korea shooting off longer range missiles like they’re a kid who’s found a new play-thing, well, President Moon is open to the system.
By my best estimate, I’d say President Moon is what most Americans would call a Liberal. He was stampeded into office after ex-President Parks was removed from office…
President Parks is a conservative but was impeached for several kinds of illegal activity (using her position to earn bunches of money). She’s currently in jail awaiting a long trial.
So, the chips are on the table in clear sight: there’s the new President , Moon, of South Korea; the THAAD system; KIM-Jong of North Korea and their missiles and, hmmm oh yes; China and Russia
Putin has a long range of things to consider when it comes to North Korea and the THAAD system. But, this isn’t his first rodeo, and he knows how to ride things out. China likes her position.
It seems, after speaking with our friends about the issue of North Korea, that they believe Russia and China are more concerned about our missile defense system that’s now located in South Korea than they are with Kim-Jong and North Korea.
BOTTOM LINE:
China and Russia may like the buffer North Korea gives them from our military presence(THAAD) in South Korea enough to thwart any advancement we might initiate in the region.
Russia will let Kim-Jong ride this one out.
It’s an odd mix of happenstance that finds us in August, 2017. President Moon of South Korea wants to negotiate with North Korea to open the borders, at least somewhat, but Russia isn’t loving the idea…North Korea’s Kim-Jong may have no idea…while some Americans think we should open that border with a bomb fest. More, we’ve experienced a strange paradox of Presidents in the U.S. and South Korea. President Obama appeared to be willing to double down on relations with South Korea but the President of South Korea at that time was doubling dealing, stone wallin’ and now in prison for bribery and stolen funds, Parks; no negotiations were possible. Now, South Korea has landed a President who is open to the type of negotiations President Obama may have carried out, but the U.S. has Trump as president! And for all the crappy things people can say about President Trump I just wish instead they’d clear up one thing: what the hell is Trump talking about, like ever? I’d think it difficult to negotiate with a rambler.
So, life goes on. South Korea has a neighbor who shoots off rockets that sometimes get off the ground, but who knows where they might land. America is locked in tight with THAAD. Russia and china know Kim-Jong is nuts, but he gives them space. President Moon wants to open his border to the north so people who are now 80 years old, those who were separated by the border line since the Korean War, can get a chance to come together.
Who has the winning hand? In many ways, I think America holds the ‘trump’ card for now.
North Korea is a rough spot…but I think THAAD is Trump’s ace in the hole.
Peace.
Franque23
And we thought Fukushima was bad-actually it is, and maybe worse than anyone can write about- but for the US it’s about America. Right now, America is steaming from every side of the aisle, from every corner in the hood and from every classroom that can’t supply pencils to students.
It’s time for me to thank my first reader in everything I do, Barbara, for pulling me up above the cesspool of our politics and giving me a much-needed laugh.
My question is: what’s happened to the missing parts of our constitution? Now, protesting certain governmental policies are illegal? Say what?
It’s hard to say who started the mess we are in…
Or, when you start to think that America is on the brink of being torn apart by political agendas and led away from common sense leadership.
Internet privacy certainly is on the table. But so much more as well…
No, none of us are irrelevant; every side counts in the battle America is now facing. How will we shape the coming years so our children live in freedom and prosperity?
I read today-
“As House Republicans frantically seek support for legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act, the biggest sticking point is whether the bill fulfills one of the GOP’s central pledges: preserving protections for people with pre-existing health problems.
More than a quarter of adult Americans under 65 have a pre-existing health issue, which includes everything from asthma and diabetes to heart disease and cancer, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.”*
See, the trouble, or devil in this detail, is that the Republican plan will cover pre-existing conditions but in ‘special high-risk’ pools which will be charged more than most people who have these conditions can pay. So, is coverage at a cost few can afford to pay actually coverage? Who foots the bill for those who can’t pay?= US.
Case in point: me. I have adult onset asthma. Right now, Medicare would cost me about 320 per month for complete coverage. The estimates I’ve seen extrapolated from the Republican so-called health care/tax cut for the rich plan now puts my year’s cost at $7,465.00 more for me and those who will be put in , ‘high-risk’ pools….or a total yearly cost for those(me) who have asthma at $ 11,305.00 dollars per year for Medicare…How many retirees with asthma can pay that?
Oh, and there’s this..”The number of people with asthma continues to grow. One in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001. More than half (53%) of people with asthma had an asthma attack in 2008. More children (57%) than adults (51%) had an attack.May 3, 2011″
We all need to breathe a sigh of relief if this bill is drastically altered or defeated in Congress…call your Senator today.
Franque23
Isn’t that the question? Are those who have gone before us still here? Or, are those departed here some of the time, for a second, hour, day or week and then gone for a while? Could it be the dead are never, ever here at all, gone for good, silent, an empty place in our heart and mind only?
Sometimes I can hear my dad’s voice. “That a boy!”; “Keep your nose clean!”; ” Up an’ at em'”; “Mow today.” Wait, what???*
Really, sometimes I can hear Dad asking me to mow, and I mean asking. Dad was a sweet guy so he’d always asked, never demand, and added a “Hon.” to it. “How about mowing today, hon.” And when Dad did ask me to do something it was a done deal-that’s the way our family rolled.
I’d say dad’s patience and understanding could move mountains.
I’m thinkin’ Dad was successful at about everything he tried to do. The oldest of five siblings, we got it that Dad helped his brothers and sister go through college while he was in school as well. We have accounting books he kept during his younger days and every penny mattered and was tracked. He was on the Queen Elizabeth as it sailed to England loaded with troops during World War II and he was in charge of some of the troops on board. As a chief engineer, he helped in the restoration of Europe after the war, and here at home my family actually drove over a bridge out west that he had designed.
In the end, Dad became a Full Colonel, and upon his death Fort Drum sent an honor guard to play taps and present mom with an American flag on Dad’s behalf. An officer on the base researched Dad’s history of service and told me, “He deserves this.” Later that same day, Fort Drum flew a missing man formation for him over Lake Bonaparte. There, low, just above High Rocks, a line of helicopters flew but one was missing in the line formation. My eyes stared at the empty spot and saw my dad’s spirit there. It was quite a send off for a man I’ll never forget.
Thing is, just how, ‘off’, is Dad? Of course, he lives through me since I still hear his voice, remember things he said, still follow his advice when I can and think of him often. I imagine most who knew him remember his kind and gentle way. But, is Dad here, here, as in here.(This my most descriptive sentence ever:-)).
Dad is 72; Kelly one. He gave me so much. I was so happy to be able to give something back.(Thanks to my wife!) He loved his grand children.
If a person lives long enough, they learn that life’s a long road-the long and winding road. Life twists and turns at the drop of a hat, a gift, an accident, a brilliant idea or mistaken one, it tumbles along but always with effort. Perhaps, the best thing I ever read about life is that one lived full of good intention will become a beautiful memory.
The red single Hibiscus… Dad loved flowers and grew all kinds around our home.
To this day I think of Dad as I garden, check the flowers, pick the oranges and smile at the sky. Maybe the question is, How much more could my dad be here?
I was cleaning a spot off the bottom of our pool with a long brush when I noticed that I couldn’t see the spot once the water rippled. Then, as the water return to calm, I could see the spot once more. Is this it? Are the departed still within our medium but the substance is somehow rippled so we can’t see the other side of life? Wouldn’t we all like to know.
Dad shared our joys in life, and gave us so many…
Heck, Dad gave us the camp at Lake Bonaparte! How completely cool is that? The next time I gear up and climb in the boat, hear the engine kick up and head out to fish, Dad will be in the boat, but he won’t need a life jacket.
Bye Dad , for now.
Max Franquemont, July 18th, 1911- October 31st, 2001.
Franque23.
- Pictures: Dad, David Morgan, Aunt Virginia(Dad’s sister) and Uncle Moe Morgan. On the 1/2 way dock at our camp.
I still believe, because of the timing, Trump could be one of America’s greatest Presidents if he’d make a few radical changes to his personality and agendas…
Trump can give America a great future with a wave of his hand.
Trump’s so close and he’s been given so much, not just from his dad who left him a fortune but by fate. The hand this current President has been dealt is loaded with trump cards, and all because of the calendar’s date. The time for huge upheaval, a powerful surge of change is at hand in America and the World. Trump holds all the cards to win these times over if he makes the right play.
In nineteen twenty, no one could see the horse and buggy days vanishing by nineteen thirty-two. There were a few companies working on cars back then, even earlier—Studebaker developed an electric car in 1902
1902 electric car
and then a gasoline powered car in 1904—
1905 Studebaker gas powered car
but, basically buggies made fortunes and most believed horses were here to stay. Oh my, how the world had changed nineteen years later.
But what about now? Proponents of renewable energies clamor on about climate change, pollution and the urgent need for change if we are to save our future. The old guard of gas, oil and coal remain dug in, entrenched and supported by fortunes earned in the past, and point to a need for newer technologies before renewable energies can provide the world’s need for power. Most say it will be thirty years or longer before the renewable industry can compete with fossil fuels and make a dent in the power market.
Think back to the Nineteen twenties…..
Here’s the key to now: http://safeshare.tv/w/ntjwDrwEwh
As you see in this short two minute clip, knowledge is not increasing in a linear, even pace that can be charted or tied to any speed. No, we live in exponentially growing times of size, number, knowledge and possibility. Our time, Trump’s time, can best be thought of as a rocket ship that zooms to an unknown place with ever-increasing speed.
Get ready for the ride of our lives!
Just now, Las Vegas has gone to 100% renewable energy for the entire city-the result of a ten-year long renewable energy project. Some trains now run virtually energy free while transporting six-hundred thousand workers per day! * Even smaller, individual renewables are making developmental leaps. **Today, more people work in renewable energy than those who work in coal, gas and oil production and exploration combined!
Trump looks to fossil fuels as our answer but it’s not. And as President, Trump has the power, the gift, to be the one who moves America as if by a flip of a coin into a bright future, to jobs, huge prosperity, abundance, leadership and a brand new world. Drilling, mining, fracking, dirty pipe lines that bust, these are the horse and buggy of our day; Trump’s day,*** but he can change this.
The reins of huge change are in Trump’s hands if he’ll only take them. Come on Trump; you know what you should be grabbing. The chance to make history is before you but you have to step up.
Trump’s on the wrong side of so many things like the Paris Climate accord and a wall that won’t work unless we post large signs on it that read, “No ladders or tunnels allowed.” BTW, 70% of all illegals got into America by plane…he’s also completely off on ‘Clean Coal’, that the oxymoron of the ages.****
And then, there’s the problem of ISIL. Trump’s right that the world has to do better at vetting immigrants and protecting our populations from random violence. How to do it; that’s another tipping point of history now.
CNN said it best today: “So, the state visit will go ahead, and there will be protests. But if Trump could only get off Twitter for five minutes and focus on the essentials of the Western alliance, he’d discover that Europe is edging closer to his way of thinking on the most important issue of our time. (ISIL)There is, increasingly, more agreement between us than disagreement.”
There you have it. Trump has to cut his losses, time spent on bad ideas, and grab the future as it’s truly unfolding, not just the way he wants it to go. Trump sits on a gold mine of Time.
Someone should tell him.
Who will tell him?
Franque23
*https://www.facebook.com/DavidAvocadoWolfe/videos/10154211237456512/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED
**https://www.smartflower.com/en
***America’s three largest producers of power from fossil fuels all sold their entire interests in Alberta’s shale fields back to Canada just this year…They see the renewable’s coming.
**** Just read that President Trump mused about lining his great wall with solar panels.
Trouble is, the resistance and supporters of the Paris Accord didn’t define the terms of this debate. No, once again out worked and out maneuvered, sympathizers for the World’s climate were tangled and shackled into a debate about Climate Change.
We didn’t ask the right question.*
—this isn’t about whether or not climate change is real-or, it shouldn’t be—the issue surrounding the Paris Accord is do we want to limit toxic emissions or not, period.
Flowers or coal; smelling burning coal or flowers?**
The question is: how can limiting toxic emissions hurt? Some huge companies say limiting their emissions will not hurt their business or profit line. This should’ve been the arena for the debate about whether or not the U.S. should pull out of the Paris Accord…not a discussion about climate change.
We have to better chose what fish to fry.***
Trump has disgraced us all… I ask you, even if our emissions has nothing to do with climate change, even if Climate change isn’t real, how can it hurt to decrease our toxic emissions for our generation and for those that will follow?
I’ve and idea! How about asking the right question?
How can it hurt to reduce our toxic emissions? Big Business say’s it won’t hurt them, so what’s the deal?
Again,this issue isn’t about climate change, whether it’s real or not, it’s about wanting to reduce our toxic emissions. The debate about whether climate change is real or not is just a distraction from the World’s need to reduce our carbon footprint to help our environment, to clean up our air and water.
But, see, even today, the reports are aghast that Trump’s decisions will have a drastic effect on Climate change. Forget that; Climate change is too large of an unknown regardless of the scientific community’s nearly 100 % AGREEMENT ON THE ISSUE. No, Trump’s decision means this: we all will be breathing air and drinking water that is less pure than it could be.
Who wants to vote for polluted air and water? That arena of questions was winnable, but that stage was never set. Why?
Let’s put two and two together and come up with an answer that’s good ‘four’ all of us!****
Robert Reich said it best:
“A short message to the rest of the world:
We apologize. We understand our responsibilities as human beings who share this planet with you. This is temporary. Donald Trump doesn’t reflect the views of most Americans. Most of us didn’t even vote for him. We are doing everything we possibly can to remove him from office as soon as legally possible. And when we do, America will once again be a responsible nation.”
Can’t wait. It’s sorta like having to wait for Christmas.
There’s a red line we don’t want to cross when it comes to Climate change, but many don’t believe this is true. So how’s about’s we just talk turkey-do we want what we might eat to be fed clean food and pure water or not?*****
Cheers
Like this crap falls on the ground, the trees, on our gardens and on us!
Duck and cover, but take time to smell the flowers.
Such beautiful life comes forth from our Mother Earth.
It’s about every crop….%
what we eat-that’s part of what the Paris Accord is really about…
and it’s about life as we know it.
Franque23
Where did the real discussion about the Pairs Accord go?^
- My daughter sitting on top of a Himalayan peak.
- our front yard
- Dad and me fishin’
- our pineapples
- Lake Bonaparte
- Family
- Me at the lake… bye
He is. Pence is waiting in the wings of the White House for his opportunity to pence, I mean pounce. And I have to wonder, how bad it is for him to have waited over these 150 days for Trump to Self-destruct?
Here’s the deal. When Trump asked Pence and Sessions to leave the Oval Office so Trump could lean on Comey, they both had to know that Trump was in the process of hanging himself. They ‘re not new to the game of lying politics, and they knew messing with the head of the FBI was a wrong way turn into a political dead-end. Did they try to help Trump at the time? No, they moseyed out the door and counted their blessings.
These are things to think about.
Who’s doing the leaking from the White House? The old saying is: follow the money. In this case it would follow the office of the Presidency. Who’s next in line to take the spot should Trump fail, be found out, up rooted and cast aside? Pence.
Pence is waiting.
It all got me thinking. How many knew what (T)rump said to the Russian Ambassadors in the Oval Office? Unless there’s a tap in the room-one you’d think(hope) the secret service would detect- then , as I get it, only Sessions, Trump and Pence might have been told…plus anyone the three might be taking to bed with dirty secrets. Who else could know?
Who’s really connected to the web of Politics?
Yes, the leaker Trump is so eager to unearth may be Pence. But there’s another more disturbing possibility.
The leaker could be Trump.
Yes, no joke, he’s called into talk shows as some other person complaining about this or that in the past, He has a propensity to pretend he’s someone else. How better to keep stirring a pot he hopes will spill over and dismantle our government? All the while, he stays in the spot light! “There’s a leaker, a leaker and I’m gonna find out who it is!” Bull crap, Trump, it’s you. You are the leaker.
“I will not cut Social Security.” Trump on the campaign trail.
Bannon’s goal is to undo America as we know it, and Trump’s taken him to his chest. There’s no reason for any sane person to believe Bannon’s agenda isn’t Trump’s, and the best way to discredit the very presence of secrecy and efficiency of our system is to expose the White House to leaks. Make everything unreliable, not trustworthy or worth keeping. We so have to be vigilant; much smarter than Trump to keep America safe.
Okay, yes, most likely Trump isn’t the leaker but it could be, or it could be Pence.
What a rotten group.
Devos, cutting public education by 9.3 million dollars, how crase can one person be?
Bottom line: I’ve had enough of this idiot President-so has all of Europe. They laugh in his face and at the stupid tug at war he plays with his hand shakes, and at his wildly incoherent lack of knowledge about the world, history and power.
Germany warns the rest of Europe that their country can’t count on us and the other countries can’t either. When will the Republicans show some guts and save us from this lunatic???
Donald Trump, you can finger all the European Presidents you like but by God, we, the American people, will get rid of you.( You stupid, stupid boy, Donald-what an embarrassment you are to the proud United states of America.)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029128004
There are more court filings against this flim-flam shyster Trump than anyone can shake a stick at… and one of them, maybe many, will bring this disastrous traitor of a President to his knees. God pays attention and so must we.
It’s our duty to keep America strong, not stupid. Donald, we will get you.
Franque23
It’s that wink of a second in a slip, the moment just before smacking the ground when it all comes back. Yes, those wrong way turns taken so enthusiastically and the too many times pee laughed into my pants, those drinks poured left on the counter by two beers already opened, those broken romances that fractured the same way with a screw you suck-head let’s be friends and the pets who were out for food or thinking of me as food all come zinging back.
It’s all so simple.
It’s in the shape of a shadow when the montage of my trophies, good grades, degrees, parking citations, accidents, lawyer bills and self-written Dear John letters left in dusty closets merge the past and present to unravel through the unknown as History zooms ahead.
If I’d seen that slip coming I’d have laid down first. Thing is, I’d end up on the ground anyway, right? Good intentions have blown up roads.
How nice that guy who got hit by an apple figured out why his head hurt; deduction is a beautiful thing. But what about why falling down is a snap of a fact while getting up takes about sixteen months in the beginning and then becomes impossible near the end of this zillion-ring circus called life? Thing is, the circle of life may be round but it’s hard to find its fair side. Ask the Syrian refugees about fairness.
They say the good die young.
Can the Earth slip?
When we look up, are we?
How can we feel a sense of alarm when these are in clocks, not heads?
A few years back—the timeline’s history so who cares—some guys decided that Europe and North America were on top of a thing that was round, not flat. Maybe, they figured if we were on the bottom of the ball we’d fall off like nothing else did. That logic, along with a cocktail of mistaken thoughts made in history by names no one can spell is the basis of life as we know it, and maybe why so much has slipped.
Is the point to this traffic jammed up madhouse called life killing? There are 135 events in the Old Testament that attribute men’s deaths to the acts of God. The total estimated dead in the events ranges from 2.5 million to 25 million people. The difference in the figures is keyed around, ‘men’s deaths.’ The larger number includes the estimated women and children killed in the total. No matter, the end result of this deluge of death is a world full of people who rush into buildings to break their knee caps kneeling, or their backs bowing, or bang their heads against walls to experience worship.
I think Sodom and Gomorrah’s fate and human history leads as example here: hate something, then go bomb the piss out of it and wait for the survivors to build you temples. So here’s a concrete point before I hit the pavement writing. Does dropping the ‘mother of all bombs,’ the bigly, the huge, the best and big daddy of bombs(MOAB) mean we can expect Isis, yousis, mesis or any ,’sis,’ to come around and start paying us money and respect with prayer? And the answer is?
This may not be an exact quote.
I read the bigly bomb cost $170,000 to make. We killed like 90 guys. What about using those navy seal fellas that use one hundred-dollar bullets and shoot real targets instead? Well, our soldiers cost about a half a million each to train, deliver and keep overseas. It turns out using nukes is the biggest bang for the buck warfare!
We can only hope and pray to survive, come out ahead, the winners, like soldiers on every side hope. For sure, hitting the proverbial bottom hurts. Life has no trampoline and, dang it, if it doesn’t feel like America is somehow slipping right before my eyes. Do we make sense anymore?
See? I have questions and wonder if what goes around comes around, when’s an age of reason coming back?!?!
Some of this sounds familiar…
Whoops!
Ouch! Yeah—this slip trumps them all.
Franque23
In the middle of so much 89 days after Trump’s election, in the middle of escalating nuclear war threats from North Korea, from China explaining to Trump what China’s relationship to North Korea may be, from a half a million marching women wearing pussy hats, from illegal executive orders U.S. courts scoffed at and dismissed, from in between the lines of Trump’s taxes he won’t show, from Trump’s 18th green 18 times since Jan. 1st 2017 at the cost of approx. $3,470,000 in cold hard tax payer’s cash, from the NYC penthouse where Trump’s wife hides from him for a cool million of tax money per month, it’s all so easy to see why American’s were so upset when it came to President Obama.
President Obama was successful, strategic, effective, straight forward, correct, a visionary the world respected and Black. What could be worse?
Look closely and you’ll see that Obama’s black.
Recently, it was reported that statistics show the number one issue voters considered when voting for Trump was his lack of blackness*..Here’s some true alternative and factual facts:
“The ANES has been conducted since 1948…..This incredibly rich, publicly funded data source allows us to put elections into historical perspective, examining how much each factor affected the vote in 2016 compared with other recent elections.”
AND…
“Since 1988, we’ve never seen such a clear correspondence between vote choice and racial perceptions.”
AND…
“Racial attitudes made a bigger difference in electing Trump than authoritarianism.”
Trump’s a visionary in Superman’s Bizarro World. He’s all about clean coal, can’t wait for Melania to take a bath in it, and three major International Oil companies showed their support of this idea by selling all of their oil rich shale holdings in Canada back to that country just this week! It’s simple: the entire world, including oil companies, are going to Solar and renewable energy so Trump is backing never-gonna-happen clean coal.
In the mixed-up world of I-can-only-tell-a-lie good ol’ honest Abe cheating at golf **Trump finds the more BS he spews and bombs he orders to drop the better his supporters like him!
(Psst…..I find the caption a bit crass.)
Actually Trump is up to 18 golfing outings by day 89 of his Presidency…nice….
But, to be clear, to take the Trump high road, to not talk disparagingly about this President, and I refuse to repeat those who call him a loser of a nit-wit man, let’s take a hard look at all those issues President Obama had—he’s BLACK, BTW—that rushed this Trump guy, one others have called a grabbing, flim-flam, look at me go(if only), nut-case jerk of a man, into the Presidency.
Here’s a few dozen cold, hard facts that should whip up Trump supporters who suffered so much under that black-guy, how dare he, President Obama from Mars.
This is from Seth Meyers:
“Since Trump took office, many of his supporters have been saying “We suffered for 8 years under Obama; now it’s your turn”. In the immortal words of late night host Seth Meyers, I think it’s time for “A Closer Look” at that statement…
So let me ask:
Why have you suffered so?
Gays and Lesbians can now marry and enjoy the benefits they had been deprived of. Has this caused your suffering?
When Obama took office, the Dow was 6,626. Now it is 19,875. Has this caused your suffering?
We had 82 straight months of private sector job growth – the longest streak in the history of the United States. Has this caused your suffering?
Especially considering where the economy was when he took over, an amazing 11.3 million new jobs were created under President Obama (far more than President Bush). Has this caused your suffering?
Obama has taken Unemployment from 10% down to 4.7%. Has this caused your suffering?
Homelessness among US Veterans has dropped by half. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama shut down the US secret overseas prisons. Has this caused your suffering?
President Obama has created a policy for the families of fallen soldiers to have their travel paid for to be there when remains are flown home. Has this caused your suffering?
We landed a rover on Mars. Has this caused your suffering?
He passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Has this caused your suffering?
Uninsured adults has decreased to below 10%: 90% of adults are insured – an increase of 20 Million Adults. Has this caused your suffering?
People are now covered for pre-existing conditions. Has this caused your suffering?
Insurance Premiums increased an average of $4,677 from 2002-2008, an increase of 58% under Bush. The growth of these insurance premiums has gone up $4,145 – a slower rate of increase. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama added Billions of dollars to mental health care for our Veterans. Has this caused your suffering?
Consumer confidence has gone from 37.7 to 98.1 during Obama’s tenure. Has this caused your suffering?
He passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Has this caused your suffering?
His bi-annual Nuclear Summit convinced 16 countries to give up and destroy all their loose nuclear material so it could not be stolen. Has this caused your suffering?
He saved the US Auto industry. American cars sold at the beginning of his term were 10.4M and upon his exit 17.5M. Has this caused your suffering?
The deficit as a percentage of the GDP has gone from 9.8% to 3.2%. Has this caused your suffering?
The deficit itself was cut by $800 Billion Dollars. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama preserved the middle class tax cuts. Has this caused your suffering?
Obama banned solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons. Has this caused your suffering?
He signed Credit Card reform so that rates could not be raised without you being notified. Has this caused your suffering?
He outlawed Government contractors from discriminating against LGBT persons. Has this caused your suffering?
He doubled Pell Grants. Has this caused your suffering?
Abortion is down. Has this caused your suffering?
Violent crime is down. Has this caused your suffering?
He overturned the scientific ban on stem cell research. Has this caused your suffering?
He protected Net Neutrality. Has this caused your suffering?
Obamacare has extended the life of the Medicare insurance trust fund (will be solvent until 2030). Has this caused your suffering?
President Obama repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Has this caused your suffering?
He banned torture. Has this caused your suffering?
He negotiated with Syria to give up its chemical weapons and they were destroyed. Has this caused your suffering?
Solar and Wind Power are at an all time high. Has this caused your suffering?
High School Graduation rates hit 83% – an all time high. Has this caused your suffering?
Corporate profits are up by 144%. Has this caused your suffering?
He normalized relations with Cuba. Has this caused your suffering?
Reliance on foreign oil is at a 40 year low. Has this caused your suffering?
US Exports are up 28%. Has this caused your suffering?
He appointed the most diverse cabinet ever. Has this caused your suffering?
He reduced the number of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Has this caused your suffering?
Yes, he killed Osama Bin Laden and retrieved all the documents in his possession for analysis. Perhaps THIS caused your suffering?
From an objective standpoint it would appear that the last eight years have seen some great progress and we were saved from a financial collapse. Things are not perfect. Things can always be better. We are on much better footing now than we were in 2008.
I look forward to understanding what caused you to suffer so much under Obama these last eight years.”
It’s important to remember history, so we can understand the future better. Nukes, death, starving children we won’t take in but bomb instead, bankers with a free pass, streams ruined, National parks drilled to hell, mountains leveled and protesters run over legally are all good. It’s the black that doesn’t mix well in our society. Period, end of story because Trump supporters are an open minded lot, open and full of crap.
Really—when will someone tell Trump he’s wearing no clothes? 
Franque23
**“Donald, what he does is he tees off first so we go off to our balls and what do we see but Donald Trump right in the middle of the fairway,” De La Hoya said. “He said, ‘Hey look, I found my first ball.’”
On the next hole, a par-3, De La Hoya said Trump hit into some bushes and again went ahead of the other players in his cart. When the rest of the group got to the green, he said Trump’s ball was 3 feet from the hole.
“And by the way I’m picking it up,” De La Hoya quoted Trump as saying. “It’s a gimme.”
(Bottom line: Our President even cheats at golf.)
If you read on you’ll realize we are all in the same boat on this Mexican deal-
The President’s idea to add a 20% tax on imports from Mexico to finance the Great Wall of America doesn’t really fly with me-not so much…Why? Well, if you’ll lift a glass with me we can get on to that. 
I get the feeling that most American’s are in the same dark I am in when it comes to understanding the actually workings between Mexico and America. We hear or read each day about the drug cartels and illegals crossing our border, but what else goes on between America and Mexico?
It turns out the flow of goods and services between Mexico and America are Huge.
America and Mexico interchange 1.6 billion dollars worth of trade everyday! (2015 stats) See? That’s a bit of pocket change. On the world-wide stage Mexico is America’s third largest Import/Export partner.
I keep thinking about the idea of building a wall between us and our third largest trade partner. Honestly, I’d no idea! But, maybe, it’s important to see what we trade back and forth? I mean it wouldn’t hurt the US if Mexico’s major export to us was, say, Twinkies, right. Don’t get me wrong, I loved these as a kid, but I could’ve lived without them.
This brings us to a quick run down of what actually passes hands between America and Mexico…
Here’s a short list of what the US imports from Mexico
- The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2015 were: vehicles ($74 billion), electrical machinery ($63 billion), machinery ($49 billion), mineral fuels ($14 billion), and optical and medical instruments ($12 billion).
U.S. imports of agricultural products from Mexico totaled $21 billion in 2015, our 2nd largest supplier of agricultural imports. Leading categories include: fresh vegetables ($4.8 billion),other fresh fruit….
- ($4.3 billion), wine and beer ($2.7 billion), snack foods ($1.7 billion), and processed fruit & vegetables ($1.4 billion).
Hmmm…I like fruit and I drive to stores to buy fruit. Wait!?!?! Does this list “2.67 billion per year in wine and beer!” See? Screwing this trade up just isn’t gonna get it for me.
There’s something about this Great Wall /Tax Mexican imports 20% that doesn’t quite fit.
Here’s a short list of what America exports to Mexico
- The top export categories (2-digit HS) in 2015 were: machinery ($42 billion), electrical machinery ($41 billion), vehicles ($22 billion), mineral fuels ($19 billion), and plastics ($17 billion).
- U.S. exports of agricultural products to Mexico totaled $18 billion in 2015, our 3rd largest agricultural export market. Leading categories include: corn ($2.3 billion), soybeans ($1.4 billion), dairy products ($1.3 billion), pork products ($1.3 billion), and beef products ($1.1 billion).
So if all this back and forth were to be disrupted it seems a few workers might be out jobs in the States… Actually, to be specific, 1.1 million American workers are employed solely in providing the goods and services we export to Mexico…This seems like a lot of jobs, a lot of mom’s and dad’s livelihoods depend on trade with Mexico. Should we let the building of the Great Wall between our two country’s screw this up? Plus, er, there’s that wine and beer thingy stat.
One more I’m the most interesting man in the world thought—
Isn’t that Super bowl thing coming up, ya know, the one where American’s consume enough wine and beer to sink the world? Can we just maybe put off this Great Wall add 20% to cost of goods and drinks from Mexico for about another 100 years? Let’s re-think this deal.
Maybe we should think about taking another course?
Okay, one more idea or two. I’ve got the nagging feeling that our President’s main attraction to building this Great Wall of America is that it will stand as a testament to his Presidency whether it works or not. AND–when Paul Ryan says the Congress can find a way to pay for this wall isn’t he really talking about our tax dollars paying for it? It doesn’t matter what name the Congress gives the funding, right-it’s still our money paying for it. ”
McConnell estimated it(the Wall) will cost $15 billion at most — he cited a range of $12 billion to $15 billion.” (Other agencies estimate the Wall to cost 25 billion.)
Here’s one bottom line-when Trump manages to have Mexico call off their meeting with him today I think about running out and buying a truck load of Corona’s, Dos Equis, Negran Modelos and a few Tecates’ and Sols. Heck, I’ll be saving at least 20% on each bottle!
Can we maybe rethink this Great Wall idea? What do you all say?
Cheers…
Franque23
