Author: Ronald

Trump Proposal To Eliminate Corporation For Public Broadcasting (PBS And NPR) Must Be Prevented, Best Bargain In Government

Ronald 1 Comment

The total federal government cost for PBS and NPR (Corporation For Public Broadcasting) in the present budget is $495 million, a half billion dollars to promote education, knowledge, public affairs, history, science, culture on television and radio.

Formed in 1965 as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs, PBS and NPR have done great work and deeds for more than a half century.

How much tens of millions of Americans have gained from both PBS and NPR is incalculable.

It only costs $1.65 per person in the federal budget, with both PBS and NPR also asking for and gaining private contributions from millions of Americans, who appreciate the good work it does.

Considering so much wasted money that is spent by the federal government, this half billion dollars is a pittance, well spent and worth sustaining.

It is all part of a plan of conservatives, Republicans, and Donald Trump to promote ignorance, and discourage education, as ignorant people can more easily be controlled.

This is a battle worth fighting, and hopefully, both these valuable contributions to public discourse will be protected, along with the National Endowment For The Arts and the National Endowment For The Humanities, which promotes the arts and humanities in higher education.

The Parkland High School Massacre Must Lead Finally To Actions On Gun Regulation, And Republicans Will Lose Seats Over This In November

Ronald 4 Comments

The massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida yesterday is a siren call that America must finally take action on gun regulation, as we have the most murders in public places of any civilized nation.

Florida itself has had three major such events in two years, including the gay nightclub in Orlando in 2015, the Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting in 2016, and now this in Broward County.

We are the most violent society in the world, and 95 percent in public opinion polls want background checks on buyers of firearms, and 80 percent want a ban on assault weapons, including the AR 15, which only is useful to kill people, and is not used in hunting,

In less than two years, before the end of 2019, we will lose the same number of Americans lost in the Vietnam War (58,000) over a decade.

This is unacceptable, and to cut back on oversight of gun purchasers invites more such massacres in the future.

This is an issue which should affect public support of Republicans, and will help to cause loss of seats, and hopefully control, in both houses of Congress in November.

If it does not, then we live in a society which glorifies death, a society in which children and, really, all of us have to face the likelihood of someday becoming victims in a nation which cares more for gun profits, and the lunacy of a minority of Americans who worship guns more than life.

If so, it would be appropriate for the children of such extremists to become victims, along with the perpetrators of this disease, really a mental illness that believes guns are a sign of masculinity.

36 Legislative Seats In States Flipped From Republicans To Democrats Since Trump Election

Ronald 5 Comments

With a victory in a state legislative race in Florida last night of a Democrat in a Republican held seat, we can say that 36 legislative seats in states that Trump won in 2016 have now flipped, a sign of likely great results for Democrats in November 2018 for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, state legislative races, and state governors.

Many traditional Republican voters are clearly alienated from Donald Trump, and specific groups–suburbanites, women, and young people–are seen as likely flippers in large numbers, to the Democrats in the upcoming elections.

Several other races that have ended up with Republican wins have been by much closer margins than in the past.

Changing the state legislatures and making for more Democratic seats will be extremely important when it comes to reapportionment of seats in 2020 and after, and it is urgent that Democrats gain the edge, as that will affect politics for the entire decade of the 2020s.

So the urgency is to make sure voters come out in greater numbers than is traditional in midterm election years, and if people stay home and allow the Republicans to continue their control of state legislatures, governors, and the two houses of Congress, they will have no one to blame but themselves for the disastrous long term results of such apathy.

The Republican Party And Donald Trump War On The Disabled

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The Republican Party of 2018 has become an extremist right wing party, unwilling to put any limits on the corruption and mean spirited nature of President Donald Trump.

Not only have they declared war on immigrants, women, workers, consumers, environmentalists, minority groups, and gays and lesbians, but even have sunk ever lower by attacking the disabled.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act), which opened up new opportunities and optimism for the future of people with intellectual and physical disabilities, tens of millions of people of all ages, who just wanted a chance to be productive in work and have access to public places.

But now, the Republican majority has introduced H. R. 620, also known as the “ADA Notification”, which would fundamentally change the structure of the ADA and would eliminate any reason for businesses to comply with the law unless and until they receive a legal notice detailing the violations that have occurred. The measure places the burden of ensuring compliance on people with disabilities rather than on businesses. It would make it harder for people with disabilities to participate in the mainstream of society. And already, even with the law, many disabled people live in poverty and are discriminated against in gaining and keeping jobs.

It is part of making business unaccountable to the population they employ and serve. It is unconscionable, immoral and unethical, but is part of the war going on against vulnerable populations, with an uncaring Republican Party unconcerned about the effects on millions of people who just want fairness and equity in opportunities to feel self worth.

Right Wing Republican And Trump Effort To Repeal 1965 Immigration Law And Return To Racist Immigration Laws Of 1920s

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It is clear that Right Wing Republicans (really most of the 2018 GOP) and President Donald Trump are working to repeal the 1965 Immigration Law passed under Lyndon B. Johnson, which allowed large migration from Latin America and Asia, instead of the earlier laws of the 1920s that favored European nations, ended Asian migration, and made it harder for the so called “New Immigration” groups from southern and eastern Europe (heavily Catholic and Jewish) to migrate at the time of Italian Fascism and German Nazism in the 1930s and early 1940s.

If it is left up to the Republican Party and Donald Trump, relatives of immigrants, beyond wife, husband, and minor children, will no longer be admitted to the country, and the number of immigrants admitted will be cut dramatically. Also, there would be an emphasis on European, rather than Latin American, Asian, and African immigration, a failed attempt to change the declining white percentage of the population, which will be less than 50 percent of the population in 2045.

This will have psychological and sociological effects on the immigrants, on the nation, and on the world image of the United States as the last and best hope for people escaping religious persecution, racial discrimination, and war and crime situations.

It will mean the death of many people who will have no recourse, much like the opponents of Fascism in Europe, and the mass sufferings of 13 million people in the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany from 1933-1945, including nearly six million Jews, but also seven million others of all nationalities and faiths.

America will suffer, as much of the immigrant labor may be deported, undermining the American economy in ways not totally understood now, but definitely having a deleterious effect on the future of the United States.

Donald Trump Has Lowest Popularity Rating Of One Year President Since Polling Began

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With one year in office, Donald Trump ranks as the lowest popularity rating of all Presidents since public opinion polling began as a full time effort in the Presidency of Harry Truman after 1945.

The FiveThirtyEight blog shows that Trump’s overall average in January is 40 percent in favor and 55 percent opposed.

Every other President after a year in office ranks as more popular than not popular.

The least popular after Trump is Gerald Ford, with 44 percent in favor after one year and 39 opposed, and a lot of this result was due to Ford’s pardoning of Richard Nixon one month into his term.

Following up the list, we have Barack Obama 50-43; Ronald Reagan 49-40; Harry Truman 50-35; Bill Clinton 57-34; Jimmy Carter 55-27; Richard Nixon 60-23; Dwight D. Eisenhower 71-18; Lyndon B. Johnson 74-15; George H. W. Bush 78-11; George W. Bush 81-13; and at the top of the list John F. Kennedy 79-10.

So from Ford to JFK, the net approval is from plus 5 points to plus 69 points.

Of course, many of these great public opinion ratings deteriorated over time, particularly with Truman, Carter, Nixon, Johnson, and the Bushes, but they, along with all other Presidents, ranked more popular than not popular at this early stage of their White House tenure.

Those supportive of Trump love to point out that he has risen slightly from the low to mid 30s, but with the constant tumult and chaos in the White House, and his horrible, thoughtless, and cruel policies on so many issues, it is assured that Trump will never rise to a more positive than negative view of him and his Presidency.

Donald Trump’s Concept Of Treason, Amidst Economic Crisis On Wall Street

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump is displaying totalitarian tendencies more every day.

Part of a democratic government is to have an opposition which is critical of the government, and offers alternative policies and programs.

This has gone on throughout American history, and the with the evolution of political parties.

Every President has understood that he will be criticized and will not get applause from the opposition when making the State of the Union Address, and many have had to deal with members of the other party who may act rude and inappropriate, as for instance with South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson who yelled “You lie!”, as President Obama discovered as he gave a speech to Congress in September 2009.

The answer is not to to do what Donald Trump has just done, to suggest that the Democrats who refused to applaud him, were treasonous.

This is the rhetoric of an Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Un, Mao Tse Tung, Hugo Chavez, Juan Peron and other totalitarian dictators of the Left and the Right.

There is no way that this country can tolerate a President who insists on uniformity and obedience, particularly when Donald Trump has done so much damage and harm to American democratic traditions of over 230 years since the establishment of the Constitution.

We are NOT going to obey or bow to this tin horned, would be dictator, and the American people will rise in rebellion if any more violations of our basic civil and human rights are attempted.

Donald Trump will pay the price ultimately, and will be forced out office, and any American who does not support Robert Mueller’s investigation of the corruption of the 2016 election is no patriot, and in fact, it is such people who are committing treason, not critics of Trump working to preserve our democratic system of government.

The economic crisis on Wall Street will hasten the downfall of Donald Trump, and he is now claiming he is the victim of a conspiracy with the stock market going down the past week, absolutely crazy, maniacal behavior.

Trump’s Massive Waste Of Government Spending: His Trips, The Wall, And A Military Parade, While Other Issues That Matter Are Ignored

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Donald Trump has engaged in massive waste of government spending for his own personal desires, and plans to do more if not stopped by Congress and the Republican Party.

His excessive amount of travel to his Mar a Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida has cost the US government a massive amount of expenses, along with the costs to the local communities in Palm Beach County. He has spent more time on vacation than any President, and it is clear he does very little work, preferring to play golf, watch cable news, and eat McDonald’s Cheese Burgers and Diet Cokes.

Trump wants to spend billions of taxpayer money on the proposed Mexico Wall, a pure waste of money that will not work, and will have plenty of cost overruns if built. It also gives the United States a terrible image in the world, and will undermine relations with our 2,000 mile boundary neighbor to the South. It is certain that Mexico will not pay for the wall, should not pay for the wall, and that the taxpayers will be stuck with the bill, when the vast majority of the American people do not support the wall, and we could spend the tens of billions on such things as the opioid crisis, veterans health care, hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, infrastructure spending, and so many other priorities.

And now, Donald Trump wants an expensive military parade on Independence Avenue in Washington, DC, causing massive expenditures by the federal government, and the DC local government, and presenting security challenges. The military is celebrated on Memorial and Veterans Days with parades locally all over the nation, and with ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and that is more than enough in a nation that has civilian government, not military government. We do not need to spend tens of millions of dollars to stroke the ego of a crazy narcissist, who wishes he was a dictator in the line of Kim Jong Un of North Korea, or like China, the old Soviet Union, or the old Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, or other authoritarian dictatorships.

It is up to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party to stop Donald Trump dead in his tracks on the Mexico Wall and on the military parade, and say NO WAY!

A Doctor In Michigan, A College Professor In Kansas, An Afghanistan Army Veteran From Illinois: All Facing Deportation

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Lukasz Niec (Poland)—-Syed Ahmed Jamal(Bangladesh)—Miguel Perez, Jr. (Mexico)–these are just three victims of Donald Trump’s nativism, accomplished through heartless policies of the Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency.

Nativists, including White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, White House Counselor Stephen Miller, and ICE’s Director Thomas Homan, are leading a Reign of Terror on all undocumented immigrants of all ages and longevity in America, and having a clean record without any crimes is not enough.

So we are having people here 30-40 years in many cases, who have no memory of the country they were born in, have no family connections, do not know the language of their native country, and in many cases will be endangered and possibly killed by returning to a strange land, facing deportation.

As the three mentioned above, a doctor in Michigan, a college professor in Kansas, and an Afghanistan Army veteran in Illinois–ripped apart from their homes, businesses, jobs, and family members–a despairing situation which will insure these monsters in government and the administration of Donald Trump, will be condemned in history, with Fortune Magazine already lowering the rating of the United States as a democracy which pursues human rights, to a lower category of a flawed democracy, similar to Poland, Mongolia, and Italy among other nations, for the first time in American history.

This violation of civil liberties, and the threats against sanctuary cities by the federal government, are a sign of Fascism and authoritarianism taking over, and it cannot be allowed to stand, by all decent Americans.

We have not learned from past violations of civil liberties and civil rights, and we are living through a dark period of American history.

A Military Parade To Salute Our President Reminiscent Of Authoritarian Dictatorships, A Break From American Traditions!

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It is hard to believe that we are about to start a new tradition in a democracy, a military parade to salute our President, reminiscent of authoritarian dictatorships, such as the old Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Kim Jong Un’s North Korea.

There is absolutely no need for such a parade, as we honor veterans and the military on Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November.

It is true France does this on Bastille Day, and it is a democracy, but that is not an excuse for doing it.

It is simply to stroke Trump’s ego, which already is too inflated.

It is another sign of Trump trying to change American culture and history, and it must be prevented.

But seeing the generals around Trump–the disgraceful bigot John Kelly, and also James Mattis and H. R. Mc Master– now makes it clear that having military people in government by special dispensation was and is a horrible mistake, and must not be allowed to happen in the future.