Not a Member of a Political Party

I am not registered as a member of any political party. Given my interest in politics it may seem an unlikely scenario. Let me tell you my reasoning.

The Republican Party historically in the 20th century was the party supporting business. They fought for lower taxes and less regulation. Who can be opposed to those objectives? Then the conservative religious groups evolved inside the G.O.P. Instead of being the business party they became the party of Evangelical Christians and other orthodox religious groups that put their religious beliefs ahead of business and the rights of non-believers. Today, thanks to Donald Trump, the G.O.P. has become the party concerned with helping the working classes of the country and the party of the extreme right wing (alt-right/neo-Nazi) hate groups. This is not a pretty picture.

Sadly the Democratic Party is no longer the party of the working class and middle class America. Extreme left wing socialists have become the driving force within the party. Senator Bernie Sanders has become a leader of this socialist perspective. America does have some socialist services but not to the level that the left wing aspires to bring to America. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare for the needy are all socialist programs but I do not support government ownership of businesses that should be operated privately (car manufacturing companies, aircraft manufacturers, etc.).

Third parties have had an inconsequential impact on American politics.

I am left with selecting candidates that have said or done something that catches my attention. I voted for both Democrats and Republicans in November. Some races were left unmarked for any candidate.

Donald Trump appears to be a thin skinned man who takes every slight as a major insult to him. How will he conduct himself as president? His behavior as a candidate has not changed since he won the election. The only thing that might stop him from starting a nuclear war might be the decisions of a wiser military.

How did America get itself into such a predicament?

The Fairness Doctrine

From 503ME Blog

We used to have something called the fairness doctrine –

The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was — in the Commission’s view — honest, equitable, and balanced.

Fairness Doctrine – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairness_Doctrine

It was abolished under Reagan

Under the Reagan administration, the FCC killed the Fairness Doctrine (in 1987), doing away with a policy — put in place in 1949 — that required broadcasters to cover controversial issues of public importance and offer contrasting viewpoints on those issue

The equal time, or more accurately, the equal opportunity provision of the Communications Act requires radio and television stations and cable systems which originate their own programming to treat legally qualified political candidates equally when it comes to selling or giving away air time.

The law against using propaganda on American citizens was eliminated in 2013. And then the supreme court ruled it legal for politicians to lie-

, “The truth or falsity of political speech should be judged by voters, not government bureaucrats” became the law concerning if you can sue a politician for lying during a campaign…..in other words, the courts are not going to make a decision of rather or not a politician lied during a campaign. If you think the politician is lying to you, then don’t vote for him or her

Then there is the court case in Florida where the courts ruled that it was legal for fox news to fire two reporters who refused to lie– In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting … FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003the Florida Second District Court of …

now we have Facebook and google saying that they will try to curtail fake news sites-

This is the reason why we do not have actual news in our country and also 95% of our media is owned by only 6 mega media corporate giants and that means all media and not just news.

The Future of Jews in America

Historically, when a country has economic issues the leadership frequently blames the Jewish population. It is a convenient scape goat that is usually a small part of the total population.

‘Hail Trump’: That’s how a group of white nationalists saluted the November 8 victory of the president-elect this weekend at the annual conference of the National Policy Institute, as seen in an exclusive video filmed by The Atlantic. The disturbing scene came during an after-dinner speech by alt-right leader Richard Spencer, who among other anti-Semitic and racist statements described America as “a white country designed for ourselves and our posterity.” His audience cheered, and many raised their arms in Nazi salutes. Trump has not endorsed these statements, of course, nor has he asked white nationalist groups for their support. But the sentiment is alarming.

Meanwhile Congressman Keith Ellison is the leading candidate to head Democratic National Committee. A growing number of pro-Israel activists and Jewish community figures are expressing concern that Minnesota’s U.S. Rep. Ellison will turn the Democratic Party away from Israel if he is elected party chairman.

While I am not a Zionist I do appreciate the fact that Israel is the only majority Jewish nation in the world. “Hail Trump” frightens me and so does a congressman who has a history of relations with Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam movement. The Jewish News Service reports on Ellison’s relationship with Farrakhan in detail.

My family thinks I am too involved with politics and my fears are unfounded. Sadly history seems to support my fears.

A Sad Decline for America

I am not happy as I did support Hillary Clinton. However I did not support her because she had anything worthwhile to offer. She was “the lesser of two evils” in my opinion. Trump won because he promised change. That was the Obama promise too. We all know how that turned out. Millions of people believed that Mrs. Clinton was just a continuation of the same gridlock that has kept the same bunch of elected people in office (and that includes Republicans and Democrats). It’s unlikely Trump will be successful but the public keeps hoping.

Charles Krauthammer in his November 11, 2016 column mostly wrote about how a Republican congress can now cancel Obamacare, end Dodd Frank consumer protection, and impose their solutions for illegal immigration. One point he made does make sense: “Trump spoke to and for a working class squeezed and ruined by rapid technological and economic transformation.” While Krauthammer was correct in that analysis his solutions make no sense.

The greater question for me is what will Donald Trump actually do as president? His history of remarks and promises is full of contradictions. Many of those contradictory statements have been played on CNN and elsewhere. A good example is in 1999, when Trump forcefully argued for universal health care, telling CNN’s Larry King, “If you can’t take care of your sick in the country, forget it, it’s all over. I mean, it’s no good. So I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better.”

The world has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Donald Trump cannot roll back the impact of globalization. Our congress is filled with people with an average age of Members of the House at the beginning of the 114th Congress of 57.0 years; of Senators, 61.0 years. These are a bunch of older people many of whom do not understand the changing world. This is not the group likely to lead this nation in a rapidly changing technology world.

Sadly, we are likely to see an America in decline. Tell me I am wrong and why.

California Secession #Calexit and #Caleavefornia

The above map shows the national results of the November 8 2016 election by county. It is obvious that the most populace parts of California voted for Hillary Clinton. 54% of the voters chose Mrs. Clinton. 30% Chose Donald Trump.

California holds significantly different views of the world from most of the United States. Immigration and the environment are the two really big differences. Donald Trump by his own words does not believe there is any climate change and he intends to deport millions of “illegal aliens.” He says immigrants will be subject to ‘extreme vetting.‘ Trump intends to end Obama Care. All of these views are diametrically opposite of those held by most Californians.

“If Trump wins,” venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar wrote, “I am announcing and funding a legitimate campaign for California to become its own nation.” That was reported in the Los Angeles Daily News.

California is approximately 38% Latino and 38% White. The rest of the state is a mix of Black, Asian, and other groups. Clearly this is not a White state.

California has more millionaires with over $1million to invest than any other state.

Compared to countries California’s economy ranks 6^th in the world.

40% of America’s imports arrive through the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach.

http://www.yescalifornia.org/ In the Spring of 2019, Californians will go to the polls in a historic vote to decide by referendum if California should exit the Union, a #Calexit vote.

You will have this historic opportunity because the Yes California Independence Campaign will qualify a citizen’s initiative for the 2018 ballot that if passed would call for a special election for Californians to vote for or against the independence of California from the United States.

Yes California is the nonviolent campaign to establish the country of California using any and all legal and constitutional means to do so. We advocate for peaceful secession from the United States by use of an independence referendum to establish a mandate, followed by a nationwide campaign to advocate in support of a constitutional exit from the Union.

This would be a VERY BIG step. It is worth thinking about.

Donald Trump and Hate

The United States democratically elects its president and the majority has spoken through the ballot box. The losers must accept the will of the majority.

I am deeply disappointed with the results. Donald Trump is the poster child for hate, misogyny, and discrimination. His election tells me more about America than about him.

I fear for the fate of minorities and the handicapped in this nation under a Trump presidency. I have personally experienced discrimination and sympathize with all who have had to live in a world of hate.

I see Adolph Hitler in the words of Donald Trump. Asians, Jews, Latinos and Muslims are the likely targets of a President Trump.

A rebellion is unlikely. A massive emigration of minorities from the United States is a possible outcome. Certainly the entry of minority peoples to America will be significantly smaller than in previous years.

My likely new home will be Canada – if they will take me.

The United States is the Envy of the World

Donald Trump’s closing argument in tomorrow’s election: “The U.S. is ‘the laughingstock of the world.’ Trump is absolutely wrong.

The United States is the envy of the World.

The United States has a more millionaires (over 8 million) than any other country in the world. Second place is China with 2 million.

The United States has the universities that are the most desired schools to obtain a higher education.

Latin American nations have all tried to emulate the United States form of government. Most Europeans learn English in the hope that they will have a better opportunity to visit a stay in the United States. Most country leaders, including dictators, call themselves “president” in the hope of convincing their populace that they were selected by them and that they are legitimate leaders.

The rest of the world looks to the United States to help with their challenges caused by floods, earthquakes, tornados, and other natural disasters. The United States is known as the country that tries to help in every way.

United States government always do the right thing? No! But this country tries to help the least fortunate.

Inside this country there is a large gap between the very rich and the very poor. The middle class is struggling. Education and health care are issues that are in need of major attention. Infrastructure has deteriorated substantially. We do have free and fair elections that provide the representatives to address those problems.

Wherever you travel in this world you see McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Kentucky Fried Chicken stores. American music and movies are emulated throughout the world. Do you suppose the people of other countries laugh at what has been built here or do they have some envy?

Finally consider that the U.S. immigrant population stood at more than 42.4 million, or 13.3 percent, of the total U.S. population of 318.9 million in 2014, according to ACS data. Between 2013 and 2014, the foreign-born population increased by 1 million, or 2.5 percent.

Does this sound like a country that is “the laughingstock of the world?”

Trump can’t make the rules for news media

The following letter appeared in today’s Los Angeles Daily News. It reflects my opinion.

Media are just reporting the truth about Trump

Of all the irrational attacks by Donald Trump supporters on the Daily News Opinion page, the most ridiculous is that the media supports Hillary Clinton.

From the beginning, Trump has treated the selection of president of the United States as a reality show in which he makes the rules. He has mocked the people and the processes of democracy with name-calling, unproven allegations (“birther” slurs against the only black president, among others), threats that he’ll use the office for payback against his opponent and anyone else who has stood up to him, and the accusation that the voting process is a fraud if he doesn’t win.

He has created a new uncivil war in a country that has aspired to be “one nation, indivisible.” He has truly made America hate again. If the media reports on his activities truthfully, he calls foul and threatens them.

The only media that could possibly report him as he is are the National Enquirer, the Star and the Globe. The rest are constrained to reporting factually the nearly $1 billion income claimed loss to avoid taxes, the sexist and racist comments and charges, the bankruptcies, the fraudulent “university.”

Reporting the truth is also an American way, Mr. Trump.

— Jacqelen Ruben, Woodland Hills, California

The Man Who Cannot Accept a Loss

The essence of this is that Donald Trump is always the winner. Anyone who is selected over him has won by some illegitimate means.

In three different years, Donald Trump claimed the Emmys were stolen from him when he hosted The Apprentice.

Donald Trump has been saying the election is rigged since the primaries were in play.

That claim has been a continuing part of his campaign almost from the beginning. He claimed that the allocation of candidates to the GOP convention were set up in a way of denying him the nomination. Obviously he was wrong. He simply did not understand the way the delegates were won.

Thus today he is still saying the very same thing. He blames everyone but himself for his lagging poll numbers.

If the election is rigged then I ask a few questions.

If you know you can’t win, why are you continuing to campaign?
If the election is rigged how did George W. Bush get elected? The media and the Democratic Party were no different in the year 2000.
Since you say you can’t win why should anyone vote for you? After all those voting for you are wasting their time.

Now after doing fairly well in tonight’s final presidential debate he refuses to say he will concede the election if he loses. That is going to be a big problem for the Republican Party. And the nation too!

Americans have always believed our elections are honest. This is not a third world country where losers have not accepted the results and in some instance refused to relinquish power.

Trump has tried to deny the Obama presidency from its beginning by claiming that President is not a natural born American. His insistence that the election is rigged could give his followers a rallying claim to delegitimize a Clinton presidency.

Transcript from the debate:

CHRIS WALLACE: Mr. Trump, I want to ask you about one last question in this topic. You have been warning at rallies recently that this election is rigged and that Hillary Clinton is in the process of trying to steal it from you.

Your running mate, Governor Pence, pledged on Sunday that he and you — his words — “will absolutely accept the result of this election.” Today your daughter, Ivanka, said the same thing. I want to ask you here on the stage tonight: Do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely — sir, that you will absolutely accept the result of this election?

TRUMP: I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now. I’ll look at it at the time.

What I’ve seen — what I’ve seen is so bad. First of all, the media is so dishonest and so corrupt, and the pile-on is so amazing. The New York Times actually wrote an article about it, but they don’t even care. It’s so dishonest. And they’ve poisoned the mind of the voters.

But unfortunately for them, I think the voters are seeing through it. I think they’re going to see through it. We’ll find out on November 8th. But I think they’re going to see through it.

WALLACE: But, sir, there’s…

TRUMP: If you look — excuse me, Chris — if you look at your voter rolls, you will see millions of people that are registered to vote — millions, this isn’t coming from me — this is coming from Pew Report and other places — millions of people that are registered to vote that shouldn’t be registered to vote.

So let me just give you one other thing. So I talk about the corrupt media. I talk about the millions of people — tell you one other thing. She shouldn’t be allowed to run. It’s crooked — she’s — she’s guilty of a very, very serious crime. She should not be allowed to run.

And just in that respect, I say it’s rigged, because she should never…

WALLACE: But…

TRUMP: Chris, she should never have been allowed to run for the presidency based on what she did with e-mails and so many other things.

WALLACE: But, sir, there is a tradition in this country — in fact, one of the prides of this country — is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign that the loser concedes to the winner. Not saying that you’re necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes together in part for the good of the country. Are you saying you’re not prepared now to commit to that principle?

TRUMP: What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense. OK?

CLINTON: Well, Chris, let me respond to that, because that’s horrifying. You know, every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is, is rigged against him.

The FBI conducted a year-long investigation into my e-mails. They concluded there was no case; he said the FBI was rigged. He lost the Iowa caucus. He lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him. Then Trump University gets sued for fraud and racketeering; he claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him. There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him.

TRUMP: Should have gotten it.

(LAUGHTER)

CLINTON: This is — this is a mindset. This is how Donald thinks. And it’s funny, but it’s also really troubling.

WALLACE: OK.

CLINTON: So that is not the way our democracy works. We’ve been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election. You know, President Obama said the other day when you’re whining before the game is even finished…

(APPLAUSE)

WALLACE: Hold on. Hold on, folks. Hold on, folks.

CLINTON: … it just shows you’re not up to doing the job. And let’s — you know, let’s be clear about what he is saying and what that means. He is denigrating — he’s talking down our democracy. And I, for one, am appalled that somebody who is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position.

TRUMP: I think what the FBI did and what the Department of Justice did, including meeting with her husband, the attorney general, in the back of an airplane on the tarmac in Arizona, I think it’s disgraceful. I think it’s a disgrace.

WALLACE: All right.

TRUMP: I think we’ve never had a situation so bad in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

Donald Trump has set the stage for calling Hillary Clinton an illegitimate president. That is something he tried to do to Barack Obama with his “birther” movement. Such claims could be at worst a revolution. More likely it will make the Republicans look like fools if they support his views. This could end the American democracy.

The vast right-wing conspiracy is back

Donald Trump says the reason his presidential bid is collapsing around him is the result of “a global power structure” that is out to get him. He didn’t name names — no self-respecting secret international conspiracy would be sloppy enough to let names slip out — but he knows what they do for a living.

Corporate interests, the media … oh yeah, the media is in it big time …. and dark forces allied to the Clintons are all part of the web, which spans the globe (other than perhaps Russia, where, you know, Vladimir Putin is doing a pretty good job and, according to Trump, could be a real pal for the U.S. in fighting terrorists if he were president.)

“For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests, they partner with these people that don’t have your good in mind. Our campaign represents a true existential threat like they haven’t seen before,” Trump warned a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida on the weekend.

“They knew they would throw every lie they could at me and my family and my loved ones,” Trump said. “They knew they would stop at nothing to try to stop me. But I never knew, as bad as it would be, I never knew it would be this vile, that it would be this bad, that it would be this vicious.”

Obviously, given his knowledge of the secret game plan, Trump must have an informer within the conspiracy, feeding him the inside dope. And you have to admire him for making his allegation right in the heart of Dark Forces territory. Palm Beach is one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S., with an average per capita income of US$125,000. Mansions line the oceanfront, including Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s own vast 20-acre estate. You can’t have a decent international conspiracy without the funds to finance it, and you have to figure some of Trump’s own neighbours must be among the shadowy donors intent on making his life miserable. You want proof? Trump once erected an 80-foot flagpole on his front lawn, with a massive U.S. flap flapping at the top, and was told to take it down because it was too big. How anti-American is that?

As with all global conspiracies, it’s hard to put a finger on the full details of this one, but here are a few possibilities:

The vast right-wing conspiracy: In 1998 Hillary Clinton claimed “a vast right-wing conspiracy” was behind the persistent scandals dogging her and husband Bill, who was then in the midst of claiming he’d never had sex with Monica Lewinsky, except when he did. Although he wouldn’t call it sex. More, just, fooling around, you know? When you’re a star they’ll let you do anything.

It would be sort of weird for the conspiracy that tried to bring down the Clintons to now try to bring down Trump, in alliance with the Clintons of all people, but that’s what makes international evil geniuses so successful, their ability to switch sides at the drop of a hat and confuse the population.

Stephen Harper (Former Prime Minister of Canada): After he quit being prime minister, reports surfaced that Harper attended a super-secret meeting of like-minded males at Bohemian Grove, which is described as “a hyper-exclusive, men-only luxury campground in a remote section of California.” No one could figure out why he was there, since the Grovers mostly do silly stuff like putting on skits and drinking too much, which is not really Harper’s sort of thing. But now we know: He was there plotting with other Republican worthies to bring down Trump and seize control of the agenda for …. Hillary Clinton? Wait a minute, does that make sense? Probably not, but wily evil-doers are known for their malevolent ingenuity.

SPECTRE: Go on, admit it: you thought SPECTRE was just make-believe, a fictional organization invented by Ian Fleming so James Bond would have someone to battle against over the fate of the free world. Right? So how does it feel to be wrong, dummy? Only an organization so clever, so bold, so confident in its malicious intentions could be brash enough to hide in plain sight, turning fact into fiction to hide the fact of its own existence? Fortunately, Donald Trump is up to their tricks. As he revealed in Palm Beach: “There’s a whole deal going on — we’re going to figure it out. I always figure things out. But there’s a whole sinister deal going on.”

The Pope, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group: It wouldn’t be a conspiracy without these three, which, as we all know, are secretly run by the international banking cabal controlled by the Rothschild family. Who are, you know, not Catholics. If you get my drift.

The Media: Well of course. Everyone knows the media is a cesspool of hopeless left-wingers. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the CBC, the BBC, all the U.S. networks, Anderson Cooper … we’re all in it together. In fact, I’ll admit it: as a member of the international media conspiracy, I personally get to pull the strings that make world leaders jump on command. Oh, it’s fun. You should see the look on their faces when I yank them this way or that. Pure delight.

Is there a media plot against Trump? Of course there is. And the sheer genius of it is evident in the fact that until a few months ago the media was under fire for enabling Trump’s spectacular rise and his shock triumph over a dozen other Republicans seeking the nomination, by according him vast amounts of free publicity, opening airwaves to his every utterance, failing to do its homework and dig up the dirt that is now burying him and his hopes of victory.

See? It was all part of the plot. Build him up so we could tear him down and make Hillary the president, even though Hillary hates the press, won’t give press conferences and blames the media for 25 years of Clinton scandals. Excuse me a moment while I cackle.

National Post (Canadian), author Kelly McParland | October 17, 2016 12:45 PM ET