I live in Nevada, and what most of America doesn't know is how much of this state's land is controlled by the federal government.
When Obama took office, 81% of Nevada was designated as federal land. By the beginning of 2016, he extended that percentage to 84.9, a nearly 4% increase in land that can't be used for anything other than viewing, although 99.999% of the nation's people have not, nor will ever see it.
Now, in another parting shot, and as a gift to the environmentalists, the President has stolen another 300,000 acres by federalizing an area called the Golden Butte; just outside of Las Vegas. That is the equivalent of an additional 470 square miles added to the ridiculous amount already possessed. To put that into perspective, the sprawling city of Los Angeles is slightly larger at 503 square miles. As a result, there can be no oil/gas drilling or mining (in a state known as the "Silver State") because it was designated as not only federal land but also a national monument.
With the result of this last election cycle, Democrats should be "soul searching" to determine why they have lost so much power both federally and nationwide since Barack Obama took office. One reason could be this constant pitting of environmentalists against the average American. In just 8 years, Obama has "federalized" more land than any other President before him. All in an attempt to shut down drilling.
References:
Obama designates monuments, protects federal land in Utah, Nevada: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/1228/Obama-designates-monuments-protects-federal-land-in-Utah-Nevada
More than half the West is federally owned. Now some states want that land: Almost exactly two-thirds of Utah land—66.5 percent—is federally owned, making it second only to Nevada’s 81 percent: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/10/15/almost-half-the-west-is-federally-owned-now-some-states-want-their-land-back/?utm_term=.e325d7a23f91
Here's how land is used by the federal government in Nevada: http://www.reviewjournal.com/trending/silver-state/heres-how-land-used-the-federal-government-nevada
Los Angeles in Square Miles: https://www.google.com/search?q=square+miles+los+angeles&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
pb
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Laughable: Obama Esclates War With A Defeated Al Qaeda and ISIS is Contained
It was only a year ago, that Obama claimed that ISIS was contained. In addition, over the years, he has stated that Al Qaeda was, essentially defeated. Listen to this collection of comments from him and Biden over the years.
Unfortunately, he is wrong on both fronts.
First, there this "heat map" from his own National Counter Terrorism Center that shows that the supposedly "contained" ISIS is operating in 3 times as many countries than it was just two years ago:
Then, there's this late November story from the New York Times: "Obama Expands War With Al Qaeda to Include Shabab in Somalia." (see link below)
The simple fact, is that ISIS is not contained and Al Qaeda is not defeated. Apparently, any beliefs to the contrary only exist in Obama's mind.
References:
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCX80P-wrOk
"Heat Map" Source: http://www.weaselzippers.us/287506-heat-map-shows-isis-operating-in-3-times-as-many-countries-as-2-years-ago-spreading-worldwide/
Obama Expands War With Al Qaeda to Include Shabab in Somalia: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/us/politics/obama-expands-war-with-al-qaeda-to-include-shabab-in-somalia.html
Unfortunately, he is wrong on both fronts.
First, there this "heat map" from his own National Counter Terrorism Center that shows that the supposedly "contained" ISIS is operating in 3 times as many countries than it was just two years ago:
The simple fact, is that ISIS is not contained and Al Qaeda is not defeated. Apparently, any beliefs to the contrary only exist in Obama's mind.
References:
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCX80P-wrOk
"Heat Map" Source: http://www.weaselzippers.us/287506-heat-map-shows-isis-operating-in-3-times-as-many-countries-as-2-years-ago-spreading-worldwide/
Obama Expands War With Al Qaeda to Include Shabab in Somalia: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/27/us/politics/obama-expands-war-with-al-qaeda-to-include-shabab-in-somalia.html
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Really? Most Americans Wanted Hillary President?
On more than one occasion, I have heard the claim that "most of" or a "majority of" Americans wanted Hillary to be president because she won the popular vote. That claim is wrong on many levels.
First of all, Hillary -- like anyone else who has run for the presidency -- knows that you have to win the electoral vote to win the election. She probably would be the President-elect with both the electoral and popular vote if she had campaigned more often in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, but she took those typically "blue states" for granted. She ignored them.
Yes, she did win the popular vote, but only because of California. Without the votes in that state, for both her and Trump, "the Donald" would have won by 1.4 million. The simple fact, is that Trump won the popular vote in 30 of the 50 states. Also understand that Hillary did not win most of the votes or even the "majority" of votes. She won 48% of the popular vote which gives her a plurality and not a majority. That's important, because in winning only 48% of the vote, it means that 52% voted against her.
There is something else to consider as well. The 2016 turnout was the lowest in 20 years, with only 55.4% of eligible voters participating. If, in fact, there was a higher turnout, Hillary may have, again, won both the popular vote and the electoral vote. However, she was not a desirable candidate, and too many previous Obama-voters stayed home.
Finally, there's this. Hillary won only 48% of the 55.4% of the voters who turned out. Therefore less than 27% of the country actually voted for her. Not "most of" or a "majority of" Americans wanted her as President.
Can we please move on!
References:
It's Official: Clinton's Popular Vote Win Came Entirely From California: http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/its-official-clintons-popular-vote-win-came-entirely-from-california/
Voter turnout at 20-year low in 2016: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/
Hillary Clinton’s campaign was crippled by voters who stayed home: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/hillary-clintons-campaign-was-crippled-by-voters-who-stayed-home/?utm_term=.f98a53c907c1
Politico: How Hillary blew Michigan, and the election: http://hotair.com/archives/2016/12/14/politico-how-hillary-blew-michigan-and-the-election/
Plurality (voting) - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality_(voting)
First of all, Hillary -- like anyone else who has run for the presidency -- knows that you have to win the electoral vote to win the election. She probably would be the President-elect with both the electoral and popular vote if she had campaigned more often in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, but she took those typically "blue states" for granted. She ignored them.
Yes, she did win the popular vote, but only because of California. Without the votes in that state, for both her and Trump, "the Donald" would have won by 1.4 million. The simple fact, is that Trump won the popular vote in 30 of the 50 states. Also understand that Hillary did not win most of the votes or even the "majority" of votes. She won 48% of the popular vote which gives her a plurality and not a majority. That's important, because in winning only 48% of the vote, it means that 52% voted against her.
There is something else to consider as well. The 2016 turnout was the lowest in 20 years, with only 55.4% of eligible voters participating. If, in fact, there was a higher turnout, Hillary may have, again, won both the popular vote and the electoral vote. However, she was not a desirable candidate, and too many previous Obama-voters stayed home.
Finally, there's this. Hillary won only 48% of the 55.4% of the voters who turned out. Therefore less than 27% of the country actually voted for her. Not "most of" or a "majority of" Americans wanted her as President.
Can we please move on!
References:
It's Official: Clinton's Popular Vote Win Came Entirely From California: http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/its-official-clintons-popular-vote-win-came-entirely-from-california/
Voter turnout at 20-year low in 2016: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/
Hillary Clinton’s campaign was crippled by voters who stayed home: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/hillary-clintons-campaign-was-crippled-by-voters-who-stayed-home/?utm_term=.f98a53c907c1
Politico: How Hillary blew Michigan, and the election: http://hotair.com/archives/2016/12/14/politico-how-hillary-blew-michigan-and-the-election/
Plurality (voting) - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality_(voting)
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
After Years of Dissimulation, Obama Finally Sticks it to Israel
I personally find President Barack Obama a disgusting person.
With the elections over and with only a month left in office, only one day before Hanukkah and two days before Christmas, he stabs Israel in the back on a day when most Americans aren't paying attention. For the first time in decades, the U.S. did not defend Israel, and allowed the United Nations Security Council, through U.S. abstention, to condemn Israel's settlement activity in the so-called "Palestinian Occupation" areas. In addition, they will allow the "Council" to issue a cease and desist order for any expansion of settlement activities. I believe he's been waiting 8 years to literally screw Israel, but didn't do so because he, and then Hillary, needed the American Jewish vote. After all, he won 78% of the Jewish vote in 2008 against John McCain.
Here is a person that sat for years in a church run by Reverend Wright, who the Anti-Defamation League called a "Messenger of Intolerance". Not just because of his anti-Israel rhetoric, but also because of his rhetoric against Jews in general. So, its a little difficult to believe that Obama sat for years in that church, listened to that hate-speech, and, wasn't equally anti-Israel; or perhaps even anti-Semitic. Yet, still Jews voted for him. I guess they believed him in 2008, when he said "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." But, that was a lie.
Barack Obama does not want Jerusalem as the capital. If he had, we would have established an embassy there. Then there's this other parting shot following the death of former Israeli leader Shimon Perez. In releasing a transcript of Barack Obama's memorial speech, the White House intentionally struck out the word "Israel" in this screen shot of that text:
Clearly, the intent was to declare that Jerusalem was even a part of Israel.
So good was Barack Obama's deception as a friend of Israel, the New York Times felt compelled to write an article titled "Israel’s Unsung Protector: Obama". Written last April, the "Times" said this:
President Obama, in contrast with his predecessors, has completely shielded Israel from such [U.N.] resolutions." In fact in 2011, the Obama Administration protected Israel by vetoing an almost identical U.N. resolution against Israeli settlement activity that U.S. has now abstained on.
The reality is that Obama will leave office with Israel left in an untenable position. Because of this vote, they might find themselves in international court subject to fines and sanctions. Israeli officials could be subject to arrests as criminals in defiance of a U.N. resolution. And, quite possibly, this non-action by Obama might lead to another Israeli/Middle East war.
Lastly, Democrats might ponder this latest Obama action as to why they have totally lost power in the last 8 years under this President.
References:
US abstains as UN demands end to Israeli settlements: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/23/politics/israel-official-rips-obama-un-settlements/
Mitt Romney says Barack Obama rejects Jerusalem as capital of Israel: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/07/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-rejects-jerusalem-capital-israel/
Jewish Voting Record for President: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/jewvote.html
White House corrects Obama speech transcript listing Jerusalem in Israel: http://www.jpost.com/International/White-House-corrects-Obama-speech-transcript-listing-Jerusalem-in-Israel-469215
Israel’s Unsung Protector: Obama: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/opinion/international/israels-unsung-protector-obama.html
2011: U.S. vetoes Security Council resolution denouncing Israeli settlements: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021805442.html
ADL: Jeremiah Wright: Messenger of Intolerance: http://archive.adl.org/nr/exeres/af8dd36d-7995-443d-847f-4aaa7def18b1,db7611a2-02cd-43af-8147-649e26813571,frameless.html
Mitt Romney says Barack Obama rejects Jerusalem as capital of Israel: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/07/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-rejects-jerusalem-capital-israel/
With the elections over and with only a month left in office, only one day before Hanukkah and two days before Christmas, he stabs Israel in the back on a day when most Americans aren't paying attention. For the first time in decades, the U.S. did not defend Israel, and allowed the United Nations Security Council, through U.S. abstention, to condemn Israel's settlement activity in the so-called "Palestinian Occupation" areas. In addition, they will allow the "Council" to issue a cease and desist order for any expansion of settlement activities. I believe he's been waiting 8 years to literally screw Israel, but didn't do so because he, and then Hillary, needed the American Jewish vote. After all, he won 78% of the Jewish vote in 2008 against John McCain.
Here is a person that sat for years in a church run by Reverend Wright, who the Anti-Defamation League called a "Messenger of Intolerance". Not just because of his anti-Israel rhetoric, but also because of his rhetoric against Jews in general. So, its a little difficult to believe that Obama sat for years in that church, listened to that hate-speech, and, wasn't equally anti-Israel; or perhaps even anti-Semitic. Yet, still Jews voted for him. I guess they believed him in 2008, when he said "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." But, that was a lie.
Barack Obama does not want Jerusalem as the capital. If he had, we would have established an embassy there. Then there's this other parting shot following the death of former Israeli leader Shimon Perez. In releasing a transcript of Barack Obama's memorial speech, the White House intentionally struck out the word "Israel" in this screen shot of that text:
So good was Barack Obama's deception as a friend of Israel, the New York Times felt compelled to write an article titled "Israel’s Unsung Protector: Obama". Written last April, the "Times" said this:
President Obama, in contrast with his predecessors, has completely shielded Israel from such [U.N.] resolutions." In fact in 2011, the Obama Administration protected Israel by vetoing an almost identical U.N. resolution against Israeli settlement activity that U.S. has now abstained on.
The reality is that Obama will leave office with Israel left in an untenable position. Because of this vote, they might find themselves in international court subject to fines and sanctions. Israeli officials could be subject to arrests as criminals in defiance of a U.N. resolution. And, quite possibly, this non-action by Obama might lead to another Israeli/Middle East war.
Lastly, Democrats might ponder this latest Obama action as to why they have totally lost power in the last 8 years under this President.
References:
US abstains as UN demands end to Israeli settlements: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/23/politics/israel-official-rips-obama-un-settlements/
Mitt Romney says Barack Obama rejects Jerusalem as capital of Israel: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/07/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-rejects-jerusalem-capital-israel/
Jewish Voting Record for President: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/jewvote.html
White House corrects Obama speech transcript listing Jerusalem in Israel: http://www.jpost.com/International/White-House-corrects-Obama-speech-transcript-listing-Jerusalem-in-Israel-469215
Israel’s Unsung Protector: Obama: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/opinion/international/israels-unsung-protector-obama.html
2011: U.S. vetoes Security Council resolution denouncing Israeli settlements: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021805442.html
ADL: Jeremiah Wright: Messenger of Intolerance: http://archive.adl.org/nr/exeres/af8dd36d-7995-443d-847f-4aaa7def18b1,db7611a2-02cd-43af-8147-649e26813571,frameless.html
Mitt Romney says Barack Obama rejects Jerusalem as capital of Israel: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/07/mitt-romney/romney-says-obama-rejects-jerusalem-capital-israel/
Thursday, December 22, 2016
ObamaCare: Don't Repeal. Instead Grandfather...
First, let me say I'm no fan of ObamaCare. I think it is structurally ruining our healthcare system; driving up costs; and putting lower income people into insurance policies with extremely high deductibles and high out-of-pocket expenses.
That aside, at least 12 million Americans have gotten their health insurance through the exchanges. Of which, nearly 85% are getting subsidies; with the average subsidy being 73% of their cost of insurance. By extension, these people have entered in a "good faith contract" with our Federal government.
While I am not a lawyer, I have taken enough business law courses to understand that a "good faith contract" could be a problem for Donald Trump and the Republicans who would necessarily repeal ObamaCare. I think, theoretically, the collective of those receiving subsidies, and through no fault of their own, lose those subsidies, could sue in federal court (or even the Supreme Court) to maintain them on the basis of "good faith".
Additionally, I think the repeal of ObamaCare will result in a public relations nightmare for Trump and the Republicans. You know very well that the liberal media will work overtime to find someone who is harmed or has even died as a result of completely losing their insurance because of the lack of a subsidy. Once again, the Republicans will be broadly painted as being heartless.
I think a better tactic would be to grandfather, in place, all those now receiving subsidies. Drop the individual and employer mandates, and retain the requirements that insurance companies can't deny a person insurance on the basis of a pre-existing condition.
If the Republicans do their jobs and create a new healthcare law that is better than ObamaCare, those still in ObamaCare should naturally move to the new system. Just my opinion.
References:
ObamaCare Subsidy Calculator and Statistics: https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/subsidy-calculator/
Good Faith (Law) - Wikipedia: https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/subsidy-calculator/
pb
That aside, at least 12 million Americans have gotten their health insurance through the exchanges. Of which, nearly 85% are getting subsidies; with the average subsidy being 73% of their cost of insurance. By extension, these people have entered in a "good faith contract" with our Federal government.
While I am not a lawyer, I have taken enough business law courses to understand that a "good faith contract" could be a problem for Donald Trump and the Republicans who would necessarily repeal ObamaCare. I think, theoretically, the collective of those receiving subsidies, and through no fault of their own, lose those subsidies, could sue in federal court (or even the Supreme Court) to maintain them on the basis of "good faith".
Additionally, I think the repeal of ObamaCare will result in a public relations nightmare for Trump and the Republicans. You know very well that the liberal media will work overtime to find someone who is harmed or has even died as a result of completely losing their insurance because of the lack of a subsidy. Once again, the Republicans will be broadly painted as being heartless.
I think a better tactic would be to grandfather, in place, all those now receiving subsidies. Drop the individual and employer mandates, and retain the requirements that insurance companies can't deny a person insurance on the basis of a pre-existing condition.
If the Republicans do their jobs and create a new healthcare law that is better than ObamaCare, those still in ObamaCare should naturally move to the new system. Just my opinion.
References:
ObamaCare Subsidy Calculator and Statistics: https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/subsidy-calculator/
Good Faith (Law) - Wikipedia: https://www.healthinsurance.org/obamacare/subsidy-calculator/
pb
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Democrats Plot Past the Electoral College Non-Starter
First, their were the attempted recounts in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, that were intended to swing electoral votes to Hillary Clinton and give her the win. That fell flat when we learned that Wisconsin yielded Trump another162 votes. In fact, a recount in Detroit that heavily favored Clinton came up with more votes than registered voters. Once again proving that voter fraud does exist.
Then, there was Plan B: Get the Republican electors to vote their conscience and switch their votes because Trump only won because of the Russians. Well, that didn't go too well either. Ultimately more Democratic electors took votes away from Hillary than Republicans did from Trump. Hillary suffered 5 defections to Trump's 2.
So, what next?
Already, Democrats are plotting to redo the election; citing that the Russians tampered with the election process. A website "change.org" already has more than 115,000 signatures of the 150,000 needed to petition the White House and the Supreme Court to rerun the election. However, a well recognized election law professor at University of California-Irvine by the name of Chris Hansen says that is highly improbable, stating that "I have never seen anyone try to redo an election based upon the release of information which influenced voters” and “It is very rare for courts to declare a revote, and these do not look like the circumstances where courts would declare one.”
There's more. Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Chris Coons, Ben Cardin, and Jeff Merkley have put forth a bill to force Donald Trump to sell all of his holdings, worldwide, and place the proceeds in a blind trust. A feat that would be nearly impossible since you would need to find multi-billion dollar investors who would want all of Trump's properties. Of course, the bill is not going to go anywhere anyway, since the Republicans control the Senate. More importantly, what this shows is that the Democrats are laying the ground for impeachment, if Trump even takes one penny from a foreign government's representative who may stay in a Trump hotel or play on one of his golf courses. If the Democrats are successful at impeaching Trump, the Republicans are going to regret never having brought impeachment proceedings against Obama for circumventing the Constitution by signing treaties without two-thirds Senate approval.
This is literally becoming a type of mental disorder. A "Trump Derangement Syndrome" that is being demonstrated by all too many Democrats. They are in complete denial as to why they have lost so much power in the last six years, and why Hillary was such a failed candidate. Please, you people need therapy!
References:
With 304 votes, electoral college seals Donald Trump's election as president: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-electoral-college-vote-20161219-story.html
Petition: We Demand a New Vote: https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-we-the-people-demand-a-new-vote
Wisconsin Recount Ends, Trump Picks Up 162 Votes: http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/12/12/wisconsin-recount-ends-trump-picks-162-votes/
Detroit's election woes: 782 more votes than voters: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2016/12/18/detroit-ballots-vote-recount-election-stein/95570866/
Law Newz by Dan Abrams: Sorry But Alleged Russian Influence in Presidential Election Won’t Lead to a ‘Do-Over’: http://lawnewz.com/video/sorry-but-alleged-russian-influence-in-presidential-election-wont-lead-to-a-do-over/
Democrats Are Paving the Way to Impeach Donald Trump: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/democrats-pave-the-way-to-impeach-donald-trump
51 REASONS TO IMPEACH OBAMA | Petition2Congress: https://www.petition2congress.com/9248/51-reasons-to-impeach-obama
pb
Then, there was Plan B: Get the Republican electors to vote their conscience and switch their votes because Trump only won because of the Russians. Well, that didn't go too well either. Ultimately more Democratic electors took votes away from Hillary than Republicans did from Trump. Hillary suffered 5 defections to Trump's 2.
So, what next?
Already, Democrats are plotting to redo the election; citing that the Russians tampered with the election process. A website "change.org" already has more than 115,000 signatures of the 150,000 needed to petition the White House and the Supreme Court to rerun the election. However, a well recognized election law professor at University of California-Irvine by the name of Chris Hansen says that is highly improbable, stating that "I have never seen anyone try to redo an election based upon the release of information which influenced voters” and “It is very rare for courts to declare a revote, and these do not look like the circumstances where courts would declare one.”
There's more. Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, Chris Coons, Ben Cardin, and Jeff Merkley have put forth a bill to force Donald Trump to sell all of his holdings, worldwide, and place the proceeds in a blind trust. A feat that would be nearly impossible since you would need to find multi-billion dollar investors who would want all of Trump's properties. Of course, the bill is not going to go anywhere anyway, since the Republicans control the Senate. More importantly, what this shows is that the Democrats are laying the ground for impeachment, if Trump even takes one penny from a foreign government's representative who may stay in a Trump hotel or play on one of his golf courses. If the Democrats are successful at impeaching Trump, the Republicans are going to regret never having brought impeachment proceedings against Obama for circumventing the Constitution by signing treaties without two-thirds Senate approval.
This is literally becoming a type of mental disorder. A "Trump Derangement Syndrome" that is being demonstrated by all too many Democrats. They are in complete denial as to why they have lost so much power in the last six years, and why Hillary was such a failed candidate. Please, you people need therapy!
References:
With 304 votes, electoral college seals Donald Trump's election as president: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-electoral-college-vote-20161219-story.html
Petition: We Demand a New Vote: https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-we-the-people-demand-a-new-vote
Wisconsin Recount Ends, Trump Picks Up 162 Votes: http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/12/12/wisconsin-recount-ends-trump-picks-162-votes/
Detroit's election woes: 782 more votes than voters: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2016/12/18/detroit-ballots-vote-recount-election-stein/95570866/
Law Newz by Dan Abrams: Sorry But Alleged Russian Influence in Presidential Election Won’t Lead to a ‘Do-Over’: http://lawnewz.com/video/sorry-but-alleged-russian-influence-in-presidential-election-wont-lead-to-a-do-over/
Democrats Are Paving the Way to Impeach Donald Trump: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/democrats-pave-the-way-to-impeach-donald-trump
51 REASONS TO IMPEACH OBAMA | Petition2Congress: https://www.petition2congress.com/9248/51-reasons-to-impeach-obama
pb
Possible Fraud: A Record High School Graduation Rate
It was just two months ago that Barack Obama took a victory lap by declaring a record high school graduation rate of 83% for the 2014-2015 school year. This was the fifth straight year of record graduation rate increases. All since he took office.
In making the announcement, Obama said this:
Now, back to that OIG report. According to OIG investigations, CPS personnel "systematically" used transfer codes to falsely claim that dropouts were transferring to non-CPS schools or being home schooled in the years 2009 to 2014. It also said that this practice was done "...so as to avoid any negative impact on schools’ attendance metrics or graduation rates caused by reporting dropouts."
Now, I don't know if the Chicago "deceit" is an isolated situation; or is widespread; or something in between. But, it is certainly coincidental that the false reporting began in 2009, and the supposed record graduating rates started at the same time Obama took office. Also, from Obama's own Education Department this year, 19% of high school graduates are functionally illiterate. You can conclude what you want from this statistic, but the implication is that our school systems are simply graduating uneducated people and overstating graduation rates.
President Obama's focus always seems to be on quantity and not quality. Hopefully, Trump's Education Department will do just the opposite.
References:
The High School Graduation Rate Reaches A Record High — Again: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/17/498246451/the-high-school-graduation-reaches-a-record-high-again
Office of Inspector General Chicago Board of Education: Annual Report FY 2016: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3238391/Chicago-Public-Schools-inpsector-general-report.pdf
Most High School Seniors Aren't College Or Career Ready, Says 'Nation's Report Card': http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/04/27/475628214/most-high-school-seniors-arent-college-or-career-ready-says-nations-report-card
U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Literacy: Illiteracy Statistics and Demographics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/
In making the announcement, Obama said this:
"When I took office almost eight years ago, we knew that our education system was falling short. I said, by 2020 I want us to be No. 1 across the board, so we got to work making real changes to improve the chances for all of our young people ... And the good news is that we've made real progress."Obama never explained what "real changes" were made to have increased graduation rates; starting with the 2009-2010 school year. And, how, so quickly, the impact was seen in just his first year-and-a-quarter in office. But, perhaps a report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Chicago Public School system (CPS) explains the "why" of such a rapid increase in graduation rates. Understand that this is despite the fact that the President's own Education Department, through a testing program called "National Assessment of Educational Progress (also known as the Nation's Report Card)," found that "most" high school seniors weren't prepared for college or -- more importantly -- even a career! Implying that "most" seniors should not have graduated.
Now, back to that OIG report. According to OIG investigations, CPS personnel "systematically" used transfer codes to falsely claim that dropouts were transferring to non-CPS schools or being home schooled in the years 2009 to 2014. It also said that this practice was done "...so as to avoid any negative impact on schools’ attendance metrics or graduation rates caused by reporting dropouts."
Now, I don't know if the Chicago "deceit" is an isolated situation; or is widespread; or something in between. But, it is certainly coincidental that the false reporting began in 2009, and the supposed record graduating rates started at the same time Obama took office. Also, from Obama's own Education Department this year, 19% of high school graduates are functionally illiterate. You can conclude what you want from this statistic, but the implication is that our school systems are simply graduating uneducated people and overstating graduation rates.
President Obama's focus always seems to be on quantity and not quality. Hopefully, Trump's Education Department will do just the opposite.
References:
The High School Graduation Rate Reaches A Record High — Again: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/10/17/498246451/the-high-school-graduation-reaches-a-record-high-again
Office of Inspector General Chicago Board of Education: Annual Report FY 2016: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3238391/Chicago-Public-Schools-inpsector-general-report.pdf
Most High School Seniors Aren't College Or Career Ready, Says 'Nation's Report Card': http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/04/27/475628214/most-high-school-seniors-arent-college-or-career-ready-says-nations-report-card
U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Literacy: Illiteracy Statistics and Demographics: http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/
Monday, December 19, 2016
Could Some Democrat Electors Vote For Trump?
It is highly possible that the campaign to have Republican electors switch their votes to Hillary may actually backfire. In fact, some Democrat electors may actually wind up voting for Trump as a result of "voting their own conscience". Some may actually feel that flooding electors with emails, phone calls, and threats, including death threats, an abhorrent tactic. Added to that you have TV ads by a bunch of Hollywood actors attempting to undermine the electoral process.
Imagine if the situation were reversed and it was the Democrats getting a torrent of calls, e-mails, and threats? If this campaign to pressure electors is successful, then strong arm tactics will become commonplace in every Presidential election going forward. I think some Democrat electors will see that possibility, and may end up voting for Trump in order to "spite" and thwart this switch-the-vote campaign.
If so, and Trump gets more than the expected 306 electoral votes, a lot of people will be laughing their behind's off. Hopefully, this current attempt to reverse the electoral process will end right here.
References:
Video: Republican electors still getting death threats: https://www.google.com/search?q=electors+death+threats&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
GOP electors harassed, threatened as foes maneuver to block Donald Trump: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/22/gop-electors-harassed-threatened-foes-maneuver-blo/
Celebrities beg electors to be 'heroes' and vote against Trump: Plead with electoral college members to “vote their conscience”: http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-trump-s-electoral-college-win-all-but-1481829256-htmlstory.html
pb
Imagine if the situation were reversed and it was the Democrats getting a torrent of calls, e-mails, and threats? If this campaign to pressure electors is successful, then strong arm tactics will become commonplace in every Presidential election going forward. I think some Democrat electors will see that possibility, and may end up voting for Trump in order to "spite" and thwart this switch-the-vote campaign.
If so, and Trump gets more than the expected 306 electoral votes, a lot of people will be laughing their behind's off. Hopefully, this current attempt to reverse the electoral process will end right here.
References:
Video: Republican electors still getting death threats: https://www.google.com/search?q=electors+death+threats&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
GOP electors harassed, threatened as foes maneuver to block Donald Trump: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/22/gop-electors-harassed-threatened-foes-maneuver-blo/
Celebrities beg electors to be 'heroes' and vote against Trump: Plead with electoral college members to “vote their conscience”: http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-trailguide-updates-trump-s-electoral-college-win-all-but-1481829256-htmlstory.html
pb
Friday, December 16, 2016
Trump's Favorite Pastime Needs Help
We are all aware that President-elect Donald Trump is a fan of Twitter; although he may not always use it in the most positive way. Many, however, don't know that Twitter is a very troubled company.
It lacks a cohesive business strategy. It has struggled with attracting new users. Key executives have given up and have left the company like a flock of birds being released back into the wild. A signal, that internally, there are real management problems. Now the company has clearly indicated that it wants a buyer; as if issuing a cry for help to a suicide hotline. Names like Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Apple, Disney, and SalesForce.com are all supposedly involved in bidding, but nothing concrete is known about the bidding activity; or if it even still exists.
Essentially, if someone doesn't fix the problems at Twitter, the company may simply implode and "The Donald" may have to find another way of communicating his minute-by-minute, day and night, ever-changing feelings. It leaves one to wonder if he isn't a Twitter sleep walker. And, the media? They would lose one of their primary sources of negative news about our soon-to-be-President. Oh, the humanity!
References:
Fortune.com: This was supposed to be the year Twitter got its act together. Instead, it’s looking like the year Twitter throws in the towel: http://fortune.com/2016/09/23/twitter-sale-turnaround/
MarketWatch: Twitter could sell for up to $15 billion, if there’s still a buyer: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-could-sell-for-up-to-15-billion-if-theres-still-a-buyer-2016-10-11
It lacks a cohesive business strategy. It has struggled with attracting new users. Key executives have given up and have left the company like a flock of birds being released back into the wild. A signal, that internally, there are real management problems. Now the company has clearly indicated that it wants a buyer; as if issuing a cry for help to a suicide hotline. Names like Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Apple, Disney, and SalesForce.com are all supposedly involved in bidding, but nothing concrete is known about the bidding activity; or if it even still exists.
Essentially, if someone doesn't fix the problems at Twitter, the company may simply implode and "The Donald" may have to find another way of communicating his minute-by-minute, day and night, ever-changing feelings. It leaves one to wonder if he isn't a Twitter sleep walker. And, the media? They would lose one of their primary sources of negative news about our soon-to-be-President. Oh, the humanity!
References:
Fortune.com: This was supposed to be the year Twitter got its act together. Instead, it’s looking like the year Twitter throws in the towel: http://fortune.com/2016/09/23/twitter-sale-turnaround/
MarketWatch: Twitter could sell for up to $15 billion, if there’s still a buyer: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-could-sell-for-up-to-15-billion-if-theres-still-a-buyer-2016-10-11
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Is Obama's NHTSA Ruling Putting Our Lives at Risk?
Because real life testing of driver-less cars is already underway, it is obvious that they will be all over our roads in the not-too-distant future.
And, I'm alright with that. These autonomous vehicles will be fully aware of all the conditions around them; make adjustments to speed and steering; and will save lives by avoiding driver distractions and human-error collisions. It will be a godsend for people with disabilities who normally can't drive on their own; including people with vision problems. I am quite sure the technological development from testing will make these cars as error-free as possible.
However, there may be a possible chink in the dream of error-free, driver-less transportation. Obama's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just put a ruling into place for a 90-day comment period before implementation. That would require all new vehicles, at some time in the future, to be capable of wireless communication with other vehicles in order to reduce accidents. Also known as V2V (Vehicle-2-Vehicle) communications, the language of those communications would necessarily have to be common and unsecured for the system to work....and that's a big problem.
A hacker with knowledge of the wireless communication protocols being used, could easily take control of any vehicle that is fully automated; and without secured communication, it would be as easy as saying "mo-tee-ga" (the Russian word for "hack"). It could possibly even involve multiple vehicles. The object could be malicious, to cause accidents or death; much like the arsonist who gets off on starting fires, or it could be criminal, wanting to kidnap, rob, or even assassinate. The FBI warned us about this in March of this year. Their name for this kind of hacking is known as "vehicular cybersabotage". It has already been demonstrated by two researchers who remotely took control of a Jeep Cherokee and crashed it.
We should also be worried about after-market devices such as "Hum" from Verizon, which use cellphone technology that communicates directly with you car's onboard computer system.
More importantly, Barack Obama is dumping this on us with roughly 50 days left of his term out of the 90 day comment period; and Donald Trump's new administration may not have enough time to review the comments before the NHTSA puts the ruling into effect. Call me cynical, but I suspect this was intentionally done in order to deprive Trump of the time needed to review the ruling. There is no reason why this couldn't have waited a few months before entering the comment period. Also, expect other rules from the Obama administration to be "dumped" in the next week or so, for the same reason.
References:
Feds: Cars must be able to talk to each other: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/12/13/self-driving-cars-vehicle-to-vehicle-technology-v-to-v-nhtsa-autonomous-cars-v2v/95367310/
U.S. DOT advances deployment of Connected Vehicle Technology to prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes: https://www.nhtsa.gov/About-NHTSA/Press-Releases/nhtsa_v2v_proposed_rule_12132016
The FBI Warns That Car Hacking Is a Real Risk: https://www.wired.com/2016/03/fbi-warns-car-hacking-real-risk/
Hum By Verizon: https://www.hum.com/
pb
And, I'm alright with that. These autonomous vehicles will be fully aware of all the conditions around them; make adjustments to speed and steering; and will save lives by avoiding driver distractions and human-error collisions. It will be a godsend for people with disabilities who normally can't drive on their own; including people with vision problems. I am quite sure the technological development from testing will make these cars as error-free as possible.
However, there may be a possible chink in the dream of error-free, driver-less transportation. Obama's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just put a ruling into place for a 90-day comment period before implementation. That would require all new vehicles, at some time in the future, to be capable of wireless communication with other vehicles in order to reduce accidents. Also known as V2V (Vehicle-2-Vehicle) communications, the language of those communications would necessarily have to be common and unsecured for the system to work....and that's a big problem.
A hacker with knowledge of the wireless communication protocols being used, could easily take control of any vehicle that is fully automated; and without secured communication, it would be as easy as saying "mo-tee-ga" (the Russian word for "hack"). It could possibly even involve multiple vehicles. The object could be malicious, to cause accidents or death; much like the arsonist who gets off on starting fires, or it could be criminal, wanting to kidnap, rob, or even assassinate. The FBI warned us about this in March of this year. Their name for this kind of hacking is known as "vehicular cybersabotage". It has already been demonstrated by two researchers who remotely took control of a Jeep Cherokee and crashed it.
We should also be worried about after-market devices such as "Hum" from Verizon, which use cellphone technology that communicates directly with you car's onboard computer system.
More importantly, Barack Obama is dumping this on us with roughly 50 days left of his term out of the 90 day comment period; and Donald Trump's new administration may not have enough time to review the comments before the NHTSA puts the ruling into effect. Call me cynical, but I suspect this was intentionally done in order to deprive Trump of the time needed to review the ruling. There is no reason why this couldn't have waited a few months before entering the comment period. Also, expect other rules from the Obama administration to be "dumped" in the next week or so, for the same reason.
References:
Feds: Cars must be able to talk to each other: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2016/12/13/self-driving-cars-vehicle-to-vehicle-technology-v-to-v-nhtsa-autonomous-cars-v2v/95367310/
U.S. DOT advances deployment of Connected Vehicle Technology to prevent hundreds of thousands of crashes: https://www.nhtsa.gov/About-NHTSA/Press-Releases/nhtsa_v2v_proposed_rule_12132016
The FBI Warns That Car Hacking Is a Real Risk: https://www.wired.com/2016/03/fbi-warns-car-hacking-real-risk/
Hum By Verizon: https://www.hum.com/
pb
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Is ObamaCare Killing Americans?
One of the most frequent reasons the Democrats used to justify ObamaCare was that, among all the other wealthiest nations, we were last when it came to life expectancy. Of course, the logic is simple. Insure more people, and by doing so, give them greater access to healthcare; and as a result, people will live longer.
Unfortunately, that's not happening. In the latest report from the CDC, in 2015, the average American's life span declined for the first time in decades. This, despite the fact that, in that year (the second year into ObamaCare), the number of insured fell to a decades low 11.9% versus 18% at the end of 2013.
The CDC report shows that 9 of the top ten reasons for death all showed increases, with cancer being the only bright spot (if you can actually call cancer a bright spot) in the whole report:
Well, one might think that it is due to the fact that we are living longer and our population is aging and more susceptible to disease. But, the report also showed that the death rates for men and women age 65 and older, remained the same. Instead, it was supposedly, the younger people whose lives were being shortened. Another reason that researchers blamed the increase on was obesity and the rise of diabetes. However, that were negated by the fact that the infant mortality rate also went up; and obesity and diabetes are not infant diseases.
In my opinion, this suggests that the quality of care is in decline since ObamaCare went into effect. In discussions with my own doctors, I hear complaints that ObamaCare has burdened them with hours of paperwork and reporting; resulting in less time spent with each patient. In fact, in a recent study, the average physician spends 785 hours a year reporting quality measures to the federal government. That is almost 100 days of work based on an 8 hour workday.
The bottom line is that we may be seeing another reason why ObamaCare isn't working as promised and needs to be replaced.
References:
President Obama’s Health Care Reform Policies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697918/
Life Expectancy In U.S. Drops For First Time In Decades, Report Finds: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/08/504667607/life-expectancy-in-u-s-drops-for-first-time-in-decades-report-finds
U.S. Uninsured Rate: http://www.gallup.com/poll/190484/uninsured-rate-lowest-eight-year-trend.aspx
CDC: Mortality in the United States, 2015: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db267.htm
Physicians Spend $15.4 Billion Each Year on Reporting Quality Measures: http://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/physicians-spend-154-billion-each-year-on-reporting-quality-measures
Unfortunately, that's not happening. In the latest report from the CDC, in 2015, the average American's life span declined for the first time in decades. This, despite the fact that, in that year (the second year into ObamaCare), the number of insured fell to a decades low 11.9% versus 18% at the end of 2013.
The CDC report shows that 9 of the top ten reasons for death all showed increases, with cancer being the only bright spot (if you can actually call cancer a bright spot) in the whole report:
"The rate increased 0.9% for heart disease, 2.7% for chronic lower respiratory diseases, 6.7% for unintentional injuries, 3.0% for stroke, 15.7% for Alzheimer’s disease, 1.9% for diabetes, 1.5% for kidney disease, and 2.3% for suicide. The rate decreased by 1.7% for cancer. The rate for influenza and pneumonia did not change significantly."Most all of the diseases that showed increases are somewhat treatable and should have seen better outcomes with the expansion of heath care access under ObamaCare. So, what gives?
Well, one might think that it is due to the fact that we are living longer and our population is aging and more susceptible to disease. But, the report also showed that the death rates for men and women age 65 and older, remained the same. Instead, it was supposedly, the younger people whose lives were being shortened. Another reason that researchers blamed the increase on was obesity and the rise of diabetes. However, that were negated by the fact that the infant mortality rate also went up; and obesity and diabetes are not infant diseases.
In my opinion, this suggests that the quality of care is in decline since ObamaCare went into effect. In discussions with my own doctors, I hear complaints that ObamaCare has burdened them with hours of paperwork and reporting; resulting in less time spent with each patient. In fact, in a recent study, the average physician spends 785 hours a year reporting quality measures to the federal government. That is almost 100 days of work based on an 8 hour workday.
The bottom line is that we may be seeing another reason why ObamaCare isn't working as promised and needs to be replaced.
References:
President Obama’s Health Care Reform Policies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697918/
Life Expectancy In U.S. Drops For First Time In Decades, Report Finds: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/08/504667607/life-expectancy-in-u-s-drops-for-first-time-in-decades-report-finds
U.S. Uninsured Rate: http://www.gallup.com/poll/190484/uninsured-rate-lowest-eight-year-trend.aspx
CDC: Mortality in the United States, 2015: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db267.htm
Physicians Spend $15.4 Billion Each Year on Reporting Quality Measures: http://www.ajmc.com/newsroom/physicians-spend-154-billion-each-year-on-reporting-quality-measures
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Russian Hack: Obama Orders an Investigation?
There has never been an official CIA or presidential declaration that the Russians were behind the hacking of the DNC and Hillary's Campaign email servers. Instead, we get a story from the Washington Post that a handful of U.S. Senators were secretly briefed by the CIA and that the hacking was in fact done by the "Russians" at the behest of Vlad Putin to give Trump his win.
So, if the CIA is already sure that the Russians did it, why did Obama publicly order an investigation into the hacking on the very same day that the "Post" reported that fact. At the same time, he announces that he wants to have the results of that investigation on his desk before he leaves office. Also, why back in late November, did the White House insist that the hacking didn't sway the election? These facts alone, call into question the whole Russian-hacking story. Are we dealing with more fake news? It certainly makes the President look as if he was the last in his administration to know. Last I heard, the CIA still reports to Obama and he would have been briefed well before a "handful" of senators. Is it also possible, that it is a "false flag" operation, as claimed by Ambassador John Bolton, and that Obama could be behind the hacking and not the Russians?
One thing is certain. The DNC and the Hillary campaign emails were hacked because of the lack of strict security on the servers. Can't blame the Russians for that!
References:
Washington Post: Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.c3ac526d25f5
Obama Orders Investigation Into Election-Related Hacking - Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-09/obama-orders-investigation-into-election-related-hacking-attacks-iwhy9nww
Nov. 26: White House insists hackers didn't sway election, even as recount begins: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/white-house-hackers-election-recount-231849
Bolton: Russian hacks could actually have been by Obama administration: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/john-bolton-russia-hack-a-false-flag-232490
So, if the CIA is already sure that the Russians did it, why did Obama publicly order an investigation into the hacking on the very same day that the "Post" reported that fact. At the same time, he announces that he wants to have the results of that investigation on his desk before he leaves office. Also, why back in late November, did the White House insist that the hacking didn't sway the election? These facts alone, call into question the whole Russian-hacking story. Are we dealing with more fake news? It certainly makes the President look as if he was the last in his administration to know. Last I heard, the CIA still reports to Obama and he would have been briefed well before a "handful" of senators. Is it also possible, that it is a "false flag" operation, as claimed by Ambassador John Bolton, and that Obama could be behind the hacking and not the Russians?
One thing is certain. The DNC and the Hillary campaign emails were hacked because of the lack of strict security on the servers. Can't blame the Russians for that!
References:
Washington Post: Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.c3ac526d25f5
Obama Orders Investigation Into Election-Related Hacking - Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-09/obama-orders-investigation-into-election-related-hacking-attacks-iwhy9nww
Nov. 26: White House insists hackers didn't sway election, even as recount begins: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/white-house-hackers-election-recount-231849
Bolton: Russian hacks could actually have been by Obama administration: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/john-bolton-russia-hack-a-false-flag-232490
Monday, December 12, 2016
CIA: Russians Hacked the Election to Give Trump the Win
Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign email servers were hacked into by the Russians to help Trump win the election. And, that Vladimir Putin had personally directed the hack. This from an anonymous source that said a handful of U.S. Senators were secretly briefed on this in a closed door session by the CIA. But, the CIA also stressed that not all national security agencies agree on this.
So, once again, we're being fed a story from an anonymous source that can't be verified. We don't even know what Senators were briefed. In the era of "fake news"stories, this may just be another one. Before this latest story, the Washington Post did a hit-job on the Trump win on Thanksgiving by declaring that the Russians created "fake news" on hundreds of Internet sites in order to give Trump the win. One has to wonder if the "Post" has an agenda here, and why they are the sole provocateur on these Russian/Trump stories.
My biggest problem is believing the whole concept of Putin wanting Trump to win. It doesn't pass the smell test. I cannot imagine Putin preferring Trump because of all the ways in which Trump could hurt the Russian state.
First of all, Trump is a climate denier who believes that we should back off from restricting the usage of fossil fuels; especially oil. For Russia, this is a problem since their economy is so dependent on oil. Any increased production under a Trump presidency will lower the price and economically depress the Russian economy.
Unlike Hillary, Trump has promised to rebuild our military. Does anyone really think Putin wants the U.S.military to get stronger and more advanced? On top of that, Donald Trump is more likely to deploy a missile defense system in Europe. Something that Putin does not want to happen. Further, Trump has never once stated that he wouldn't put boots on the ground, and Hillary clearly stated that wouldn't happen in her administration. Also, Trump may ignore the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed by Obama without Senate approval as mandated by law. Thus we could be on track to rebuild our nuclear weapons power.
Lastly, Trump's temperament is a great unknown with respect to how he would deal with any conflicts that occur between Russia and the U.S. This could force Putin to give pause when attempting to take over another country or area such as Crimea. The Democrats and Hillary Clinton have long held the belief that Trump was the last person they wanted with his finger on the nuclear button.
What I'm more concerned about, is that this election could be totally discredited and Trump's win nullified. What then? Could Hillary sue in federal court and take the win away from Trump on the basis that he won unfairly? Would the whole election process have to be rerun? If so, would Obama remain in office while that process was completed. That is certainly a possibility since he has ordered a completed intelligence review on his desk before he leaves office. And, if the election is rerun, for sure, the voter turnout for the Democrats would be great. This is certainly a mess that our founding fathers never anticipated as they drafted the Constitution.
References:
Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.f799ed76f51b
CIA Concludes Russia Interfered with U.S. Election to Help Trump: http://fortune.com/2016/12/10/cia-concludes-russia-interfered-with-u-s-election-to-help-trump/
CIA: Russia Interfered With U.S. Elections: Politicians and pundits are calling for further investigation into the matter: http://www.snopes.com/2016/12/10/cia-russia-interfered-with-u-s-elections/
U.S. President Barack Obama ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cyber-russia-idUSKBN13Z05B?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
Oil, taxes — and big problems for Russia's economy - CNBC.com: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/01/oil-taxes--and-big-problems-for-russias-economy.html
So, once again, we're being fed a story from an anonymous source that can't be verified. We don't even know what Senators were briefed. In the era of "fake news"stories, this may just be another one. Before this latest story, the Washington Post did a hit-job on the Trump win on Thanksgiving by declaring that the Russians created "fake news" on hundreds of Internet sites in order to give Trump the win. One has to wonder if the "Post" has an agenda here, and why they are the sole provocateur on these Russian/Trump stories.
My biggest problem is believing the whole concept of Putin wanting Trump to win. It doesn't pass the smell test. I cannot imagine Putin preferring Trump because of all the ways in which Trump could hurt the Russian state.
First of all, Trump is a climate denier who believes that we should back off from restricting the usage of fossil fuels; especially oil. For Russia, this is a problem since their economy is so dependent on oil. Any increased production under a Trump presidency will lower the price and economically depress the Russian economy.
Unlike Hillary, Trump has promised to rebuild our military. Does anyone really think Putin wants the U.S.military to get stronger and more advanced? On top of that, Donald Trump is more likely to deploy a missile defense system in Europe. Something that Putin does not want to happen. Further, Trump has never once stated that he wouldn't put boots on the ground, and Hillary clearly stated that wouldn't happen in her administration. Also, Trump may ignore the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty signed by Obama without Senate approval as mandated by law. Thus we could be on track to rebuild our nuclear weapons power.
Lastly, Trump's temperament is a great unknown with respect to how he would deal with any conflicts that occur between Russia and the U.S. This could force Putin to give pause when attempting to take over another country or area such as Crimea. The Democrats and Hillary Clinton have long held the belief that Trump was the last person they wanted with his finger on the nuclear button.
What I'm more concerned about, is that this election could be totally discredited and Trump's win nullified. What then? Could Hillary sue in federal court and take the win away from Trump on the basis that he won unfairly? Would the whole election process have to be rerun? If so, would Obama remain in office while that process was completed. That is certainly a possibility since he has ordered a completed intelligence review on his desk before he leaves office. And, if the election is rerun, for sure, the voter turnout for the Democrats would be great. This is certainly a mess that our founding fathers never anticipated as they drafted the Constitution.
References:
Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-orders-review-of-russian-hacking-during-presidential-campaign/2016/12/09/31d6b300-be2a-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.f799ed76f51b
CIA Concludes Russia Interfered with U.S. Election to Help Trump: http://fortune.com/2016/12/10/cia-concludes-russia-interfered-with-u-s-election-to-help-trump/
CIA: Russia Interfered With U.S. Elections: Politicians and pundits are calling for further investigation into the matter: http://www.snopes.com/2016/12/10/cia-russia-interfered-with-u-s-elections/
U.S. President Barack Obama ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention into the 2016 election and deliver a report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, the White House said on Friday: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-cyber-russia-idUSKBN13Z05B?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social
Oil, taxes — and big problems for Russia's economy - CNBC.com: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/01/oil-taxes--and-big-problems-for-russias-economy.html
Friday, December 9, 2016
Why Obama Secretly Likes the Trump Win
While I don't have any data to prove it, my perception is that President Obama was the most public President in my lifetime. It seems as if not a day went by when he wasn't in front of the cameras giving a statement; signing an executive order; giving a news conference; meeting with some world leader; handing out an award; or giving a speech over some liberal agenda item that was near and dear to his heart. Honestly, he truly enjoyed the attention and the limelight. You could see it in his face and in his mannerisms; especially in front of an assemblage of adoring supporters. Sure, there were times when he was somber; as during a statement following a mass shooting. But, for the most part, being before the cameras and the press was always something he seemed to enjoy.
If Hillary had won, and the Senate, and maybe the House went Democrat, the former President nay have little to say about what was going on in Congress or the Presidency. His legacy would protected under a figurative third term. Basically, the on-camera limelight would be dimmed; if not gone. For someone who thrives on a very public lifestyle, that could be depressing.
But now with Trump's victory and both Houses of Congress remaining Republican his public persona may have a revival. Now he has a major political challenge to confront and respond to. He can stay firmly ensconced in the limelight. I can just see it. Every media agency will fight over interviews to get his opinion on what Trump or his right-wing Congress is up to. In essence, he will be in seventh heaven. It will be like a reprise of Sally Fields Oscar acceptance speech when she said "you like me...you really like me!"
Don't believe what Obama said a few days ago when he stated that he won't be a constant critic of his successor. Instead, take this statement as fact:
Reference:
Obama: I'll push back on Trump if needed to defend US ideals: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/20/obama-ill-push-back-on-trump-if-needed-to-defend-us-ideals.html
Obama may be a rare ex-president who stays in Washington: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-may-be-a-rare-ex-president-who-stays-in-washington/2013/11/29/81ba049c-5912-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html
If Hillary had won, and the Senate, and maybe the House went Democrat, the former President nay have little to say about what was going on in Congress or the Presidency. His legacy would protected under a figurative third term. Basically, the on-camera limelight would be dimmed; if not gone. For someone who thrives on a very public lifestyle, that could be depressing.
But now with Trump's victory and both Houses of Congress remaining Republican his public persona may have a revival. Now he has a major political challenge to confront and respond to. He can stay firmly ensconced in the limelight. I can just see it. Every media agency will fight over interviews to get his opinion on what Trump or his right-wing Congress is up to. In essence, he will be in seventh heaven. It will be like a reprise of Sally Fields Oscar acceptance speech when she said "you like me...you really like me!"
Don't believe what Obama said a few days ago when he stated that he won't be a constant critic of his successor. Instead, take this statement as fact:
"As an American citizen who cares deeply about our country, if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal or battle or go to core questions about our values and ideals, and if I think that it's necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, I'll examine it when it comes."Essentially, with those words, I am certain he will find himself with a constant need to "defend" "our values and ideals". The "our" in that statement isn't the American people. The "our" is him. I also think that the fact that he will remain in Washington D.C. after he leaves office is more proof that he wants to maintain an on-camera presence. It's an obsession with him. Just mark my words!
Reference:
Obama: I'll push back on Trump if needed to defend US ideals: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/20/obama-ill-push-back-on-trump-if-needed-to-defend-us-ideals.html
Obama may be a rare ex-president who stays in Washington: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-may-be-a-rare-ex-president-who-stays-in-washington/2013/11/29/81ba049c-5912-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Conservatives With A Better Understanding Of Science Are Climate Skeptics
From the title of this blog, one might think what is being said is that "conservatives" have a "better understanding of science" (and math) and are therefore more likely to be "climate skeptics". But no. According to research by Dan M. Kahan and Jonathan C. Corbin, conservatives who are open-minded and have a better understanding of math and science, actually results in a "perverse" belief in climate change denial.
This is almost laughable.
Just think about it. The inverse of what these two researchers are actually saying is that climate alarmists are closed-minded with little understanding of math and science. Also, it appears that a belief is only "perverse" if it goes against the beliefs of those closed-minded, math and science illiterates. And, by the way. Who appointed these two researchers as the arbiters of what is "perverse"?
More importantly, the study dispels the claim by Democrats and climate alarmists that conservatives and Republicans are those who don't understand science. Back in January, Hollywood climate alarmist, Leonardo DiCaprio publicly said this: “Anyone that doesn’t believe that climate change is happening doesn’t believe in science.” And, many others have said the same thing. Bernie Sanders said this about Republicans in a Senate committee tirade in early November of this year: "We have an entire political party who is rejecting basic science!"
So, the bottom line is, that the Republicans are better educated in math and science; are too open-minded; and have a perverse belief in climate change denial. While, on the other hand, people like DiCaprio and Bernie Sanders are closed minded science and math ignoramuses who have an excellent, non-perverted grasp of climate change. Maybe, Kahan and Corbin should rethink their research findings.
References:
NEW PAPER: CLIMATE SKEPTICISM IS A ‘PERVERSE’ EFFECT OF ‘ACTIVELY OPEN-MINDED THINKING’ http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/12/02/new-paper-climate-skepticism-is-a-perverse-effect-of-actively-open-minded-thinking/
Leonardo DiCaprio Declares ‘Argument Over’ On Global Warming: http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/07/leonardo-dicaprio-global-warming-skeptics-science/
Only one major political party in the world denies climate change, and it's in charge of the most important political body in the world: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/why-republicans-still-reject-the-science-of-global-warming-w448023
pb
This is almost laughable.
Just think about it. The inverse of what these two researchers are actually saying is that climate alarmists are closed-minded with little understanding of math and science. Also, it appears that a belief is only "perverse" if it goes against the beliefs of those closed-minded, math and science illiterates. And, by the way. Who appointed these two researchers as the arbiters of what is "perverse"?
More importantly, the study dispels the claim by Democrats and climate alarmists that conservatives and Republicans are those who don't understand science. Back in January, Hollywood climate alarmist, Leonardo DiCaprio publicly said this: “Anyone that doesn’t believe that climate change is happening doesn’t believe in science.” And, many others have said the same thing. Bernie Sanders said this about Republicans in a Senate committee tirade in early November of this year: "We have an entire political party who is rejecting basic science!"
So, the bottom line is, that the Republicans are better educated in math and science; are too open-minded; and have a perverse belief in climate change denial. While, on the other hand, people like DiCaprio and Bernie Sanders are closed minded science and math ignoramuses who have an excellent, non-perverted grasp of climate change. Maybe, Kahan and Corbin should rethink their research findings.
References:
NEW PAPER: CLIMATE SKEPTICISM IS A ‘PERVERSE’ EFFECT OF ‘ACTIVELY OPEN-MINDED THINKING’ http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/12/02/new-paper-climate-skepticism-is-a-perverse-effect-of-actively-open-minded-thinking/
Leonardo DiCaprio Declares ‘Argument Over’ On Global Warming: http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/07/leonardo-dicaprio-global-warming-skeptics-science/
Only one major political party in the world denies climate change, and it's in charge of the most important political body in the world: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/why-republicans-still-reject-the-science-of-global-warming-w448023
pb
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
The Silliness of Not Talking to Taiwan
Recently, President-elect, Donald Trump, took a phone call from the President of Taiwan, and the Democrats and liberal media (and China) went berserk over it. Even going so far as to call Trump stupid for violating a long held official non-diplomatic status. A status which is, in itself, a charade; we know it, and so does China, which claims that Taiwan is their property and subject to their government's regulation. However, in 1979, the then-President Jimmy Carter signed the Taiwan Relations Act into law, in order to establish an unofficial diplomatic status with them and conduct relations through a "front" organization called the American Institute of Taiwan; located in Washington, D.C.
Therefore, we do not have an official relation with Taiwan, but we sure seem to do a lot of business with that country. "Officially", Taiwan is our 9th largest trading partner. We sell them about $26 billion in goods, and,they, in turn, send us about $41 billion in Taiwan-made products. Additionally, many of our major multinational companies have operations there. Companies such as IBM, 3M, and Microsoft. On top of everything else, the United States has sold Taiwan billions of dollars worth of military equipment under every President since 1979, in order to help them defend themselves against China. You don't think that hasn't pissed China off more than a few minutes of conversation between Donald Trump and Taiwan's President?
So, just maybe, Donald Trump will finally expose the folly of not dealing with Taiwan directly. I hope so, because this nonsense of not talking to them is really, really silly. By the way. I wish the Washington Post would take a single stand on this (note the references below). Even going so far as to say it was "brilliant"! Wow! That's saying a lot from a noted liberal media outlet.
References:
Washington Post: Trump speaks with Taiwanese president, a major break with decades of U.S. policy on China: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-spoke-with-taiwanese-president-a-major-break-with-decades-of-us-policy-on-china/2016/12/02/b98d3a22-b8ca-11e6-959c-172c82123976_story.html?utm_term=.d34c21b5f16e
Washington Post: Why people are making such a big deal about the Trump-Taiwan call: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/05/why-people-are-making-such-a-big-deal-about-the-trump-taiwan-call/?utm_term=.8bbef408152e
Washington Post: Trump's Taiwan call wasn't a blunder. It was brilliant: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-taiwan-call-wasnt-a-blunder-it-was-brilliant/2016/12/05/d10169a2-bb00-11e6-ac85-094a21c44abc_story.html?utm_term=.fc59b878d738
Washington Post: Trump’s Taiwan phone call was long planned, say people who were involved: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-taiwan-phone-call-was-weeks-in-the-planning-say-people-who-were-involved/2016/12/04/f8be4b0c-ba4e-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.f12d06aa85c9
Taiwan–United States relations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan%E2%80%93United_States_relations
U.S. Trade with Taiwan: https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s.+exports+to+taiwan&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
U.S. Companies in Taiwan: http://www.ustaiwanconnect.org/US-Taiwan-Relations/Investment/U-S-Companies-in-Taiwan
List of US arms sales to Taiwan - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_arms_sales_to_Taiwan
Therefore, we do not have an official relation with Taiwan, but we sure seem to do a lot of business with that country. "Officially", Taiwan is our 9th largest trading partner. We sell them about $26 billion in goods, and,they, in turn, send us about $41 billion in Taiwan-made products. Additionally, many of our major multinational companies have operations there. Companies such as IBM, 3M, and Microsoft. On top of everything else, the United States has sold Taiwan billions of dollars worth of military equipment under every President since 1979, in order to help them defend themselves against China. You don't think that hasn't pissed China off more than a few minutes of conversation between Donald Trump and Taiwan's President?
So, just maybe, Donald Trump will finally expose the folly of not dealing with Taiwan directly. I hope so, because this nonsense of not talking to them is really, really silly. By the way. I wish the Washington Post would take a single stand on this (note the references below). Even going so far as to say it was "brilliant"! Wow! That's saying a lot from a noted liberal media outlet.
References:
Washington Post: Trump speaks with Taiwanese president, a major break with decades of U.S. policy on China: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-spoke-with-taiwanese-president-a-major-break-with-decades-of-us-policy-on-china/2016/12/02/b98d3a22-b8ca-11e6-959c-172c82123976_story.html?utm_term=.d34c21b5f16e
Washington Post: Why people are making such a big deal about the Trump-Taiwan call: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/12/05/why-people-are-making-such-a-big-deal-about-the-trump-taiwan-call/?utm_term=.8bbef408152e
Washington Post: Trump's Taiwan call wasn't a blunder. It was brilliant: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-taiwan-call-wasnt-a-blunder-it-was-brilliant/2016/12/05/d10169a2-bb00-11e6-ac85-094a21c44abc_story.html?utm_term=.fc59b878d738
Washington Post: Trump’s Taiwan phone call was long planned, say people who were involved: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-taiwan-phone-call-was-weeks-in-the-planning-say-people-who-were-involved/2016/12/04/f8be4b0c-ba4e-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.f12d06aa85c9
Taiwan–United States relations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan%E2%80%93United_States_relations
U.S. Trade with Taiwan: https://www.google.com/search?q=u.s.+exports+to+taiwan&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
U.S. Companies in Taiwan: http://www.ustaiwanconnect.org/US-Taiwan-Relations/Investment/U-S-Companies-in-Taiwan
List of US arms sales to Taiwan - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_arms_sales_to_Taiwan
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Criticizing the Carrier Deal, Shows Why Democrats Lost
One thousand jobs saved by a man who has yet to take the oath of office has Democrats reeling in agony. Most notably, Larry Summers, predicted "Trump’s Carrier deal could permanently damage American capitalism". This former Clinton appointee and Obama economics advisor, also just following Trump's win, warned that a "badly designed" infrastructure plan "will only hurt the working class". So, there you have it, Trump's focus on jobs is bad for capitalism and bad for America's working class.
And, it doesn't stop there. Dozens of left-leaning media types are pumping out negative commentaries as noted by these samplings of headlines that appeared in one "positive" from Investor's Business Daily (IBD):
My take on all the criticism of Trump and the Carrier Deal by Democrats is somewhat different. I think that all the negative commentary only shows that Democrats really don't care about the American worker. Instead it's all about sparring over politics. Trump won on a pro-worker agenda and the Carrier deal was just a part of it. This is why Trump won so many blue collar votes. The Democrats just don't get that.
References:
Trump’s Carrier deal could permanently damage American capitalism: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/02/why-trumps-carrier-deal-is-bad-for-america/?utm_term=.95e00eef54ec
A badly designed US stimulus will only hurt the working class: http://larrysummers.com/2016/11/14/a-badly-designed-us-stimulus-will-only-hurt-working-class/
No, Obama, you presided over a loss of manufacturing jobs, and failed to deliver on exports: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/30/no-obama-you-presided-over-loss-manufacturing-jobs/
Manufacturing Sector Loses 4,000 Jobs in November - CNS News: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/manufacturing-sector-loses-4000-jobs-november
Here's Why Trump's Carrier Deal Is So Important: http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/heres-why-trumps-carrier-deal-is-so-important/
Donald Trump’s support from blue-collar Colorado voters led to upset in a Democratic stronghold: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/11/donald-trumps-support-from-blue-collar-colorado-voters-led-to-upset-in-a-democratic-stronghold/
pb
And, it doesn't stop there. Dozens of left-leaning media types are pumping out negative commentaries as noted by these samplings of headlines that appeared in one "positive" from Investor's Business Daily (IBD):
"Trump's Carrier Victory Is the Economy's Loss"Even the White House chimed in by claiming that this is just a fraction of the manufacturing jobs created by Obama, which, by the way, is a complete lie, since under Obama, more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs just went poof! And, in the latest employment report, another 4,000 manufacturing jobs were lost. How does that square with Trump saving 1000 Carrier jobs? Or, the promise by Obama that he would create 1 million manufacturing jobs in his second term.
"Trump's Carrier deal is right out of Putin's playbook"
"Is Trump's Deal With Carrier A Form Of Crony Capitalism?"
"Trump Cheered for Carrier Deal Even as Other Jobs Are Trimmed"
"Bernie Sanders: Donald Trump 'Has Endangered' U.S. Jobs With Carrier Deal"
My take on all the criticism of Trump and the Carrier Deal by Democrats is somewhat different. I think that all the negative commentary only shows that Democrats really don't care about the American worker. Instead it's all about sparring over politics. Trump won on a pro-worker agenda and the Carrier deal was just a part of it. This is why Trump won so many blue collar votes. The Democrats just don't get that.
References:
Trump’s Carrier deal could permanently damage American capitalism: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/02/why-trumps-carrier-deal-is-bad-for-america/?utm_term=.95e00eef54ec
A badly designed US stimulus will only hurt the working class: http://larrysummers.com/2016/11/14/a-badly-designed-us-stimulus-will-only-hurt-working-class/
No, Obama, you presided over a loss of manufacturing jobs, and failed to deliver on exports: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/30/no-obama-you-presided-over-loss-manufacturing-jobs/
Manufacturing Sector Loses 4,000 Jobs in November - CNS News: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/manufacturing-sector-loses-4000-jobs-november
Here's Why Trump's Carrier Deal Is So Important: http://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/heres-why-trumps-carrier-deal-is-so-important/
Donald Trump’s support from blue-collar Colorado voters led to upset in a Democratic stronghold: http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/11/donald-trumps-support-from-blue-collar-colorado-voters-led-to-upset-in-a-democratic-stronghold/
pb
Monday, December 5, 2016
Obama Calls for the Control of the Internet and Communications
During a recent press conference with Angela Merkel, President Obama blamed the rise of Trump on the Internet and "communications" (Newspapers? Radio? TV?); claiming that these technologies need to be controlled because they are "disruptive". Disruptive to who? Him? The Democrats? Or, to those that call themselves globalists, who believe in open borders; a unified world government; and a single global currency?
The fact is, that Obama, once again, wants to control conservative talk.
Of course, he is talking about Fox News. In 2010, he said they had a "destructive" viewpoint. In May of 2015, at a conference at Georgetown University, when talking about the fact that the media must be controlled, he said this: "I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant menu -- they will find folks who make me mad..." Just recently, he went after them again when he claimed that Hillary Clinton's loss was due to the fact that Fox News is in "every bar and restaurant". Really?. Most bars I've gone to have sports on, and most restaurants play music, not Fox News. He really needs to get out more often and see what the real world is like!
I suppose that this blog as well, needs to be controlled. And, what about talk radio? Also I'm certain that he thinks Brietbart, Mediaite, and a whole host of other conservative websites must be sternly dealt with. In fact, any form of communications that doesn't show Barack Obama in a "good light" should be eradicated; or at least converted to a liberal format. Since he has been in office, he has used his appointees on the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission to shut down conservative speech of any kind.
But now he's even gotten Facebook and Google involved in limiting free speech. Both run by Obama and Democratic supporters, they are now in the process of cleansing the internet of supposed false/fake news. The question here is, who elected them the arbitrators of what constitutes fake news. And, where is the line drawn between opinion pieces and so-called fake news. Facebook and Google never had a problem allowing searches and stories when Harry Reid falsely claimed that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years; for which Politifact give dirty Harry a full "pants on fire" rating.
But the media is full of false stories. Do a Google search on NBC and you will find dozens of occurrences by that supposedly major new agency (and Obama Supporter) selectively editing stories to favor a "Democratic" viewpoint. Then, we have the darling of the liberal left, Katie Couric, who selectively edited a documentary on gun control in order to make gun ownership advocates look like uninformed idiots.
The bottom line is that Obama doesn't really want to control the internet and communications on a fair basis. He only wants to control those aspects that he doesn't like. Of course, forget about that little thing called the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech. Even if it is false. Look at how many incorrect statements our politicians make. For example, Obama's "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."
Finally, the rise of Donald Trump could best be explained as the country's rejection of excessive "political correctness" which is constantly encouraged by Democrats and by Barack Obama himself. The President still can't say the words "Islamic Terrorists". No major media outlet has even reported on Obama calling for the "control" of the Internet and Communications. That is a type of abuse, in itself?
References:
President Obama Blames the Internet for the Rise of Trump – Technology Needs “More Control”: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/11/18/president-obama-blames-the-internet-for-the-rise-of-trump-technology-needs-more-control/
Obama call to change ‘how the media reports’ raises concerns: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/13/obama-call-to-change-how-media-reports-raises-concerns.html
Obama Says Fox News Promotes ‘Destructive’ Viewpoint: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/obama-says-fox-news-promotes-destructive-viewpoint/
Obama Slams Fox News for Being On In 'Every Bar and Restaurant,' Blames Network for Hillary's Defeat: http://ijr.com/wildfire/2016/11/746353-president-obama-slams-fox-news-for-being-on-in-every-bar-and-restaurant-blames-it-for-hillarys-defeat/
FEC Dems lay groundwork to ban Fox, WSJ political coverage: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fec-dems-lay-groundwork-to-ban-fox-wsj-political-coverage/article/2603177
FEC chair warns that conservative media like Drudge Report and Sean Hannity face regulation --- like PACs: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fec-chair-warns-that-conservative-media-like-drudge-report-and-sean-hannity-face-regulation-like-pacs/article/2548163
Articles: Obama Declares War on Conservative Talk Radio: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2008/11/obama_declares_war_on_conserva.html
FCC Commissioner Warns of Federal Regulation of Online Speech: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/20896-fcc-commissioner-warns-of-federal-regulation-of-online-speech
Google and Facebook Take Aim at Fake News Sites: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/technology/google-will-ban-websites-that-host-fake-news-from-using-its-ad-service.html
Harry Reid says anonymous source told him Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/06/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-anonymous-source-told-him-mitt-rom/
Katie Couric Regrets "Misleading" Editing on Gun Doc: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/katie-couric-regrets-misleading-editing-898303
Google Search: nbc selective editing: https://www.google.com/search?q=nbc+selective+editing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
pb
The fact is, that Obama, once again, wants to control conservative talk.
Of course, he is talking about Fox News. In 2010, he said they had a "destructive" viewpoint. In May of 2015, at a conference at Georgetown University, when talking about the fact that the media must be controlled, he said this: "I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant menu -- they will find folks who make me mad..." Just recently, he went after them again when he claimed that Hillary Clinton's loss was due to the fact that Fox News is in "every bar and restaurant". Really?. Most bars I've gone to have sports on, and most restaurants play music, not Fox News. He really needs to get out more often and see what the real world is like!
I suppose that this blog as well, needs to be controlled. And, what about talk radio? Also I'm certain that he thinks Brietbart, Mediaite, and a whole host of other conservative websites must be sternly dealt with. In fact, any form of communications that doesn't show Barack Obama in a "good light" should be eradicated; or at least converted to a liberal format. Since he has been in office, he has used his appointees on the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Election Commission to shut down conservative speech of any kind.
But now he's even gotten Facebook and Google involved in limiting free speech. Both run by Obama and Democratic supporters, they are now in the process of cleansing the internet of supposed false/fake news. The question here is, who elected them the arbitrators of what constitutes fake news. And, where is the line drawn between opinion pieces and so-called fake news. Facebook and Google never had a problem allowing searches and stories when Harry Reid falsely claimed that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years; for which Politifact give dirty Harry a full "pants on fire" rating.
But the media is full of false stories. Do a Google search on NBC and you will find dozens of occurrences by that supposedly major new agency (and Obama Supporter) selectively editing stories to favor a "Democratic" viewpoint. Then, we have the darling of the liberal left, Katie Couric, who selectively edited a documentary on gun control in order to make gun ownership advocates look like uninformed idiots.
The bottom line is that Obama doesn't really want to control the internet and communications on a fair basis. He only wants to control those aspects that he doesn't like. Of course, forget about that little thing called the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of speech. Even if it is false. Look at how many incorrect statements our politicians make. For example, Obama's "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor."
Finally, the rise of Donald Trump could best be explained as the country's rejection of excessive "political correctness" which is constantly encouraged by Democrats and by Barack Obama himself. The President still can't say the words "Islamic Terrorists". No major media outlet has even reported on Obama calling for the "control" of the Internet and Communications. That is a type of abuse, in itself?
References:
President Obama Blames the Internet for the Rise of Trump – Technology Needs “More Control”: https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/11/18/president-obama-blames-the-internet-for-the-rise-of-trump-technology-needs-more-control/
Obama call to change ‘how the media reports’ raises concerns: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/13/obama-call-to-change-how-media-reports-raises-concerns.html
Obama Says Fox News Promotes ‘Destructive’ Viewpoint: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/obama-says-fox-news-promotes-destructive-viewpoint/
Obama Slams Fox News for Being On In 'Every Bar and Restaurant,' Blames Network for Hillary's Defeat: http://ijr.com/wildfire/2016/11/746353-president-obama-slams-fox-news-for-being-on-in-every-bar-and-restaurant-blames-it-for-hillarys-defeat/
FEC Dems lay groundwork to ban Fox, WSJ political coverage: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fec-dems-lay-groundwork-to-ban-fox-wsj-political-coverage/article/2603177
FEC chair warns that conservative media like Drudge Report and Sean Hannity face regulation --- like PACs: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fec-chair-warns-that-conservative-media-like-drudge-report-and-sean-hannity-face-regulation-like-pacs/article/2548163
Articles: Obama Declares War on Conservative Talk Radio: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2008/11/obama_declares_war_on_conserva.html
FCC Commissioner Warns of Federal Regulation of Online Speech: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/20896-fcc-commissioner-warns-of-federal-regulation-of-online-speech
Google and Facebook Take Aim at Fake News Sites: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/technology/google-will-ban-websites-that-host-fake-news-from-using-its-ad-service.html
Harry Reid says anonymous source told him Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/06/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-anonymous-source-told-him-mitt-rom/
Katie Couric Regrets "Misleading" Editing on Gun Doc: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/katie-couric-regrets-misleading-editing-898303
Google Search: nbc selective editing: https://www.google.com/search?q=nbc+selective+editing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
pb
Friday, December 2, 2016
Elizabeth Warren is Delusional
If you listen to this speech on the Senate floor by Elizabeth Warren (the first few minutes of the following video), you would think the Democrats are somehow in the majority:
Warren seems unable to come to grips with the fact that most of the country does not support her or her party. She seems to think that the fact Hillary Clinton has a 2 million popular vote lead, is somehow, proof that she is in the majority. However, if you separate out the 2.8 million lead that she has in California, Trump would win the popular vote. Trump won the popular vote in three-fifths of the states. California does not represent the nation as a whole. In the last 8 years, the Democratic party has suffered massive losses both in Washington and across the country (as noted in my two referenced blog entries below).
Elizabeth Warren has proven why America is tired of the Democrat's bulls**t; constantly certain that they know what is best for the country.
References:
Not able to comprehend that the old guard of the Democratic party has put it in the worst shape in 80 years, the House Democrats have, once again, elected Nancy Pelosi as their Minority Leader: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/12/pelosi-minority-leader-again.html
I don’t want Trump to succeed. I want him to fail spectacularly...What gives me fleeting hope is the knowledge that millions of Americans — a majority even — feel as I do: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/11/democrats-want-trump-to-fail.html
Facts Matter: Four Responses to 'Hillary Won the Popular Vote' http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2016/11/30/but-hillary-won-the-popular-vote-five-responses-n2252368
Warren seems unable to come to grips with the fact that most of the country does not support her or her party. She seems to think that the fact Hillary Clinton has a 2 million popular vote lead, is somehow, proof that she is in the majority. However, if you separate out the 2.8 million lead that she has in California, Trump would win the popular vote. Trump won the popular vote in three-fifths of the states. California does not represent the nation as a whole. In the last 8 years, the Democratic party has suffered massive losses both in Washington and across the country (as noted in my two referenced blog entries below).
Elizabeth Warren has proven why America is tired of the Democrat's bulls**t; constantly certain that they know what is best for the country.
References:
Not able to comprehend that the old guard of the Democratic party has put it in the worst shape in 80 years, the House Democrats have, once again, elected Nancy Pelosi as their Minority Leader: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/12/pelosi-minority-leader-again.html
I don’t want Trump to succeed. I want him to fail spectacularly...What gives me fleeting hope is the knowledge that millions of Americans — a majority even — feel as I do: http://cuttingthroughthefog.blogspot.com/2016/11/democrats-want-trump-to-fail.html
Facts Matter: Four Responses to 'Hillary Won the Popular Vote' http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2016/11/30/but-hillary-won-the-popular-vote-five-responses-n2252368
Thursday, December 1, 2016
.Pelosi the Minority Leader, Again?
Not able to comprehend that the old guard of the Democratic party has put it in the worst shape in 80 years, the House Democrats have, once again, elected Nancy Pelosi as their Minority Leader. Or, to use a sports analogy, they rehired a coach with a zero win record for the last eight years.
It wasn't only Washington that experienced the Republican tsunami over the last eight years, it was a sweeping rejection of the Democratic Party across the entire nation. Twenty-nine percent of the Democrats in the House of Representatives come from just two states: California and New York. Add Massachusetts and they are up to 34%; and two-thirds of the Dems in the House come from just 13 states that line our two coasts as noted by the blue states on the following map:
All the white states represent the farmers, blue collar, and manufacturing workers that the Democrats claim they support. Yet, those people in the so-called fly-over states understand that the Democratic party has forgotten them. That is why the Democrats have literally seen the majority they had in the state legislatures flip since Obama took office and while Pelosi was in charge of the House Democrats:
The simple fact is that the policies of the Democrats of taxing and regulation aren't putting food on people's tables or making "their" lives better. Former Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, said it best: "All politics is local". You just can't legislate to satisfy the liberal base in New York and California while ignoring the heartland, where life is much different, and expect to continue to win. But, the reelection of Pelosi -- a California Democrat -- simply sends the message that the Democrats will continue with more of the same. To -- I am sure -- the glee of the Republican Party.
References:
Pelosi holds onto leadership: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/308034-pelosi-holds-onto-leadership
Source of First Graphic: Rep. Tim Ryan: Republicans Tying Democrats To Pelosi "Sank Us"; "We Are Not A National Party Right Now" http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/27/pelosi_challenger_tim_ryan_promotes_meditation_mindfullness_education_mindset.html
Source of Second Graphic: Dems hit new low in state legislatures: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/306736-dems-hit-new-low-in-state-legislatures
Nearly one-third of House Democrats are from California and New York: https://pubsecrets.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/nearly-one-third-of-house-democrats-are-from-california-and-new-york-hmmm/
Republican Party the Strongest It's Been in 80 Years: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/11/17/republican_party_the_strongest_its_been_in_80_years.html
pb
It wasn't only Washington that experienced the Republican tsunami over the last eight years, it was a sweeping rejection of the Democratic Party across the entire nation. Twenty-nine percent of the Democrats in the House of Representatives come from just two states: California and New York. Add Massachusetts and they are up to 34%; and two-thirds of the Dems in the House come from just 13 states that line our two coasts as noted by the blue states on the following map:
All the white states represent the farmers, blue collar, and manufacturing workers that the Democrats claim they support. Yet, those people in the so-called fly-over states understand that the Democratic party has forgotten them. That is why the Democrats have literally seen the majority they had in the state legislatures flip since Obama took office and while Pelosi was in charge of the House Democrats:
References:
Pelosi holds onto leadership: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/308034-pelosi-holds-onto-leadership
Source of First Graphic: Rep. Tim Ryan: Republicans Tying Democrats To Pelosi "Sank Us"; "We Are Not A National Party Right Now" http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/27/pelosi_challenger_tim_ryan_promotes_meditation_mindfullness_education_mindset.html
Source of Second Graphic: Dems hit new low in state legislatures: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/306736-dems-hit-new-low-in-state-legislatures
Nearly one-third of House Democrats are from California and New York: https://pubsecrets.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/nearly-one-third-of-house-democrats-are-from-california-and-new-york-hmmm/
Republican Party the Strongest It's Been in 80 Years: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2016/11/17/republican_party_the_strongest_its_been_in_80_years.html
pb
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
The Left is Still in Denial as to Why Hillary Lost
The political left and the left-wing media are still in disbelief that Hillary Clinton lost the election. But, instead of looking inwards for answers, they continue to float the idea that "conspiracies" were responsible.
Just a few days ago, the New York Magazine reported that a group of "prominent computer scientists and election lawyers" believed that the loss was a result of hacked voting machines in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania -- citing irregularities such as lower vote counts where voting machines were used. Then in that same article, the confidence in their hacking theory is immediately tempered by this statement:
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about "fake news". The implication is that somehow, the political right is the primary "faker" of news stories intended to hurt Hillary Clinton. Well, the above stories are only a few from the mainstream media that are solely based on speculation and not fact, in an effort to undermine President-elect Donald Trump. Maybe the agencies writing these types of stories should think about the fact that a lot of people may only read a paragraph or two of a long story and come to the conclusion the voting machines were hacked; not reading further to understand that this was simply an unproven assumption. Obviously, "fake news" comes in all flavors.
References:
Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/activists-urge-hillary-clinton-to-challenge-election-results.html
Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russian-propaganda-effort-helped-spread-fake-news-during-election-experts-say/2016/11/24/793903b6-8a40-4ca9-b712-716af66098fe_story.html
Clinton Refuses to Disavow Hacked Excerpts From Paid Speeches: http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/clinton-refuses-to-disavow/2016/10/08/id/752349/
Hillary Clinton Adviser Suggests Donald Trump Campaign Knew About Hacked Emails: http://time.com/4528049/hillary-clinton-john-podesta-emails-hackers-russia/
Just a few days ago, the New York Magazine reported that a group of "prominent computer scientists and election lawyers" believed that the loss was a result of hacked voting machines in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania -- citing irregularities such as lower vote counts where voting machines were used. Then in that same article, the confidence in their hacking theory is immediately tempered by this statement:
"While it’s important to note the group has not found proof of hacking or manipulation, they are arguing to the campaign that the suspicious pattern merits an independent review."Just last Friday, the Washington Post theorized that in fact a Russian propaganda effort threw the election; along with the hacking of emails from the Clinton camp and the Democratic National Committee. However, as above, the veracity of that story was also weakened when the following was written:
"There is no way to know whether the Russian campaign proved decisive in electing Trump, but researchers portray it as part of a broadly effective strategy of sowing distrust in U.S. democracy and its leaders."The only problem with the above "speculation" is that team Clinton members never disavowed any of the hacked emails as not being "real". All they ever said was that they were being released because Putin wants Trump to be President. Hillary's campaign chief, John Podesta, even "suggests" that Trump had before-hand knowledge of the email hack and data dump in the last few weeks. "Suggests" is not a proven fact, but Time.com thought the story was fit to print.
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about "fake news". The implication is that somehow, the political right is the primary "faker" of news stories intended to hurt Hillary Clinton. Well, the above stories are only a few from the mainstream media that are solely based on speculation and not fact, in an effort to undermine President-elect Donald Trump. Maybe the agencies writing these types of stories should think about the fact that a lot of people may only read a paragraph or two of a long story and come to the conclusion the voting machines were hacked; not reading further to understand that this was simply an unproven assumption. Obviously, "fake news" comes in all flavors.
References:
Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/activists-urge-hillary-clinton-to-challenge-election-results.html
Russian propaganda effort helped spread ‘fake news’ during election, experts say: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/russian-propaganda-effort-helped-spread-fake-news-during-election-experts-say/2016/11/24/793903b6-8a40-4ca9-b712-716af66098fe_story.html
Clinton Refuses to Disavow Hacked Excerpts From Paid Speeches: http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/clinton-refuses-to-disavow/2016/10/08/id/752349/
Hillary Clinton Adviser Suggests Donald Trump Campaign Knew About Hacked Emails: http://time.com/4528049/hillary-clinton-john-podesta-emails-hackers-russia/
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Could the Recount Have Been Pre-Planned?
While reading a number of articles regarding the recounting of votes in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, I ran across one that intrigued me the most. Written by Richard Baehr at the American Thinker, he surmised that the whole purpose of the recount is to run out the clock on determining the final winner in those three states so their electoral votes are dropped from the final count. Thus, Donald Trump would be deprived of the win because he would not achieve the requisite 270 votes. As a result, it would be up to the Republican controlled House and Senate to determine the final victory for Trump and Pence. In doing so, the election results would be delegitimized in the minds of millions of Americans.
That is an interesting viewpoint. But, when you think about it, the groundwork for the recount -- based on the hacking of the voting apparatus of several states -- was laid weeks before the election. Back in August, the FBI alerted us that the voting systems in Illinois and Arizona were under assault. Then, on October 1st, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that voting systems in 20 states had been targeted. Thus, the stage was set for a potential recount.
Its also interesting that Jill Stein filed for recounts in those three aforementioned states on the basis that she wants to make sure the voting system wasn't hacked. But, what about the two states -- Illinois and Arizona -- that the FBI already said were under attack. Instead she went after three states that went to Trump and that, in total, would deny him a win if the manual counting of ballots went beyond the cutoff date for confirming a winner in those states. I am sure this is the case. A week ago, we were told that Stein had nearly $5 million in support of a recount in all three states. Yet, she waited until the very last minute before filling the petition in Wisconsin. Thus, insuring the least amount of time left to conduct a recount. As of this writing, she still hasn't filed in Michigan and Pennsylvania; and, I am sure that it is for the same "delay of game" reason.
However, the biggest thing that makes me think that this is both political and pre-planned, is that Jill Stein is driving this. Even if all 50 states were recounted, she couldn't win. In my opinion, if Clinton feels cheated of a win, she should be the one driving it. But, she isn't. For this reason, I think her dirty fingers are all over this effort. Further, as most strategists have noted, recounts of vote differences of the magnitude in those three states have almost a zero chance of reversing the win. Because of this, the theory that the intent to delay the results past the drop dead dates for the Electoral College is even more believable.
If in fact, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are dropped from the Electoral College vote count and Trump is denied an outright win by an ongoing recount effort, it will be a travesty created by taking advantage of a weakness in our voting system by someone who had zero chance of winning.
References:
The Democrats’ real strategy in launching recounts: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/11/the_democrats_real_strategy_in_launching_recounts.html
FBI alert sparks fears that state voting systems are under digital assault: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/fbi-states-voting-systems-digital-assualt-227523
DHS Confirms Hackers Targeted Election Systems in 20 States: http://fortune.com/2016/10/01/hackers-targeted-election-systems/
The cost of the Jill Stein recount effort keeps going up: http://hotair.com/archives/2016/11/25/the-cost-of-the-jill-stein-recount-effort-keeps-going-up/
United States presidential election, 2016: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016
Recount Unlikely to Change the Outcome: https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/2016-u-s-presidential-election/recount-unlikely-to-change-the-outcome/
That is an interesting viewpoint. But, when you think about it, the groundwork for the recount -- based on the hacking of the voting apparatus of several states -- was laid weeks before the election. Back in August, the FBI alerted us that the voting systems in Illinois and Arizona were under assault. Then, on October 1st, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that voting systems in 20 states had been targeted. Thus, the stage was set for a potential recount.
Its also interesting that Jill Stein filed for recounts in those three aforementioned states on the basis that she wants to make sure the voting system wasn't hacked. But, what about the two states -- Illinois and Arizona -- that the FBI already said were under attack. Instead she went after three states that went to Trump and that, in total, would deny him a win if the manual counting of ballots went beyond the cutoff date for confirming a winner in those states. I am sure this is the case. A week ago, we were told that Stein had nearly $5 million in support of a recount in all three states. Yet, she waited until the very last minute before filling the petition in Wisconsin. Thus, insuring the least amount of time left to conduct a recount. As of this writing, she still hasn't filed in Michigan and Pennsylvania; and, I am sure that it is for the same "delay of game" reason.
However, the biggest thing that makes me think that this is both political and pre-planned, is that Jill Stein is driving this. Even if all 50 states were recounted, she couldn't win. In my opinion, if Clinton feels cheated of a win, she should be the one driving it. But, she isn't. For this reason, I think her dirty fingers are all over this effort. Further, as most strategists have noted, recounts of vote differences of the magnitude in those three states have almost a zero chance of reversing the win. Because of this, the theory that the intent to delay the results past the drop dead dates for the Electoral College is even more believable.
If in fact, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are dropped from the Electoral College vote count and Trump is denied an outright win by an ongoing recount effort, it will be a travesty created by taking advantage of a weakness in our voting system by someone who had zero chance of winning.
References:
The Democrats’ real strategy in launching recounts: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/11/the_democrats_real_strategy_in_launching_recounts.html
FBI alert sparks fears that state voting systems are under digital assault: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/fbi-states-voting-systems-digital-assualt-227523
DHS Confirms Hackers Targeted Election Systems in 20 States: http://fortune.com/2016/10/01/hackers-targeted-election-systems/
The cost of the Jill Stein recount effort keeps going up: http://hotair.com/archives/2016/11/25/the-cost-of-the-jill-stein-recount-effort-keeps-going-up/
United States presidential election, 2016: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2016
Recount Unlikely to Change the Outcome: https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/2016-u-s-presidential-election/recount-unlikely-to-change-the-outcome/
Monday, November 28, 2016
Obama: History Will Judge Castro?
Following the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Barack Obama said this:
He murdered and jailed dissidents. Thousand of Cubans both risked their lives and gave their lives to escape his tyranny to get to the U.S.. The regime strictly controls what Cubans read, hear on the radio, and see on state-run TV. Human rights groups consider him and his regime abusers of its own citizens. Outside of the Disney Land appearance of a cleaned up Havana that Fidel created for the benefit of tourists, the rest of the country lives in slum conditions and extreme poverty. Granted they are fed, schooled, and have their health needs taken care of by the Castro regime. However, most of the tap water is contaminated and undrinkable; putting the island residents at a serious health risk. Multiple people live in tiny apartments with no inside bathing facilities. And, most of the buildings on the island aren't being maintained and in near complete disrepair.
Despite all of this, Obama seems to think that history will judge Castro differently. He is so eager to have the reestablishment of U.S.-Cuban relations as part of his legacy, that he won't even criticize an obvious brutal dictator and human rights abuser. Is everything always about himself ?
References:
Obama: History will judge Castro: http://nypost.com/2016/11/26/obama-history-will-judge-castro/
Beyond the Tourist Façade Are Cuba’s Victims of Communism: https://panampost.com/editor/2016/05/27/cuba-beyond-the-tourist-facade-are-the-victims-of-communism/
Human rights in Cuba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Cuba
Extreme Poverty in Cuba: Welfare in a Broke Country: http://www.poverties.org/blog/poverty-in-cuba
Drinking Water in Cuba - Havana Forum - TripAdvisor: https://www.google.com/search?q=drinking+water+in+cuba&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Video: A day in the life of Havana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHBkLj5Bbq4
pb
"History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him."I don't know what planet this President has been living on but, for him to think that somehow "history" will think differently of Castro in the future is simply ridiculous.
He murdered and jailed dissidents. Thousand of Cubans both risked their lives and gave their lives to escape his tyranny to get to the U.S.. The regime strictly controls what Cubans read, hear on the radio, and see on state-run TV. Human rights groups consider him and his regime abusers of its own citizens. Outside of the Disney Land appearance of a cleaned up Havana that Fidel created for the benefit of tourists, the rest of the country lives in slum conditions and extreme poverty. Granted they are fed, schooled, and have their health needs taken care of by the Castro regime. However, most of the tap water is contaminated and undrinkable; putting the island residents at a serious health risk. Multiple people live in tiny apartments with no inside bathing facilities. And, most of the buildings on the island aren't being maintained and in near complete disrepair.
Despite all of this, Obama seems to think that history will judge Castro differently. He is so eager to have the reestablishment of U.S.-Cuban relations as part of his legacy, that he won't even criticize an obvious brutal dictator and human rights abuser. Is everything always about himself ?
References:
Obama: History will judge Castro: http://nypost.com/2016/11/26/obama-history-will-judge-castro/
Beyond the Tourist Façade Are Cuba’s Victims of Communism: https://panampost.com/editor/2016/05/27/cuba-beyond-the-tourist-facade-are-the-victims-of-communism/
Human rights in Cuba: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Cuba
Extreme Poverty in Cuba: Welfare in a Broke Country: http://www.poverties.org/blog/poverty-in-cuba
Drinking Water in Cuba - Havana Forum - TripAdvisor: https://www.google.com/search?q=drinking+water+in+cuba&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Video: A day in the life of Havana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHBkLj5Bbq4
pb
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Are We Headed Towards a Constitutional Crisis?
Ever since Donald Trump was elected, a bunch of "not my President" protestors hit the streets. Some rioting. Additionally, there has been an online petition, with now more than 4 million signatories requesting that the members of the Electoral College switch their votes to Clinton. To top it all off, the leader of the #NotMyPresident movement, Jon Gedney, has published and distributed the names and personal info for all of the Trump electors. Of course, those electors are now getting threats.
Simply, if Trump is not duly put into office by the Electoral College, there will be a meltdown in this country reversing the will of nearly 60 million disenfranchised citizens who legally elected Donald Trump. In other words, we will have a full-blown Constitutional Crisis on our hands. This could be seriously dangerous to the stability of the country.
For this reason, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should call for the end to the #NotMyPresident movement for the good of the country.
References:
Distressed ‘Not My President’ group publishes personal contact info on Electoral College officials: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/11/17/distressed-not-president-group-publishes-personal-contact-info-electoral-college-officials-413503
Google search: Electors Threatened: https://www.google.com/search?q=electors+threatened&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Constitutional Crisis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_crisis#United_States
Simply, if Trump is not duly put into office by the Electoral College, there will be a meltdown in this country reversing the will of nearly 60 million disenfranchised citizens who legally elected Donald Trump. In other words, we will have a full-blown Constitutional Crisis on our hands. This could be seriously dangerous to the stability of the country.
For this reason, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should call for the end to the #NotMyPresident movement for the good of the country.
References:
Distressed ‘Not My President’ group publishes personal contact info on Electoral College officials: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2016/11/17/distressed-not-president-group-publishes-personal-contact-info-electoral-college-officials-413503
Google search: Electors Threatened: https://www.google.com/search?q=electors+threatened&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Constitutional Crisis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_crisis#United_States
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Kerry Takes Aim at Trump Over Climate Change
While in New Zealand, John Kerry said: "We will wait to see how the next administration addresses this, but I
believe we're on the right track and this is a track that the American
people are committed to." He then added: "The majority of the American people believe that climate change is in fact happening and want to see us address it."
Days later he said this about Trump: "No one has the right to make decisions that affect billions of people based solely on ideology or without proper input." Additionally, ABC reported that "Kerry said the impacts of global warming are now evident across the world with record-breaking droughts, rising sea levels, unusual storms and millions of people displaced by weather events."
This is factually incorrect. The American people, in poll after poll, do not rank climate change as a priority. For example, here's the latest results from Polling Report.com on where America ranks the importance of climate change:
But, the biggest problem I have with Kerry and other climate change alarmists is that they attempt to cement support for their movement based on "impacts" that can't be proven or are factually incorrect. Hurricane impact on the U.S. has been unusually quiet. Tornado activity has been below normal for the last five years. NASA tells us the rising sea levels have slowed. Another study shows that sea levels in Manhattan have not risen in 20 years. And, Remote Sensing Satellite (RSS) data has shown a dramatic fall in temperatures over the last 8 months. This despite the claim that 2016 will be the hottest year on record. This unexpected cooling has led to the conclusion by one Russian scientist that a "New Little Ice Age has Started".
As usual, by calling climate change a "hoax", Trump may just be more in line with public opinion than Kerry or any of the other climate alarmists.
References:
Kerry tells Trump that Americans want climate action: https://www.yahoo.com/news/kerry-tells-trump-americans-want-climate-action-004745308.html
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a stirring appeal Wednesday to all countries — including his own — to press ahead with the fight against climate change, saying a failure to do so would be a "betrayal of devastating consequences." http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/kerry-overwhelming-majority-us-back-paris-climate-deal-43574549
PollingReport.com: Problems and Priorities: http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm
NOAA: U.S. has gone 11 years without a major hurricane strike: https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/noaa-u-s-has-gone-11-years-without-a-major-hurricane-strike/
NOAA Tornado data: 2016 ‘one of the quietest years since records began in 1954’ – Below average for 5th year in a row: http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/11/12/noaa-tornado-data-2016-one-of-the-quietest-years-since-records-began-in-1954-below-average-for-5th-year-in-a-row/
NASA, University Study Shows Rising Seas Slowed by Increasing Water on Land: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-university-study-shows-rising-seas-slowed-by-increasing-water-on-land
No Sea Level Rise At Lower Manhattan For 20 Years: http://realclimatescience.com/2016/10/no-sea-level-rise-at-lower-manhattan-for-20-years/
Record Global Cooling Over The Last Eight Months: http://realclimatescience.com/2016/11/record-global-cooling-over-the-last-eight-months/
Russian Scientist: ‘The New Little Ice Age Has Started’: http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/10/28/russian-scientist-the-new-little-ice-age-has-started/
pb
Days later he said this about Trump: "No one has the right to make decisions that affect billions of people based solely on ideology or without proper input." Additionally, ABC reported that "Kerry said the impacts of global warming are now evident across the world with record-breaking droughts, rising sea levels, unusual storms and millions of people displaced by weather events."
This is factually incorrect. The American people, in poll after poll, do not rank climate change as a priority. For example, here's the latest results from Polling Report.com on where America ranks the importance of climate change:
- CBS News/New York Times Poll. Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2016. Just 2% said the "environment" was a priority. Don't know if "environment" actually means climate change
- ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Sept. 5-8, 2016. No mention of climate change as a priority.
- NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by Hart Research Associates (D) and Public Opinion Strategies (R). May 15-19, 2016. Just 8% mentioned climate change.
- CBS News Poll. April 8-12, 2016. No mention of climate change.
- ABC News/Washington Post Poll. Nov. 16-19, 2015. ABC didn't ask any of the respondents about climate change being a priority.
- Quinnipiac University. July 23-28, 2015. Only 6% gave a nod to climate change as an issue we should be focusing in on.
But, the biggest problem I have with Kerry and other climate change alarmists is that they attempt to cement support for their movement based on "impacts" that can't be proven or are factually incorrect. Hurricane impact on the U.S. has been unusually quiet. Tornado activity has been below normal for the last five years. NASA tells us the rising sea levels have slowed. Another study shows that sea levels in Manhattan have not risen in 20 years. And, Remote Sensing Satellite (RSS) data has shown a dramatic fall in temperatures over the last 8 months. This despite the claim that 2016 will be the hottest year on record. This unexpected cooling has led to the conclusion by one Russian scientist that a "New Little Ice Age has Started".
As usual, by calling climate change a "hoax", Trump may just be more in line with public opinion than Kerry or any of the other climate alarmists.
References:
Kerry tells Trump that Americans want climate action: https://www.yahoo.com/news/kerry-tells-trump-americans-want-climate-action-004745308.html
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a stirring appeal Wednesday to all countries — including his own — to press ahead with the fight against climate change, saying a failure to do so would be a "betrayal of devastating consequences." http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/kerry-overwhelming-majority-us-back-paris-climate-deal-43574549
PollingReport.com: Problems and Priorities: http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm
NOAA: U.S. has gone 11 years without a major hurricane strike: https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/noaa-u-s-has-gone-11-years-without-a-major-hurricane-strike/
NOAA Tornado data: 2016 ‘one of the quietest years since records began in 1954’ – Below average for 5th year in a row: http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/11/12/noaa-tornado-data-2016-one-of-the-quietest-years-since-records-began-in-1954-below-average-for-5th-year-in-a-row/
NASA, University Study Shows Rising Seas Slowed by Increasing Water on Land: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-university-study-shows-rising-seas-slowed-by-increasing-water-on-land
No Sea Level Rise At Lower Manhattan For 20 Years: http://realclimatescience.com/2016/10/no-sea-level-rise-at-lower-manhattan-for-20-years/
Record Global Cooling Over The Last Eight Months: http://realclimatescience.com/2016/11/record-global-cooling-over-the-last-eight-months/
Russian Scientist: ‘The New Little Ice Age Has Started’: http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/10/28/russian-scientist-the-new-little-ice-age-has-started/
pb
Monday, November 21, 2016
What Gold & Silver are Saying About the Trump Election
Gold and silver are supposed to be safe-haven investments in times of trouble. So, it's interesting that since Trump was elected, the prices of these two metals have fallen like rocks. Just look at the price of silver from the Goldline website:
Then, there's this chart for gold:
Back in July, a senior writer for MarketWatch, William Watts, predicted that if Trump should win, gold would rise to $1850 an ounce. Implying that Trump's policies would weaken the U.S. economy. Really? In fact, the U.S. dollar has hit 13-year highs since Trump won the highest office in the land. A signal that traders are betting that Trump polices would make (you know) America great again. Along with the rise in the dollar, the stock market has also been on a tear; setting record highs. But that same writer for MarketWatch still can't believe Trump might do good things. Just last Friday, he wrote a another opinion piece titled: "Stop calling stock-market rise a ‘Trump rally’".
In my opinion, any time William Watts at MarketWatch makes a prediction, a wise investor should do the opposite. Apparently, he puts his political leanings before any rational and common business sense.
References:
Goldline Silver Chart: https://www.goldline.com/charts-news/silver-charts
Goldline Gold Chart: https://www.goldline.com/charts-news/gold-charts
Here’s what Donald Trump would do to the price of gold: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-donald-trump-could-spark-a-huge-gold-rally-2016-07-22
U.S. dollar hits 13-year high: http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/16/investing/dollar-13-year-high/
Stop calling stock-market rise a ‘Trump rally’: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stop-calling-stock-market-rise-a-trump-rally-2016-11-17
In my opinion, any time William Watts at MarketWatch makes a prediction, a wise investor should do the opposite. Apparently, he puts his political leanings before any rational and common business sense.
References:
Goldline Silver Chart: https://www.goldline.com/charts-news/silver-charts
Goldline Gold Chart: https://www.goldline.com/charts-news/gold-charts
Here’s what Donald Trump would do to the price of gold: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-donald-trump-could-spark-a-huge-gold-rally-2016-07-22
U.S. dollar hits 13-year high: http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/16/investing/dollar-13-year-high/
Stop calling stock-market rise a ‘Trump rally’: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stop-calling-stock-market-rise-a-trump-rally-2016-11-17
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