Everything is a Contest

Why does the media have to perpetuate the political divide in this country by continuing to portray every political action of our state legislators as some type of sporting event?  They always report political actions as some “win or loss.”  Monday’s Advocate front page headline “House Republican leadership dealt first major loss” was a perfect example of this sport-contest mentality.

We have a Republican majority in Baton Rouge, and whenever there is debate about a proposed bill, House and Senate members huddle to make sure that passage won’t appear like a “win” for the Democratic governor, or as a “loss” for them. And the press reinforces this behavior by headlines like the one that appeared Monday.

Maybe it’s just an over-abundance of male testosterone but the extent of this desire to always appear as “the winner” is destroying this state.

The media needs to lose the sporting event mentality by changing its focus from identifying “winners and losers,” and instead report about how these legislative actions will benefit our state and its citizenry.

Maybe then our legislators will get the message that there are no “winners and losers” at the State Capital, but only long term effects for Louisiana.

Everyboddy hates Everbody

Occasionally someone just writes something so profound that it can’t be expressed any better.  Please read and reread slowly what Mark Z. Barabak of the Los Angeles Times wrote about the tragedy that occurred Wednesday:

“The targeted shooting of Republican lawmakers at play yielded a kaleidoscope of emotions Wednesday — anger, revulsion, horror — but little in the way of surprise.

The attack almost seemed a natural, if sick, extension of the virulence that surrounds the country’s increasingly tribal politics.

As if to prove it, events quickly settled into a familiar pattern: finger-pointing, blame-laying, partisan positioning.  People today don’t just disagree.  They’ve grown to hate the other side, from President Donald Trump on down.

Not necessarily over issues or ideology, which can be debated or leavened by compromise, but rather as an outgrowth of a deeper pathology, a contempt toward people for merely existing.”

We have now become a nation where people hate Democrats for simply being Democrat and hate Republicans for simply being Republican.

Hopefully, we as a nation will learn from this tragedy and stop the lunacy.

However, if past history is any indication, when representative Gabby Giffords was shot we, as a nation, pledge to change our ways.  Unfortunately it was short lived.

We again stand at a serious crossroad in our country, and hopefully this time around, we choose the correct path by permanently eliminating our politically-charged hatred.

When will Trump's supporters admit they were scammed?

In full discloser I have no love for Hillary Clinton or for President Trump.  I voted for neither.  However, Trump wooed many Americans with the fact that he was not a politician.  Americans embraced this idea because politicians talk big during their campaigns but don’t seem to follow through once they’re in office.  Let’s look at how our new non-politician President is doing in keeping his promises.

Campaign promise to build a Mexican border wall at no expense to U.S. taxpayers - Intends to build wall on U.S. taxpayers’ dime.

Campaign promise to undo Obamacare and cover everyone with health care - Failed to accomplish this, but his proposed plan would have provided no coverage for over 24 million citizens.

Campaign promise to wipe out U.S. debt - Proposed new tax plan would add trillions to national debt, which is now ok for Republicans in congress after complaining for years about increases in the deficit under Democratic presidents.

Campaign promise not to be gatekeeper of the world and not to intervene in Syria - Dropped 59 bombs on Syria, dropped the MOAB in Afghanistan and increased troop allotments there.

Campaigned on the evils of China as a currency manipulator that needed to be brought under control - Now China is ok and great alley, no sanctions yet.

Campaigned on being more frugal with tax payers’ monies than Obama when it came to the operational budget for the office of the president – Trump’s personal travel and security spending is on track to be eight times higher than Obama’s, which was ridiculously high.

Campaigned on promise to offer a new direction in fighting ISIS - Trump is instead pursuing Obama’s plan.

Campaigned on promise he was for the “forgotten men and women” of America -  Trump’s latest tax plan benefits the super-rich the most and is being funded by cuts to education, farm assistance, the CDC, research on preventing deadly diseases, recovery aid for natural disasters, and health care assistance for the disabled and the poor.

Campaigned on importance of being friends with Russia - Now no longer wants to be.

Campaigned against crony capitalism and pledge to” drain the swamp’- Trump has staffed his administration with millionaires, billionaires, and swamp creatures from Wall Street.

Campaigned on his ability as a “great deal maker” - Trump can’t even make deals within his own party.

Campaigned on his ability as a great manager - His first 100 days have been consumed with administration in-fighting and many administrative positions have yet to be filled.

Campaigned on promise to pull out of NAFTA - Not going to pull out.

Campaigned on the evils of the World Bank and how U.S. shouldn’t support it – Trump now states it is a worthwhile venture for the U.S.

Campaigned on promise to appoint new conservative Supreme Court justice – Trump did keep this promise.

Campaigned on the promise to stop paying monies to the United Nations unless other countries anted up – He is fulfilling this promise but not as he proposed.  In Trump’s 2018 Budget he proposes cutting the United Nations’ budget by 50%, but 36% would be directed to cuts in humanitarian aid programs, not the peace keeping programs that Trump advocated were a waste of money.

If one reviews some of Trump’s actual accomplishments many seem to be contradictions to “Make American Great Again,” but instead appear to simply serve as political appeasements to his largest campaign donors.  These include:

An executive order relaxing national educational academic standards.

An executive order relaxing the rules on clean waterways.

Issued a mandate to repeal an Obama administration rule that would hold many financial advisers to the fiduciary standard of care, meaning that they must provide advice that is in their clients' best financial interest. Currently most advisers are held to the suitability standard, meaning that they can recommend "suitable" products that may cost their clients more.

Issued a mandate relaxing air pollution standards on coal, methane gas, and carbon dioxide.

Signed the Congressional Review Act that gives coal companies greater freedom in dumping mining debris into fresh water streams.

Issued a mandate for EPA to relax pollution standards for automobiles.

Recently, when I pointed out these unfulfilled promises and inconsistencies to a friend and Trump supporter, he dismissed them with the statement, “What do expect from a politician, they never keep their word.”

My response to him was, “But Trump ran as a populists, vehemently denied he was a politician, and promised he would drain the swamp from the influence of the rich and Wall Street types in government.  That is why you and others voted for him.”  Sadly, the silence from my friend was deafening.  He had no come back.

Let’s stop the excuses and justifications for Trump’s actions. He may be crude, impulsive, narcissistic, flamboyant, sometimes clueless, and a have a keen understanding of how to play to our citizenry’s fears and biases, but he’s not the purported populist who is concerned with “the forgotten men and women” in our country. He’s just another politician and ultimately, Trump is failing because he has little knowledge of the world and no guiding star of moral principle.   Just admit it and stop complaining about those that disagree with his policies.

Heil PresidentTtrump

January 20^th marked a new day in our history, for our country has now embraced the new movement, “Make America Great Again.”  However, accompanying this movement is the morphing of the Constitutional right of freedom of speech into restricted intimidation.

Individuals with whom we now disagree are no longer considered simply misguided, but instead are labeled as malevolent and toxic.  More and more Americans now fervently characterize any person or institution providing facts challenging their point of view as liars engaging in demonized brainwashing.  They also prefer to rely on social media as their sole source of information, ignoring its authenticity, and in many cases accepting one-sided propaganda as long as it supports their political ideology.  Sadly, many Trump supporters have chosen to replace the fourth estate with presidential Tweets.

Dictators embrace and reinforce this type of behavior because their control over those they govern is dependent upon their success in totally eliminating news sources that question their authority or decisions.   President Trump seeks to accomplish this by delegitimizing news sources that question or challenge his decisions.  He uses disparaging terms like “fake news,” “liars,” or “a failing piece of garbage” when discussing these sources.   Additionally, as is the case with most thin-skinned dictators, he promotes other media sources that feed his ego as the only source of the “true facts.”

President Trump’s inner circle just recently initiated another component of his well-orchestrated game plan to discredit some media sources.  This involves the crafting of “alternative facts” as cover for the many false media statements Trump makes that are not supported by empirical evidence.

However, they do provide another unintentional side benefit by protecting Trump’s fragile ego.  These “alternative facts” allow him to keep intact his desperate need to always appear to be the best in all his life’s endeavors.  They also help feed his self-proclaimed image of the savior, the only one that can rescue this nation from doom and gloom, but let's keep in mind that "alternative facts" are lies.

Another troubling aspect of our new president lies with his obsessive intolerance towards radio and TV talk shows, influential U.S. bloggers and websites, and even TV comedy shows that don’t agree with his political actions.   A review of his many disparaging Tweets indicates the degree to which this obsession borders on abnormality.

Tragically, what President Trump and some of his supporters fail to understand is it’s essential for the survival of this democratic nation that all types of multidimensional perspectives continue to exist.  It is not the role of the Commander-in-Chief to assist in the demise of any, for they help to keep everyone honest.   We do not live in a dictatorship!

As the singer/song writer Rosanne Cash so aptly noted, “It is the people who scream the loudest about America and freedom who seem to be the most intolerant for a differing point of view.”  Unfortunately this has reached a boiling point in our nation.  What is even more disturbing is that President Trump has intentionally adopted a demagogue role that continues fanning the fire to keep it raging.   This is not how one “Makes America Great Again.”

Hipocracy at its finest

During the tenure of former president Barrack Obama he invoked executive orders 277 times.   He was lambasted by the Republicans in Congress, including Louisiana representatives Steve Scalise and Bill Cassidy, for thwarting the Constitution by ignoring the balance of power and acting without Congressional approval. Conservative talk show hosts fill the airways with ‘alternative facts’ that President Obama invoked executive orders more frequently than any other recent president, when in fact, President Obama’s use of them was the second lowest in recent years

In the first four days of President Donald Trump’s term he has issued 12 executive orders.  At his current rate he will most likely surpass the king of executive orders during the last 36 years, Ronal Reagan, who clocked in at 381.

President Trump comes from a business environment where if the CEO of a corporation makes a decision it is immediately implemented without debate or discussion.  There is no such thing as the balance of power concept in his world. It closely resembles the political governing style of a dictatorship.

It will be interesting these next four years to see how long it takes the present U.S. Congress to hold President Trump to the same standards as it did the previous administration.  However, from the praise that Rep Steve Scalise opined concerning Trump’s executive order limiting federal dollars to national and international organizations that provide abortion services, it’s apparent that the wide-spread use of executive orders is only negative when it runs counter to the political agenda of the party in power.

Apparently, as indicated by the total silence of the present majority party, the issuing of executive orders was never about violating the Constitution, it was simply the political party issuing the executive orders.

It will be interesting to see when Reps. Scalise and Cassidy will rein in our new president and demand that he operate within the Constitution as they so vigorously argued for in the past.

Isn’t the hypocrisy of politics amazing?