Saturday, October 28, 2017

Conspiracy? What Conspiracy?

Oh, I do love a good conspiracy theory.  I especially love the ones about the Kennedy assassination. Not only do I love them, I believe them - mostly.

I, along with millions of others, watched the assassination live on television, and I can tell you that when the shots range out, the television cameras swung around and focused on that grassy knoll. Don't try to tell me there wasn't someone there. Don't patiently explain that the sound is skewed because of the way the buildings are situated.

Years later, when I visited that same grassy knoll, I was pleased to see the card tables other theorists had set up, with all kinds of pamphlets that they were handing out to anyone who would take them. I saw the window through which Lee Harvey Oswald waited for the Presidential motorcade to reach just the right place so he could get JFK in his sights and fire. I believe he shot JFK.  I just don;t believe he acted alone, because I don't believe he could snap off three perfect shots in so short a time.

Why no, I'm not a ballistics expert. Why do you ask?

Yesterday was the day that the President was supposed to release the rest of the reports from the FBI that were supposed to clear it all up and lay to rest all our theories. What he released, at the request of the FBI and CIA,  was a wad of papers, heavily redacted, and far short of the Three Thousand or so documents  that we are supposed to take for the truth of the matter.  Rats! Now I have yet another conspiracy theory.

New theory: The FBI and CIA were reluctant to release the documents, so they convinced Pres. Trump to release a relatively small number hoping to satisfy everybody, and with the promise that they would "revisit" the subject in six months,  What are they trying to hide?  Is it the fact that they messed up their investigations?  You're welcome.

Stay tuned.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

There They Go Again

They're after poor Hillary again, trying to convince us that she and the DNC are to blame for the infamous dossier that came to light after the election. But, their hopes have been dashed, whether they realize it or not.

It seems some as yet unnamed Republican hired a company named Fusion GPS to do opposition research on Donald Trump. This unnamed Republican was a foe of Donald Trump, and then, when the campaign was over, the unnamed foe gave up, leaving Fusion GPS with a juicy dossier put together by a former MI6 operative named Christopher Steele.

Then, the DNC hired Fusion and Steele to continue their research, which resulted in the dossier being made public.

Clinton at first denied any knowledge of the dossier, but finally acknowledged that the DNC did pay for the Steele research.  I don't know what happened after Trump finally won, but the dossier stayed in the news and now Mueller and the various investigative committees are trying to find out who hired Fusion to begin with.  Fusiion seems to be resisting.

Meanwhile, there are parts of the dossier that have been proven true and other, salacious parts, that no one seems to be able to confirm.

Here's the thing. Opposition research is common and candidates don't have to admit doing it if they don't want to.  Smart candidates do opposition research on themselves just to see what kind of dirt, other candidates are finding out about them. It's all part of the game, and there's no scandal in it, except the information, if any, gleaned from said research.

So, the Republicans can sit down and shut up and worry about their own reputations.  They're not looking very good right now, and it's going to get worse.

Stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Mid-Term Defections

It's usually a good sign for the party not in the majority when members of the opposing party start resigning and deciding to retire.  But, I wonder if this is a typical mid-term. 

Trump is celebrating, because he thinks he has won the war.  And, he may have.  The latest rat to leave the hopefully sinking ship is Jeff Flake. of Arizona.  Will Arizona voters turn around and vote Democratic in the election?  Or, will the GOP put up someone even worse than Flake, and will voters flock to him like they have other far right wing candidates? 

Will the Republican party split in half?  Or will the right wing wackos simply take over entirely and banish the few sensible members who are left. If so, where will the Moderates go?

I can't help but wonder why in the world the Republicans are allowing Trump to divide the party. I can only think of two possible reasons.  One, they are more afraid of Pence than they are of Trump. Or, Two, they are waiting until they are able to pass a bill that will get them the tax breaks for the rich that they want.

Stay tuned.




Friday, October 20, 2017

Is It Asking Too Much?

Is it asking too much that the President focus on the important things and speak truth rather than lies?  That he not try desperately to find a way to use nuclear weapons, but to find ways to avoid it? That he show respect to all people, whatever their beliefs, race, or nationality?  That he dig deep and find empathy for those who have suffered from natural disasters? That he find a way to express sorrow to parents, spouses, children and other family members of fallen service men and/or women?  That he surround himself with people who know more about government, and when they offer assistance to him, he accepts their advice? Is it asking too much that the President appeal to the better angels of the citizens who wish their own country harm?

Is is asking too much to expect the President to simply be a decent human being?

Is it asking too much that members of the House of Representatives and Senate act as agents of "checks and balances" as they were elected to do?  To ask them to have the integrity to do what they know is best for the country, rather than what is best for the Party? To pass bills that they know will be for the good of the people, and raise them up, instead of tearing them down? 

Is it asking too much for them to simply be decent human beings? 

I don't think it was an accident when both former presidents Bush and Obama made similar-sounding speeches admonishing both President Trump and his followers. I think they are so alarmed at the direction this country is going that they were compelled to speak out.  And, I hope they will influence other people of integrity to speak out, too.

It's time to drown out the naysayers who want nothing more than to bring down our government, and who better to do it than former office-holders of both parties?

Stay tuned.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Protest Votes Are Dangerous

I realize I haven't posted since before the election.  That's because the election left me speechless. What a travesty.  I understand, and even agree that big changes need to be made in Washington. I even understand the rationale behind a "protest vote" to get the attention of the elected officials.  But, this particular protest vote?  If you are serious about your protest, you ought to make sure that the person you are voting for is someone who will not bring down the entire government.  If that was the actual goal of your vote, shame on you.

People were so focused on the Presidential election, they forgot that the people who are doing the most harm are the people in the House and Senate. They are the ones who should have been voted out of office if we were so determined to make positive change.  Trump would have been irrelevant if one or the other (or both) Houses had been flipped. It is never a good idea when both houses and the White House are held by the same party - either party.  When that happens, there are no checks and balances.

When I turn on the TV every morning, I listen to the latest inane tweets that came from the President while he wandered the halls of the White House in his robe and jammies in the early hours of the morning.

It's just a distraction and it's all the media can talk about, when they ought to be watching not what he says, but what he does.  They still haven't figured that out. There is a lot of talk about Trump's ability to drive the news cycle. Well, he can only drive it if they let him, by going on and on about what he tweets.  They can report what he tweets and then move on to more important things that are being obscured.

The 2016 election just shows how dangerous protest votes can be.  On a much smaller scale, when Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, he enraged everyone by raising the price of auto license tags. So, when the next election rolled around, and we were still mad, we decided to teach him a lesson.  We thought by voting for his opponent, Frank White, he would get the picture when he saw how many fewer votes he got, but we didn't think he'd actually lose the election.  Well, it backfired on us, and we had to endure Frank White as Governor, and everyone made fun of White and us until we could re-elect Bill Clinton.  So, who learned a lesson?  We did.

I hope the Trump voters will realize their protest has backfired on them.

Stay tuned.