Millennials and elections

Are you between the ages of 18 - 35? Congratulations, you are a millennial.

But why am I asking this? Why should I or you care?

I am 55 years old. I am a baby boomer/gen X. (Boarder baby) I vote. In fact, I have not missed election since 1982.

Again why should you care about this old fart? You are probably thinking that we have nothing in common. Not true, but that is the subject for another day.

You need to care because it is people like me that are going to decide your future. We will be choosing your healthcare choices, your job choices, and even your tax burden. We will leave you the problem of climate change, cyber security, and Mideast intervention.

You see, this rant is about you going out and voting. Telling you that you have to make a choice. Because if you don't, I and people like me will make it for you. Do you want that? Or do you want grab the future and make it your own?

Then on November 6, go and vote.

Troops and the Southern Border

In military terms, a division is 10,000 - 30,000 troops commanded by a 3-star general. The 82nd, 101st, and the Big Red One are all divisions. The number of troops in Afghanistan is divisional strength.

15,000 troops. This is the number that President Trump has said he will increase the troop level to on the border with Mexico. This is effectively puts the country on a war footing.

War.

War with Mexico.

4000 desperate men, women, and children fleeing violence and corruption. Fathers carrying their children, mothers caring for babies, and children crying in fear. This is your invading army.

And it is shrinking in size every day.

At the time of this writing, it is 800 miles from the border. That is approximately the distance between Chicago and Memphis. And they are only traveling at most, 20 miles per day.

Today (Nov 1), the President has ordered the troops to shoot people if they throw rocks at them. He has stated that he feels that "getting hit in the face with a rock is the same as a rifle."

Regular military and National Guard are very well disciplined. They are not likely to shoot. However, the nut job militias will shoot. Consider the bloodbath that will result.

Dead kids and babies on the evening news.

Are you ready to see that? Really?

And now let's add the fact that it is a direct violation of Posse Comitatus. This is the law that passed in 1787. (It was revised and renewed in 1981) This law says that Federal Troops cannot be used to enforce domestic laws. And immigration laws are domestic.

Are you ready to have that happen? If he does it there, where is the next usage? A Woman's march on the national mall? An anti-gun rally lead by high school kids?

You have to decide, here and now. Do you want the President to start using the Army for political purposes? Do want to wake up to see tanks in the middle of town? This is the slippery slope we are now on.

The only way to stop this is on November 6. Changing the Congress will put a check on his action. Don't you dare sit at home and bitch about political parties being the same. Decide. Your future and those of your children and grandchildren hangs in the balance.

Bombs and the attack on Democracy

On October 24, our democracy was attacked. That is not hyperbole. This is as real as it gets.

6 explosive devices were sent to 6 leaders of the opposition. The FBI, ATF, and other government agencies have stated that it appears more will be on the way. Think about that.

More bombs.

More violence.

Understand this. Bombs are not targeted weapons. They are designed for mass carnage. These were packed with glass and shrapnel. The bomber wanted to inflict mass death and injury.

Is this what we as a country want? Is this making America great again? And yes, I just took a rhetorical shot at the Trump administration.

All 6 intended victims are all people that this administration has targeted with rhetoric during rallies and tweets. From "Lock her up" to "I'll pay for your lawyer," this administration has encouraged attacks on those that oppose him. And now somebody has taken up arms in response and solidarity.

Now think about what this means. One of the intended targets was CNN and former CIA chief John Brennan. This was an attack on the free press and free speech rights that are the cornerstone of our democracy. This was an attempt to stifle the voice of opposition.

The voice of criticism.

The voice of the American ideal.

So what does this administration do? Do they denounce it in loudest and sternest way possible? They go out and complain about the rhetoric of those being targeted. Heck, an e-mail was sent out criticizing CNN as the police were defusing the bombs. And now (Oct 25), the President tweets that the Main Stream Media is responsible for these attacks. He admits to no responsibility that his own rhetoric may have added to it. In fact, at the rally, he started joking about how well behaved he was. You know who does that? My 5-year old.

And now, as I am writing this (Oct 25), 2 more bombs have been found. (Robert De Niro and Joe Biden)

This great democracy has survived over 240 years. We survived a war with ourselves. We survived great social upheavals. We have survived the greatest technological changes in the history of man. We can survive this, but only if people understand and use their Constitutional rights. We have to, no we must understand what is at stake here.

Those such as myself, who have opposed this President, have started looking at what we write, where it goes and the response it gets. I have joined the political discourse late in life and only recently. I have found myself nervous about even posting this. And this is what those bombs are intended to do. To stop people from talking and terrorize those that do.

After talking to my family, I will continue to add my voice to the discussion. I am but one voice and not a very loud one. But I refuse to stop being engaged. I refuse to stop using my Constitutional rights. And I refuse to walk in fear of another.

This is my country too. And I will be damned if I let anybody stop me from raising my voice. So bring it on, I'm ready for the fight. Are you?

A Fake Tax cut promise

Well, the President has promised a new middle class taxes cut by November 1 or sooner. I have to wonder if he thinks the American public is stupid or just his supporters.

But let's for a second assume that this is serious. There are a number of problems that any intelligent person can see.

The first issue is the timeline that he stated when is was going to be rolled out. He was on the White House grounds and announced it yesterday (Oct 21.). That means he has had at most, ten days to put it together and present it to the American people. The fact that this is such a blatant attempt at a voter buy off should in no way surprise people. Whenever he says that he will be announcing something 2 weeks’ time that is code for it never happening.

The next issue is the last tax cut. It went to businesses and the public got little to no tax savings. In fact, according to latest surveys, most employees did not see the pay increases that this administration promised would happen. The old now defunct trickle down economic theory.

To make matters worse, the great economic growth this was supposed to create, didn't happen. In fact, it has cause the US deficit to balloon to almost a trillion dollars. Yep, you read that correctly. That puts the US debt at over 22 Trillion dollars. So much for being solved in 8 years.

Now for the final point. Congress is not in session. They are on recess for the elections. They will not return until the week afterward, then take the Thanksgiving week off. Finally they work for the next 3 weeks. Then it is a new Congress. Not enough time to even think about a major bill like this, let alone pass it.

So why this announcement? This is a political strategy known has throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Clinton used it just before the 94 election and we know how that turned out. Also, this is a way to drum up support for his base. He says what they want to hear, they show up and vote for his people on November 6.

If you are a supporter of the man, stop buying the lies and false promises. Your lives are not better off under this man.

Not supporter? Then you had better get out and vote. Are you under 30? Vote. Or people like me or the Trump supporters will determine your future. This is the time to seize your future.

Vote on November 6!

Are you better off than 4 years ago?

Today, Senator Thom Tillis (R-SC) asked if you are better off economically better now than 2 years ago. A fair question for politics and life in general. Let's look at the numbers.

Gas prices are up. And they are now going to continue to increase due the increasing problems in the Middle East. Natural Gas prices are starting to rise. This is the chief fuel for heating and power generation.

Food prices are up. Don't believe me? Grab a receipt from last year and compare it to this year. And they will continue to go up due to gas prices. And farmers are suffering and watching their crop rot in the fields. (Can't get workers due to immigration crackdown)

Those wonderful tax cuts? A majority of them went to executive pay and stock buybacks. Simply put, your CEO got a pay raise and the company bought the stock to artificially raise the price (which gave your CEO an even higher pay raise). A lot people did not get a tax break or a pay raise. And over the next two years, expect your taxes to go back up, unless you are an one percenter or a company.

Prices for cars and electronics are rising due to the tariffs. And more are on the way. After the first of the year car prices are going up by 2000-3000 (Ford has already lost $1 billion and will be laying off a lot of people. ).

Because of the end of Net Neutrality, expect your internet access to increase in price. That means your streaming service will need to raise prices to get to the top of the heap. Social Media will now be selling more commercials.

Now all these price increases have a name.

Inflation.

And with that, the fed is raising the interest rates. That means credit card rates, mortgages, lines of credit, car loans, and general loans will start going up. The market will start (and has started) to drop because of it. And when it does, there goes your 401k.

The budget deficit is increasing at an alarming rate. When this happen, the value of the currency declines. Don't believe me on this one? Look at the economies of South America for the last 30 years. With that devalued currency, look for the increased prices in imports. And it is already happening.

So Senator Tillis, in response to your question, no we are not better off than we were two years ago. We are worse and are head down a economic hole. I will be voting against your party. You have proven that you party does not care.

November 6 is Election Day. Make the time to vote.

Rape and the numbers

On another person's wall, the owner posted a meme about girls having to protect themselves versus teaching boys to respect girls. It immediately devolved in a series of complaints on false accusations.

So, let's get some facts out there for the knuckle draggers. But it won't matter. They appear to think that every report of sexual assault or harassment is a false accusation. But I'm going to place the fact out there in the faint hope they might learn something.

81% of women have reported being harassed. Look at that number. For every 5 women in your life, 4 of them have been harassed. Cat calls, unwanted advances, touches, and sexual threats are just some of things these women have had to endure.

Now let's take it to the next step. Out of those 5 women in your life, 1 of them has been the victim of sexual assault. Simply put, rape.

An ugly thought isn't it. Let's make it even worse. For every 5 victims, 4 of them were raped before the age of 25. Not ugly enough? Alright, how about this. Of those 5 victims, 2 of them were below the age of 18.

Think about those numbers for a minute. That means that I guarantee that you know somebody who was either harassed or assaulted.

Now the President and his supporters have you would have you believe that every accusation is a false one. But let's look at the real numbers.

Out of 100 reported assaults, 3 are proven false. 97 are actual assaults.

97.

So, what is the real problem?

Men need to teach their sons respect for women. Men need to support women when they report these crimes. That means being witnesses to the police and at the trial. They need to stop other men and report crimes to the police.

Yes, allegations need to be thoroughly investigated. Thoroughly. That means no comments about her dress or drinking. No asking why it took so long to report. No old boy network. No investigators, prosecutors, or judges with links to the accused.

Men are not under assault. Women are. Time to wake up and realize that.

The President and hurricanes

OK, raise your hands if you remember Donald Trump complaining (via Twitter) about Obama going to a rally while Hurricane Sandy was hitting New Jersey and New York?

Now guess where the President is tonight?

Bueller? Bueller?

Yep, he is at a rally in Pennsylvania. He claimed that he didn't have a choice. He said that people had lined up overnight to see him. Nobody could find a single person that had waited in line.

Hey Trump! You are the freaking president. Try thinking about the people in the path of a natural disaster. Stop stroking your ego.

And you wonder why the country doesn't like you.

Impeachment (Part 2)

OK, I have been reading on many people's pages about impeachment. There is this mistaken belief that impeachment is a magical thing that will remove Trump and Kavanagh.

Let's first talk about what impeachment is. (The process later) Impeachment is the Congress indicting a political figure of high crimes and misdemeanors. What those crimes are is a political decision. It was left purposely vague.

Impeachment is not, I repeat, not the removal somebody. That requires a trail by the Senate. Two Presidents (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton) and an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court (Samuel Chase - 1804) were impeached but not removed.

The founders believed that impeachment was the avenue of last resort. They wanted Congress and the Judiciary to be a check on a runaway Executive, with the voters removing the Congress and Executive if they going against the will of the people. They never planned on the courts and the Legislative in league with the President.

Now the process for removal is straightforward. A committee (or subcommittee) recommends an article of impeachment. The entire House votes for impeachment. A simple majority is needed. It is then sent to the Senate. A trail is held. 67 Senators must vote guilty for removal.

There is the key to this entire discussion.

67 Senators.

67.

In the current environment, do you honestly think any of the Republicans would even think about removing Trump or Kavanagh? Do you really?

Think about this. Historically, the party that brings it about suffers in the next election. The Dems talk a good game, but they will not bring an impeachment process. The real strength will be blocking appointments, controlling the purse strings, and having subpoena power to investigate. Impeachment is fraught with political dangers.

Want the blue wave to happen? Well you got 30 days do something and then Election Day. So, what to do. Give some monies to your favorite candidate. Got no money? Buy the cheap coffee for the next few weeks and give the money saved to the candidate. Put a lawn sign up. The money for buying the sign goes to the candidate. Tell your friends about your candidate. Heck, tell the people that don't like you.

On November 6, go and vote. Have friends that can vote but can't get to a polling place? Offer rides to friends and neighbors. Little things add up and turn into big results.

Do you want to look into the eyes of your children and grandkids to tell them which side of history you were on? Then make the right choice.

Vote!

Streaming, Broadcaster, and the future

Just finished reading an article in the NY Times about the 20th Century and Disney merger. One of the big points that came out is that everybody is betting on streaming. With viewers of broadcast and cable down, there is a business case for this view.

But here is what struck me. As more broadcasters start to fail/go out of business (see the more rural areas of the country), an interesting thing will develop. As with radio stations having the same problem, what happens to the bandwidth on the radio spectrum.

Now for those you that don't what this means, please allow me to explain some (but not all) points. In the United States, the radio band is leased to radio stations, television stations, and cell phone providers. Government/military get certain spots that the rest of are not allowed to touch. There is more about this, but you get the general idea.

When a station goes belly up, ownership of the bandwidth is up for grabs. Recently, cell phone companies have been snatching these up. At some point, they will reach a point that won't need anymore. Hence ownership will become too expensive, they will either let them lapse or try to sell them. (If no one buys them, they will lapse)

So what then. Will nobody use it? Or will we see a return to pirate stations? Radio broadcasting is fairly easy and cheap. I was the voice over person for a pirate station in the 1980s. Technology has gotten cheaper, smaller, and more powerful.

If everything goes on-line (entertainment and news), will the government even care about the pirates like they did in the 1980s and 1990s? There is plenty of dystopian fiction concerning this future. But we are on the edge of this now. Time to re-start your thinking.

Judiciary Committee and the FBI

In 1991, Anita Hill came forward with allegations concerning Clarence Thomas. The reason that I have brought this up concerns the use of the FBI.

In 1991, the White House order an investigation of Judge Thomas. In was completed and delivered to the Judiciary Committee in three days. Senator Orin Hatch (R-Utah) stated how grateful he was that this was completed and delivered to the committee.

Fast forward to the last few days. Senator Hatch is stating that the FBI can not and should not investigate Judge Kavanagh. Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) has stated that there not enough time to complete an investigation.

So, what is the problem here? Think about this. The last time something happened, it took 3 days. What are the Republicans afraid of? Is the White House afraid of what they will find? Are they hiding something? With only 4% of Kavanagh's papers released to the Committee and the public, you have to wonder.

To the White House and the Republican Committee members, do the investigation. If there is nothing, then you win. But, you won't you do it. You are trying to ram this through before the midterms.

With the President calling the FBI a cancer on society, he has boxed himself in. How will he be able to politically get an investigation? If he does, there goes his fight against Sessions and Mueller.

The optics are going to be perfect for the Democrats. From a purely political viewpoint, how is it going to look when 11 old, white men harass and berate a woman who came forward as a survivor of sexual assault?

So, what is going to happen? The hearing on Monday, may or may not happen. But it will go to the floor of the Senate. He will become the next SCOTUS justice. All of the Republicans will vote for him. I expect that at least two Dems will vote for him too.

I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

Justice and Trump

Dear Mr. President,

Just read some of your Tweets concerning the prosecution of two Republican Congressmen (Collins & Hunter) and the FISA processes. Time for another round of education. Class is now in session.

First concerning the indictments. The Attorney General and the Department of Justice are not at your beck and call. They enforce the law. They are a non-political part of the government. Justice for all.

The indictment of Representative Collins stems from events that occurred in 2017. In fact, by cross referencing video and text messaging, they caught him performing the insider trading while on White House grounds, during one of your events. Right under your nose! The people that are prosecuting him are those that you and your administration appointed. How is this an Obama era investigation?

Now Congressman Hunter's problems did indeed take place when Obama was president. However, a campaign finance violation does not really come to light until after the election and usually after the swearing in of the Congress. And to add some more to this, the people that investigated and indicated Mr. Hunter were again, appointed by you. Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Let's add a little fun factoid. The Congressman claimed that it was his wife's fault. That she was unaware of campaign finance laws. However, I don't think that she was going to pay off 4 of the Congressman's mistresses. Unless of course, he learned it from you.

You are also complaining about the FISA warrant against Carter Page. Listening to Judicial Watch shows your lack of understanding of the legal system. First, warrants never require a hearing. The prosecutor has to show probable cause that a crime has been committed. In most courts this is done in person or over the phone. In a FISA court, an extensive amount of paperwork is required. But never a hearing.

Now let's add another point here. All four times that the warrant has been approved and extended, the judges were Republican appointees. In fact, they still are. This not a Democratic plot, no matter how much you claim it was.

Finally, the great "Deep State" conspiracy. In another of your Tweets, you proved it was baloney. How? You commented that the FBI tried to get Putin loyalists to flip as far back as 2014. This is before you announced that you were running for office. This is part of their job as created by Congress in 1908. Hence, the "Deep State" does not exist. So stop saying it is conspiring against you.

If anything, the "Deep State" are members of your own cabinet and administration. The infamous New York Times Op-Ed is proving this. How do we know? Look at the denials. While they all denied have written the piece, nobody denies what was in the editorial. Other reporting (even from FOX News) has confirmed this.

The Steele Dossier (which you are always complaining about) was started by one of your opponents. Yes, Hillary's campaign did in fact complete it. However it was not used to get the FISA warrant. Congressman Nunes' memo proved that.

Mr. President, let the justice department do their job. They are not there to prosecute your political enemies. They are not there to protect you either. You have a personal lawyer and a White House Counsel for that job.

You have already gutted the State Department. Do you want to kill Justice too? You are acting like a guilty MOB boss. In the end, all of them get caught and are punished. Just ask Whitey Bulger.

You claim that you are a big supporter of law enforcement. I have yet to see it. A majority of the Sheriffs that you have surrounded yourself with (and pardoned) when you first started talking about the Op-Ed, have all had problems with the press and the law. Time to find new friends.

The wheels of justice are consistently turning. They may turn slowly, but they are turning. Let the system work, Mr. President. Or find yourself under those wheels for obstruction of justice. Your choice.

Signed,
An Informed Citizen.

Keeping up

Today. First, Trump creates a security crisis for the country. He does not back the country's 17 intelligence agencies. Instead he backs Putin in the election meddling. If you don't think that is bad, leave the country. Even the folks at FOX news were horrified.

Next, Maria Butina was arrested. She had strong ties to the NRA. She worked with John Bolton. You know him, he is the President's National Security Advisor. Why was she arrested? Turns out she’s a foreign agent for the Russian Federation. In other word, she is a spy for Putin. She will be in court on Wednesday. Lots will be shown.

Also happening today, Manafort's first hearing was delayed for week. This court is known to move trials along. After the fiasco of Trump's press conference, the general thought is Manafort is looking to make a deal. Not sure I buy that, but with the craziness of today, who knows.

Finally, a number of the Republicans appeared to have found their backbones. Will this lead to something? I doubt it. They are still afraid of Trump and his base.

Social media has, of course, gone crazy. Those on the left are calling for impeachment, while the right are screaming Trump's line about servers. Just a note to the Trump supporters: the DNC completely cooperated with the FBI. Also, Podesta was Hillary's campaign manager, not in charge of the DNC. Every conceivable theory is currently fly around. My personal favorite is the Moon landing is somehow involved in all of this.

So, will there be an impeachment? Nope. There is still too many people that believe in Trump. Will there be any repercussions to the President? More than likely not. Ryan and McConnell are still running the House and Senate. But more things are coming out faster than we thought. But I'm not waiting. I'm getting deeper involved and you should too.

With everything moving so fast, I'm finding that it is getting too hard to keep up. What about you?

FEMA and presidental messages

On Thursday, every person with a cell phone in the United States will be getting a text from the President. This is a test of a new FEMA communications process. THERE IS NO OPT OUT.

Think about the possibilities here. Yes, the positives are obvious. The need to communicate to the citizenry quickly during a national emergency and disasters is the intended outcome here. When with more people cutting the cord on phones and power outages, something had to be thought of.

Now the negative. OK, I really don't have to. But let's talk about a few of them anyway.

What are the rules for this usage? Now as many of you that have read my posts and blog, know that I am not a big fan of this administration. But I hoping some solid rules are in place.

Imagine a president suddenly sending out a message declaring an emergency and asking Americans to take action. And that is the problem. What action? Some messages will be considered benign, but intrusive. Now visualize the president calling for Americans to take up arms against not only their fellow citizens but parts of the government. Too extreme? Then imagine him sending political posts. The president endorsing candidates or instead of tweeting, you're now getting those post to your phone.

This is a dangerous proposition. In 1948, a little book was written about the intrusiveness of the government in our lives. I think you've heard of it, it was called 1984.

Now at this point some of my critics will start laughing and pointing fingers at me because of my previous liberal stances. Well they really don't understand me very well then. And I will explain this in a later post. But even the most die-hard bleeding heart liberal can see where the danger of this process is. And conservatives should be standing right next to the Liberals on this one.

Will this be a good and wonderful thing for emergency preparedness and Communications? Or will this be a propaganda tool? Time will tell. But we, the citizens, will need to be ever vigilant. That is the responsibility of Liberty.

Note: due to Hurricane Florence, the test has been pushed to Oct 3.

Loyalty Oaths, Lie Detector Tests, and Trump

Senior Rand Paul suggested that cabinet members and senior members of the Trump administration take a polygraph test. I find this especially amusing. Why? Rand Paul has a medical degree (optometrist), so he would know that polygraphs don't work. If you are nervous or a medical condition, it can look like you are lying.

The White House is also looking at having people sign swore affidavits that they did not write the op-ed piece. Sound familiar? It should. This is very similar to the Loyalty Oaths that people had to take during the height of the Cold War. Know what that led to? Paging Senator McCarthy.

Is this what we have come to? Back to the bad days of the country? Will posts like this and others that I made get me Blackballed for security clearances? Will we see hearings where the question will be "are you now or have you ever been a liberal?" Who knows.

There is an old Chinese curse. "May you live in interesting times." We are indeed cursed.

Some Responses:

Karl: Anyone with a shred of actual leadership capacity looks at a disloyal staff and starts by identifying what practice of their own is doing the damage.
Only someone utterly ignorant of every last principle of leadership thinks that loyalty pledges will address the problem.

Daniel: When this evil era is over there will be a lot of people trying to distance themselves from it. When we note who the collaborators were, let's not forget that Rand Paul was one of the worst.

Ken: Deep Throat.............................Mark Felt denied he was Deep Throat. Years later we found he was. What makes Trump think this will be different?

OP-Ed and Control

We have a president not in control of the White House. The Military and Secretary of Defense are not obeying orders. Members of the administration conspiring to prevent the president from signing executive orders. Papers being stolen from his desk.

Welcome to a Constitutional Crisis. At this point, we as a nation have to determine what we are going to next. Do we care about democracy and the rule of law? Do we care for Madisonian democracy (The Constitution)?

This is the time for Congress to prove they are a true co-equal branch of the government. The Democrats have started how they feel. Will the Republicans stand for the country? Or are they so enthralled with power that they will let a President stay in office who cannot control his staff? Are they the party of Lincoln or spineless dupes willing to be led around enjoying the trappings of power?

It is at this time that 2 things can and should happen. First, if the person who wrote the Times Op-Ed is indeed a senior official, then they need to start involving the 25th amendment. If however, this was a kitchen coup d’état, then Congress needs to start real investigations and steps towards impeachment.

What the Times Op-Ed has shown is that unelected individuals are running the country. We do not know what their agenda is or who among them is in charge. Who is the first among equals in this group? This is how juntas start.

Are you, the citizens, willing to stand for the country? Time for you to get educated and make a stand. Time to put aside your cynicism of the country, the press, and fellow citizens. Time to ask what you believe and what will you leave your children. History and posterity will judge you.

Tomi Lahren and impeachment

Tomi Lahren thinks that you can't impeach Donald Trump because he won the election. Think about that for a moment. So based on her flawed logic, Bill Clinton should not have been impeached. (The Clinton Impeachment is a subject for another day)

Ms. Lahren really needs to read article 1, sections 2 & 3 of the U.S. Constitution. You see Ms. Lahren, a President can be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. What exactly are those? Well, the founders that you love so much left that intentionally vague. They wanted Congress to make that decision. This is because impeachment is a political process, not a legal one.

Now Tomi does bring up a good point. During her diatribe on Fox & Friends against Sean Penn, she commented that you need a reason. And that you shouldn't be talking impeachment just because your candidate lost. (I wonder if we should remind her of what she said about Obama? Nope, don't want to slip into whataboutism.) However, there are enough scandals to warrant serious hearings for the current President.

Unless the Dems take 18 seats in the Senate, they are going to need Republican help. Again, that was intentional. The founders did not want one party removing a president because they did not like what he was doing policy wise. They wanted it for an extreme reason. Don't like what he is doing, vote him out or have the Congress act as a check. Yeah, I don't think they saw the 21st century coming either.

Ms. Lahren, like many others, feel that actors, singers, artists, etc. should not be talking about politics or impeachment. Well, she is wrong. The impeaching of a president is so serious that every American should be discussing and debating its merits. And those entertainers are Americans too.

Ms. Lahren, let me close on a final note here. You are very good at acting the angry white conservative. But you keep getting things wrong. A little research first might help you in the long run. And when discussing federal politics, understanding the Constitution is a good start. I hear you can get a copy from Amazon for a buck. Or you can have mine.

Korea and experts

Dear Mr. President,

Once again you are showing that you have not been listening to the experts. Those experts would be in the Defense Department and State. Please let help you.

You have stated that we should not be having the joint South Korean/U.S. war games. Why? Cost? Baloney! North Korea wanted it as part of the "deal?" Stupid! You got nothing in return.

Now you are talking about having the ability to start it again on a moment’s notice. And that it would be bigger than before. Both are showing you did not listen to the experts.

At this point Mr. President, I have to ask an important question. What did they teach you at that military school you went to as a kid? Even the lowest private knows and understands the concept of logistics. For those that don't know, logistics is the movement and supplying of troops and equipment.

Logistics can make or break a battle. Even a war game. The ability move tanks is limited. An M1 weighs about 60 tons versus the WW2 Sherman that weighs 30 tons. Troops require tons of food, clothing, and other supplies. And let's not talk about other weapons, spare parts, and vehicles. All required to be move where they are needed. And the United States have been prioritizing transport ships or cargo planes.

You have been talking about moving the 7th Fleet from the theater. This fleet has 70-80 ship, 140 aircraft, and 40,000 personal. You can't move this on a dime or instantaneously. Fuel and supplies alone takes days to load.

Now this promise of stopping the exercise that was made to North Korea came as part of your "deal" during the "summit." What did you get for it? Good will? Shortly afterwards, North Korea restarted processing uranium for more weapons. They didn't stop missile testing because of your threats. They stopped because their testing had proved them with the information they needed. Heck, current leaked satellite photos and intelligence briefings have shown production of the missiles continuing.

A real deal maker would not have given a single thing of significance without getting something in return. And that something had to be verifiable. Yes, you can give something for good will. It is usually small and cheap. The meeting/summit should have been that alone. Instead, you have given just about everything they want.

Don't believe me? Look at the treatment of the Secretary of State every time he tries continue the negotiations with Kim Jong-Un and his government. Name calling and cold shoulders. You gave them everything they wanted. Now they are done with you and are not afraid of your threats. They are even trading with Russia and China.

And what of our allies in the area? South Korea and Japan are wondering about our commitment to them. We don't even have an ambassador to South Korea. And what about the country nobody is talking about, Taiwan?

Mr. President, you need to stop tweeting and start listening to the experts. They know more than you do. A good manager/leader is aware that he does not know everything. Can you be that leader or are you going continue down this road of failures. The world is laughing. You still have time to correct this. Or you will have done more damage to our standing in the world than any person before. You choice, Mr. President. Leader or dupe. Help history make the decision.

Signed,

An Informed Citizen.

Change

Consider the latest news about the Mueller investigation. Senator Lindsey Graham has stated that he believes that President Trump will fire AG Jeff Sessions after the midterms. His reasoning being, so that he can take control of the investigation. The fox guarding the henhouse.

Now think about what that means. The person being investigated will be in charge. Will the Republicans step up and protect the country and our democracy? Current evidence says no. Will the Democrats do anything? They can't unless they take control of either the House or the Senate. And not until January.

What about the courts? Well, McConnell is going ram through Kavanaugh's nomination. So, SCOTUS will be packed by conservatives that believe the Executive branch has almost unlimited power. They will not stand up against this president.

And the American public? Well, that is going to be a tricky issue. First is to let your voice be heard. Let every elected official from Dog Catcher to Senator know that are unhappy with this situation. The louder, the better.

Now comes the hard part that is really easy. You have to vote. You have get the GOP out of office. If the Dems take control, they will have subpoena power.

But why is this so hard? Simple. A number of you are stuck with the misguided notion that your vote for the Green party or Libertarians will be some great protest. That you don't want and are tired of voting for the lesser of two evils.

Well, suck it up sunshine. In this election you have two choices. Trump's America or not. It is time to look at the bigger picture. You need to stop saying both parties are the same and start paying attention.

You want to build that 3rd party. Go ahead. Leave things the way they are now and you won't even get a chance. Build your party after the midterms.

This is for the marbles. Do you want an economy for the rich, a country for only white males? Or are you ready to stand and say "This is my country and I want it back from the racists and the Nazis!" You can tell me on November 6. The World and I will be watching.

Cohen and Campaign laws

Dear Mr. President,

Just watched your interview. Let me educate on a couple of things.

Obama's campaign "crime" was being late in filing a report on who small donors were. This is an administrative error, not criminal.

Conspiring to make a payoff for someone to directly affect the election is Criminal. And guess what Mr. President, it is a crime. It does not matter if the money came from the campaign or not. It impacted the campaign.

All the things that Mr. Cohen admitted to are indeed crimes. He is a lawyer, so he and his counsel should know which things are crimes. The judge knows what crimes are. He would not accept a plea of guilt for something that was not a crime.

Finally, Mr. President, as the head of the executive branch of the government, you have the power to fire Sessions and Rosenstein. If you don't like what they doing, you can fire them for cause. But there will be political consequences. And you won't get a confirmation hearing until next year.

My advice to you is the advice my father gave me many years ago. When you find yourself in hole, stop digging. Interviews on FOX and tweeting is just digging your hole deeper. In this case, if you keep digging political, the hole eventually turns into a grave.

Signed,

An Informed Citizen.

SCOTUS and Impeachment

The Mueller investigation has brought up a couple interesting things about the Constitution. One of them is impeachment.

The left talks a lot about impeaching Trump. Yet they seem to not understand the basic mechanics of the process. They talk about Nixon and completely ignore Clinton.

The right is currently going on about impeaching Rosenstein. Heck, Nuenes was caught on tape talking about plans and timelines for an impeachment.

Impeachment is just another word for indictment from the House of Representatives. It does not remove the person from office. For that, you need 67 Senators to vote guilty after a public trail. Not going to happen in this current environment unless something outrageous is shown.

Than why is Nuenes and his buddies trying to impeach Rosenstein? It is a PR stunt and a way to provide cover for the President. If Rosenstein is impeached, this gives Trump cover to fire him.

Trump and crew have been trying to find a way to shut down Mueller since the moment it started. Yet to do so without some serious charge would be political suicide. Impeaching Rosenstein would be that "serious" charge. A lack of confidence by the Oversight committee and the House would provide that cover, as thin as it may be.

But now a new wrinkle has been added. See Nuenes just got caught on tape discussing their plans and the reason why. Can he and his colleagues still go forward with the plans? He talked about need to get the SCOTUS nominee through first.

What purpose does this serve? Distraction. The Republicans are hoping that with the fight over SCOTUS, the American public will forget about Mueller. Especially with the midterms happening shortly thereafter.

It is truly sad that the supposed party of Law & Order, is so afraid of justice. They appear to have forgotten that the American public has learned how to multitask. By not letting the investigation run its natural course, the Republicans are showing a complete lack of faith in the Constitution and the American people.