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.