March 1, 2018

Two Lessons (by no means all) learned from the Trump White House

1) What it is like when our government is run like an American business

chaotic, mean, grabbing, greedy, dirty, nasty, backbiting, dishonest, incompetent, needing regulation --- you supply your own adjectives

2) Why American businesses are not competing successfully in the big, wide world -- all of the above plus another day another firing.

No attempt to apply non-violent techniques to solve problems -- just more psychological and maybe even in some cases physical bludgeoning.

The Trump administration is a perfect example of the relationship between all too many (although not all) employers in the US and their employees.

Turnover under Trump's mismanagement is so rapid you can't keep track of the names of those coming and going on the White House staff. It's not possible to accomplish good things in that kind of atmosphere.

So many people are leaving the White House and so many of his top aides don't qualify for security clearances.

In addition to the fact that Trump has hired Republican fools to support his administration in the White House, there is what is becoming increasingly clear is his and his supervisors' contempt for their employees.

No one would put future employees in the position that Trump's staff has been put in with constant staff changes and constant suspicion of participation in the Russia conspiracy. Trump needs to come completely clean about the theft of Hillary's e-mails, when he knew and how, his past business dealings and financial relationships, etc. The first step is to show the American people his tax forms and come clean about his debt and that of members of his team in the White House including his family members. What do they owe, and to whom do they owe it?

Transparency. That's what we need. Right now, the American government, thanks to Trump's mismanagement, is in a tailspin.

When does it ever end? The scandals, the turnover, the confusion.

Sorry! This is not Making America Great Again. It's making us fail, and it won't be easy to pick up the pieces after this one.

George W. Bush led us into a serious recession in which many people lost their homes. Obama, ever steady, ever intelligent, and a good person carefully walked us out of that disaster. Trump is doing even worse than GWB. Another disaster that a Democrat will have to walk our country out of.

This is "business (Trump) managing government," and it is awful.

What a mess.

February 25, 2018

Aren't ignorance and repression delightful?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=10289989

Look at that thread.

And then think that most who disapprove of having two candidates in our Democratic primary for the Senate are probably not from California or don't vote here.

DeLeon is from Southern California. He is not an extreme left candidate. He was/is the president of the California Senate and a great candidate.

But look at all those who with no information about the contest or the candidates comment as if they were God's judgment on the issue.

We need to change this. We need to ask DUers to inform themselves before rushing to judgment and responding based on ignorance of the facts.

DeLeon's challenge to Feinstein will give Feinstein a chance to either show that she is up to another 6 years in the Senate or allow a younger candidate from Southern California to take her place.

The contest will be fair.

No. It won't destroy the chances of the ultimate winner of this race. Whoever wins will go on to the Senate because Republicans are a minority in California. The Republican governors nearly bankrupted our state and are way, way out of favor.

But this is a lesson about why Democrats lost the 2016 election.

Too rigid. Too opinionated about things they know nothing about.

Let's lighten up a bit. There are arguments for Feinstein. There are arguments for DeLeon. Either of them would do an acceptable job.

But if you aren't in California and don't know our system, please don't comment on our primaries.

February 25, 2018

Survivor's Guide to Prison - Don't miss it!

The harsh reality of conviction and prison.
Pulls no punches.
Not for children.
But a must see for political activists.

http://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/survivors-guide-to-prison-review-1202708684/

It will be available through Amazon and YouTube, maybe elsewhere in time.

Seriously. Don't miss it.

February 16, 2018

The Russians were told to focus on swing states, on purple states.

The purple states are only so crucial because we have the electoral college.

Hillary won the majority of popular votes. If we did not have the electoral college, if the popular vote decided the election, if votes in populous states like California counted for as much as votes in less populous states like Montana, the Russians would have had a harder time gaming our presidential election. Their efforts would have been far more obvious.

Amend the Constitution to end the electoral college.

February 13, 2018

Why a person who commits domestic violence should not be allowed to deal

with secure information or national intelligence.

When a person hits another person, it is a sign that the hitter is impulsive, in other words, lacks self control.

We all are taught and know that we should not hit other people. At least, most of us are.

If the part of our brain that controls our conduct, the rational part that thinks about consequences or possible consequences of our actions, is in charge, we don't hit others. We talk to them. We might hold out our hands and hug them and say we are hurt, but we don't hit.

Sometimes that rational part of our brain is considered to be our conscience, maybe we refer to it as our ethical or moral compass or our consciousness of right and wrong, of socially correct or acceptable and not socially correct or acceptable behavior, is in charge of our body and ourselves, we don't hit other people.

But if we lose control, if our rational, conscious mind, if our conscience, if our love and compassion for others is momentarily or longterm not in charge of our behavior, we do the first thing that comes to us, and for some people, that is hitting another person or an animal out of anger, when that person is angry.

The hitting is a symptom of a bigger problem, lack of self-control, impulsiveness. We say the person lacks "judgment."

And it is this other problem, the indication that hitting others is a sign of impulsiveness and lack of self-control, a tendency to react irrationally to a challenging situation or a crisis or a threat to one's authority that is one of the major reasons that a person who has committed domestic violence or hit or shot at another person should not have access to highly classified information.

The hitting itself is a problem in and of itself. But the lack of self-control of a person who commits violence, especially domestic violence which is more common than you would think, indicates a lack of judgment. Such a person cannot be trusted to act rationally.

That is why we differentiate between violent acts in self-defense which we justify and assault and attacks and violence that is not in self-defense.

Please comment. I tried to say this clearly, but I don't know whether I succeeded.

We don't want people with questionable self-control being involved in our intelligence services. I say that as one who never worked in intelligence. But I think it would take supreme self-control and good judgment to have anything to do with it.

We hear a lot about the "deep state," but it is the fact that only the most mature among us qualify to work in organizations like the CIA and FBI that help to make it safe for us to have those organizations.

That is why Porter and others who have not passed security checks should not have access to classified information.

February 12, 2018

The Republican Party is the party of the past.

The make America great AGAIN gives them away.

AGAIN is a word about the past, not the future, not even the present.

Republicans don't want to move into the future. They don't want to think about what is needed now to prepare for that future.

Our challenge as Democrats is to talk about the challenges of the future and how Democrats will prepare our country to meet them. Higher population, climate change, the challenge of China and its huge population and industrial development. South America and all the promise and possibility of that part of our American hemisphere.

- - - -

There are so many positive things awaiting us in the future, but also so many challenges. And we Democrats have the answers for growth, peace, development and meeting the difficult challenges the future will bring.

Republicans are the party of the past. We are the party of the future, the party of progress, the party of promise.

That is the message we need to present and sell. Shouldn't be difficult since it is the truth.

February 2, 2018

Be sure to read Wikipedia on Page before the page on Page disappears.

I have a soft heart, and this page almost makes me feel sorry for Page.

Note that I say "almost."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carter_Page

It's pretty pathetic. He is a pathetic guy I think.

February 2, 2018

If the Republicans who have the majority and the power and authority in

Congress think that the FISA Court and the FBI and intelligence agencies overstepped in ordering the surveillance of Carter Page, they have the ability to change the laws that permitted that surveillance.

They could have already changed those laws, but they prefer to grandstand.

Grandstanding is much more exciting than the tedious work of actually writing and passing good laws.

Grandstanding and the drama of releasing memos is more gratifying to the egos of Republicans than is the work of governing.

Let's elect Democrats and charge them with insuring that the laws that govern our justice system from Guantanamo to the FISA court to the FBI to the Supreme Court protect our rights as stated in the Constitution.

I don't think the Republicans are capable of doing that.