Category: President Trump’s Actions

Death of Soleimani Ushers in Armageddon

January 8, 2020

Unless you have been for the last week in a coma, one of the World’s greatest terrorists died in a U.S. missile strike at Baghdad Airport. Iranian General Qasem Soleimani — that’s right, an Iranian General who was in Iraq — was the target of that missile strike. Who was this guy, and why did the U.S. take him out?

Follow this Bullet-point explanation:

  • President Trump ordered the attack on Major General Qassem Soleimani, a master terrorist and the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on January 2nd.  He was killed along with seven others as he arrived at the Baghdad Airport.  Here are key facts about this man, who was responsible for the deaths of untold numbers of people around the world.
    Soleimani was the most potent Iranian general.  While other generals may have outranked him, as Commander of the Quds Forces, he answered only to Iran’s Supreme Leader.  His authority was outside the usual military chain of command in Iran, and he was given carte blanche authority for the export of terror around the world as he coordinated and directed the numerous Iranian militias and proxies worldwide.
  • The Quds Forces were responsible for assassinations, terrorism, and unconventional warfare that Iran exports and executes globally, including places like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.  He was the benefactor of Hamas and Hezbollah.  Soleimani participated in assassinations and assassination attempts in the U.S., Germany, India, and Argentina.
  • He was also linked to the deaths of over 600 U.S. service members in Iraq, as he supplied enhanced Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to the insurgency there.  Thousands of U.S. troops were wounded and maimed by these weapons.  The IRGC was responsible for 17 percent of all U.S. casualties in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.
  • We are in a War on Terror since September 11, 2001.  Iran is the leading state-sponsor of terrorism, and the Quds Forces have been declared a terror organization.  In war, a general officer of an enemy force is a legitimate military target.  This was not an assassination.  It was the killing of an enemy soldier in a war.
  • According to Secretary of State Pompeo, Soleimani died not killed because of his past deeds, but because the U.S. learned of planned attacks by Soleimani on U.S. personnel and others.  The attacks were imminent.
  • Because of this, President Trump was not required to notify Congress in advance.  Under his Article Two powers in the U.S. Constitution, and following the War Powers Act, the president can take military action if a threat against the United States is imminent.
  • The attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad were not mere demonstrations.  They were coordinated attacks on the U.S. compound and its personnel directed by Soleimani and his Quds Forces, in coordination with Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq.
  • Soleimani was also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators in Iran as they protested against government corruption and a failing economy in Iran.
  • Over the last several weeks, hundreds of Iraqi demonstrators died as they protested against Iranian influence in their own country and government corruption in Iraq.  The use of live ammunition against these demonstrations in Iraq can also be traced back to Soleimani.

Reaction

The events of the last several days are a reminder that there are evil people and terrorist forces who seek to do us harm.  When they chant “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” they genuinely mean it.

As with the death of Osama bin Laden, one would expect the entire American government to applaud the elimination of the world’s most vicious and most potent general who was personally responsible for the deaths of at least 600 Americans plus involved in the extermination of hundreds of thousands in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Democrats and Republicans alike in the aftermath of bin Laden’s death congratulated President Obama and those 23 military heroes who sneaked into that Pakistani compound to get Osama bin Laden.

Republicans applaud President Trump’s actions to eliminate Soleimani. Democrats: not so much. Their venomous responses and continued attacks on President Trump just escalated in the wake of Soleimani’s death.

Here are just a few:

  1. Sen.Tom Udall (D-NM) claimed that Trump is “bringing our nation to the brink of an illegal war with Iran with no congressional approval.”
  2. Sen. Tom Carver (D-DE) noted that the Trump administration has “chosen rash provocation over any coherent strategy” and expressed fear that this most recent activity may be more of the same.
  3. Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) noted that he has “serious concerns about this President’s execution of a potential act of war without authorization of Congress.”
  4. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) “Trump’s apparent assassination of Soleimani is a massive, deliberate, and dangerous escalation of conflict with Iran. The President just put the lives of every person in the region – U.S. service members and civilians – at immediate risk. We need de-escalation now.”
  5. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) “Trump Admin owes a full explanation of airstrike reports—all the facts—to Congress&the American people. The present authorizations for the use of military force in no way cover starting a possible new war. This step could bring the most consequential military confrontation in decades.”
  6. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war.”
  7. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) “When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the region. That fear, unfortunately, turned out to be true. The U.S. has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and we’ve spent trillions.”
  8. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) “So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? The real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will.”
  9. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “American leaders’ highest priority is to protect American lives and interests. But we cannot put the lives of American service members, diplomats, and others further at risk by engaging in provocative and disproportionate actions.”

I know of not a single Democrat who has verbalized any support for the elimination of Soleimani. But, of course, the Democrat-News Media were quick to demonize President Trump for the attack, even to the point of memorializing Soleimani!

Breaking news: Airstrike at Baghdad airport kills Iran’s most revered military leader, Qasem Soleimani, Iraqi state television reports https://t.co/NbZW4DaWvD
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 3, 2020

In addition to that quick tweet from The Post, the television leftist shows all abandoned their “normal” Trump-bashing and have gone all-in on Soleimani. I honestly did not know there were so many military and intelligence experts regarding administrative responsibilities for the notification of Congress before such covert actions are taken! Dozens of “military and legal experts” flood news shows on CNN, MSNBC, even the big three, ABC, NBC, and CBS, urging every American to run to their storm shelters to make sure they’re fully stocked for the imminent Armageddon that Soleimani’s death triggered.

Examples?

Those are just a few. In the last few days, such allegations against the President have escalated dramatically.

The Legality

No President has the unilateral authority to start a war. The War Powers Act details steps mandated for the U.S. to enter into a war. However, since 2001 and the World Trade Center attacks, things in the world of Intelligence and Terror have changed.

Regarding this specific action by President Trump, the Pentagon said Gen. Qassem Soleimani was “actively developing” plans to kill American diplomats and service members when he died. “That would appear to place the action within the legal authority of the president, as commander in chief, to use force in defense of the nation under Article II of the Constitution,” said Bobby Chesney, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who specializes in national security issues.

“If the facts are as the Defense Department said, then the president relatively clearly has Article II authority to act in self-defense of American lives,” Chesney said.

“That justification would apply even if Soleimani hadn’t already launched an attack under the established doctrine of ‘anticipatory’ self-defense,” according to Jeff Addicot, a retired Army officer and expert in national security law at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. “Legally, there’s no issue,” Addicot said. “Politically, however, it’s going to be debated, whether it’s the correct response. In my opinion, it’s the appropriate response, but it’s certainly legal.”

Summary

I’m said today — said that our country is so divided and so political. However, history shows us that American citizens have since the first Americans came ashore have had different ideas about government, rules and laws, and the way our country should operate. They with much debate created a template with which the majority agreed to use as the basic structure of living in America.

But things were different then. Early Americans while disagreeing, found ways to work through those differences, discuss, argue, and sometimes even come to blows or duels. But there was one common goal: to reach agreement so as to adhere to the articles of the U.S. Constitution, even when some of those articles were not appreciated by some of those settlers. It was called (and still is) “The Rule of Law.”

I’m disappointed that those from one political party have simply drawn a red line between their party and the party on the other side and said, “It’s our way or the highway.” And that is happening on every issue.

I see no end in sight.

What is causing all this? It boils down to two things: power and control. A large group of bureaucrats have sold their souls to the objective of snatching all the power of government that can be snatched, and with that power, instigate control over every aspect of the government of the United States.

What other explanation for what’s happening is there?

I’ll end with this:

“Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This, in fact, is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.”

“So tonight I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, color, religion and creed.”

Those words came from Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address. He’s a Republican reaching out to Democrats for unity. Every president reaches to those in the opposition for unity. They each know (and most have adopted that as their policy) that this country — a Democratic Representative Republic — MUST have agreement between those with opposing views of government to maintain its fundament status. Thankfully, our leaders have always ultimately worked through differences to reach a consensus.

It’s critical that we do on this issue, too. Instead of pointing fingers and name-calling, there needs to be an emphasis by all that at the end of the day, we are ALL Americans and we are “One Nation under God.”

It needs to remain what it is today.

Trump Did This?

January 1, 2020

Even though Democrats and others on the Left constantly complain about President Trump’s legislative inaction during the first years of his presidency, facts do not bear out their wild allegations. In fact, few presidents have ever achieved as much as has this President while in office. When taking into consideration the fact that almost everything he HAS accomplished has come with a huge Democrat battle in every case, it is more amazing that so much has been accomplished.

This time every year we take a look back and provide a list of some of the Trump Administration’s most notable accomplishments the previous year. Today, we’ll take that one step further: find below a synopsis of Trump’s accomplishments summarized for the entirety of his first three years.

Let’s get started.

(scroll to the bottom to download this list in .pdf format)

The “Trump Show”

  • Trump signed three bills for Native people. One gives compensation to the Spokane tribe for the loss of their lands in the mid-1900s, one reauthorizes funding for Native language programs and the other gives federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana
  • In December 2019, Trump finalized the creation of Space Force as our 6th Military branch
  • In December 2019, Trump signed a law to make cruelty to animals a federal felony so that animal abusers face tougher consequences
  • Violent crime has fallen every year he’s been in office after rising the 2 years before he was elected
  • Trump signed a bill making CBD and Hemp legal
  • Trump’s EPA gave $100 million to fix the water infrastructure problem in Flint, Michigan
  • Under Trump’s leadership, in 2018 the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil
  • Trump signed a law ending the gag orders on Pharmacists that prevented them from sharing money-saving information
  • Trump signed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA), which includes the “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” (SESTA) which both give law enforcement and victims new tools to fight sex trafficking
  • Trump signed a bill to require airports to provide spaces for breastfeeding Moms
  • The 25% lowest-paid Americans enjoyed a 4.5% income boost in November 2019, that outpaces a 2.9% gain in earnings for the country’s highest-paid workers
  • Low-wage workers are benefiting from higher minimum wages and corporations that are increasing entry-level pay
  • Trump signed the biggest wilderness protection & conservation bill in a decade and designated 375,000 acres as protected land
  • Trump signed the Save our Seas Act which funds $10 million per year to clean tons of plastic & garbage from the ocean
  • Trump signed an executive order this year that forces all healthcare providers to disclose the cost of their services so that Americans can comparison shop and know how much less providers charge insurance companies
  • When signing that bill he said no American should be blindsided by bills for medical services they never agreed to in advance
  • Hospitals will now be required to post their standard charges for services, which include gross charges, the negotiated rates with insurers and the discounted price a hospital is willing to accept from a patient
  • He signed a bill in 2019 allowing some drug imports from Canada’s prescription prices to go down
  • In the eight years prior to President Trump’s inauguration, prescription drug prices increased by an average of 3.6 percent per year. Fast forward to today, and prescription drug prices have seen year-over-year declines in nine of the last ten months, with a 1.1 percent drop as of the most recent month. In June 2019, the United States saw the largest single-year drop (2.0 percent year-over-year decline) in prescription drug prices since 1967
  • Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans
  • VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far
  • Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life
  • Because of a bill signed and championed by Trump, In 2020, most federal employees will see their pay increase by an average of 3.1% — the largest raise in more than ten years
  • Trump signed into a law up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for millions of federal workers
  • Trump administration will provide HIV prevention drug for free to 200,000 uninsured patients per year for 11 years
  • All-time record sales during the 2019 holidays
  • Trump signed an order allowing small businesses to group when buying insurance so they can get it at a better price
  • President Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act which was written by a Republican lawmaker that provides funding for states to develop maternal mortality review committees to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions & largely focuses on reducing the higher mortality rates for Black Americans
  • In 2018, President Trump signed the groundbreaking First Step Act, a criminal justice bill that enacted reforms that make our justice system fairer and help former inmates successfully return to society. The First Step Act’s reforms addressed inequities in sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed Black Americans and reformed mandatory minimums that created unfair outcomes
  • Over 90% of those benefitting from the retroactive sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are Black Americans
  • The First Step Act expanded judicial discretion in the sentencing of non-violent crimes
  • The First Step Act provides rehabilitative programs to inmates, helping them successfully rejoin society and not return to crime
  • Trump increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by more than 14%
  • Trump signed legislation forgiving Hurricane Katrina debt that threatened HBCUs
  • Made HBCUs a priority by creating the position of executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs
  • Trump received the Bipartisan Justice Award at a historically black college for his criminal justice reform accomplishments
  • New single-family home sales are up 31.6% in October 2019 compared to just one year ago
  • The poverty rate fell to a 17-year low of 11.8% under the Trump administration as a result of a jobs-rich environment
  • Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels since the U.S. began collecting such data
  • Pres. Trump signed a bill that creates five national monuments, expands several national parks, adds 1.3 million acres of wilderness, and permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund
  • Trump’s USDA committed more than $124 Million to help rebuild rural water infrastructure
  • Consumer confidence & small business confidence at an all-time high
  • More than 7 million jobs created since the election
  • More Americans are now employed than ever recorded before in our history
  • More than 400,000 manufacturing jobs created since his election
  • Trump appointed five openly gay ambassadors
  • Trump ordered his openly gay ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell. to lead a global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe
  • Through Trump’s Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) initiative, Federal law enforcement more than doubled convictions of human traffickers and increased the number of defendants charged by 75% in ACTeam districts
  • In 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismantled an organization that was the internet’s leading source of prostitution-related advertisements resulting in sex trafficking
  • The Office of Management and Budget published new anti-trafficking guidance for government procurement officials to more effectively combat human trafficking
  • Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested 1,588 criminals associated with Human Trafficking
  • The United States law enforcement officers are collaborating with Mexican law enforcement officials to dismantle human trafficking networks operating across the U.S.-Mexico border
  • Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services provided funding to support the National Human Trafficking Hotline to identify perpetrators and give victims the help they need
  • That hotline identified 16,862 potential human trafficking cases and provided 14,419 referrals to services between October 2017 and March 2019
  • Trump’s DOJ provided grants to organizations that support human trafficking victims – serving nearly 9,000 cases from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018
  • The Department of Homeland Security has hired more victim assistance specialists, helping ensure that victims have the proper resources and support
  • President Trump has called on Congress to pass school choice legislation so that no child is trapped in a failing school because of his or her zip code
  • The President signed funding legislation in September 2018 that increased funding for school choice by $42 million
  • The tax cuts signed into law by President Trump promote school choice by allowing families to use 529 college savings plans for elementary and secondary education
  • Under his leadership, ISIS has lost most of their territory and been largely dismantled
  • ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed
  • Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs
  • Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers
  • President Trump’s issued an Executive Order prohibiting the U.S. government from discriminating against Christians or punishing expressions of faith
  • Signed an executive order that allows the government to withhold money from college campuses deemed to be anti- Semitic and who fail to combat anti-Semitism
  • President Trump has ordered a halt to all U.S. taxpayer money going to international organizations that fund or perform abortions
  • Trump imposed sanctions on the socialists in Venezuela who have killed their citizens
  • A finalized new trade agreement with South Korea
  • Made a deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe
  • Withdrew the U.S. from the job-killing TPP deal
  • Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam
  • OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation
  • Had over a dozen US hostages freed, including those Obama could not get freed
  • Trump signed the Music Modernization Act, the biggest change to copyright law in decades
  • Trump secured Billions that will fund the building of a wall at our southern border
  • The Trump Administration is promoting second chance hiring to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment
  • The Department of Education is expanding an initiative that allows individuals in prison to receive Pell Grants to better prepare themselves for the workforce
  • The Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons launched a new “Ready to Work Initiative” to help connect employers directly with former prisoners
  • President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in low- income communities across the country
  • 8,764 communities across the country have been designated as Opportunity Zones
  • Opportunity Zones are expected to spur $100 billion in long- term private capital investment in economically distressed communities across the country
  • Trump directed the Education Secretary to end Common Core
  • Trump signed the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund into law Trump signed measure funding prevention programs for Veteran suicide
  • Companies have brought back over a TRILLION dollars from overseas because of the TCJA bill that Trump signed
  • Manufacturing jobs growing at the fastest rate in more than 30 years
  • Stock Market has reached record highs
  • Median household income has hit the highest level ever
  • Recorded African-American unemployment is at an all-time low
  • Hispanic-American unemployment is at an all-time low
  • Asian-American unemployment is at an all-time low
  • Women’s unemployment rate is at a 65 year low
  • Youth unemployment is at a 50-year low
  • We have the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded
  • The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in employers committing to train more than 4 million Americans
  • Ninety-five percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future— the highest ever.
  • As a result of the Republican tax bill, small businesses will have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years
  • A record number of regulations eliminated that hurt small businesses
  • Signed welfare reform requiring able-bodied adults who don’t have children to work or look for work if they’re on welfare
  • Under Trump, the FDA approved more affordable generic drugs than ever before in history
  • Reformed the Medicare program to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs—saving seniors hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone
  • Signed Right-To-Try legislation which allows terminally ill patients to try any experimental treatment that wasn’t allowed before
  • Secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic
  • Signed VA Choice Act and VA Accountability Act, expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care
  • U.S. oil production recently reached all-time high, so we are less dependent on oil from the Middle East
  • The U.S. is a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957
  • Withdrew the United States from the job-killing Paris Climate Accord in 2017 and that same year the U.S. still led the world by having the most substantial reduction in carbon emissions
  • NATO allies increased their defense spending because of his pressure campaign
  • Created Space Force and got it signed into law as our 6th military branch
  • Has his circuit court judges being confirmed faster than any other new administration
  • Had his Supreme Court Justice’s Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh confirmed
  • Moved U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem
  • Agreed to a new trade deal with Mexico & Canada that will increase jobs here and $$$ coming in
  • Reached a breakthrough agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports
  • Imposed tariffs on China in response to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and their chronically abusive trade practices H
  • as agreed to a part 1 trade deal with China (Still negotiating part 2)
  • Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline
  • Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments
  • The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by Trump doubled the maximum amount of the child tax credit available to parents and lifted the income limits so more people could claim it. It also created a new tax credit for other dependents
  • In 2018, President Trump signed into law a $2.4 billion funding increase for the Child Care and Development Fund, providing a total of $8.1 billion to states to fund child care for low-income families
  • The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) signed into law by Trump provides a tax credit equal to 20-35% of child care expenses, $3,000 per child & $6,000 per family + Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) allow you to set aside up to $5,000 in pre-tax $ to use for child care
  • In 2019 President Donald Trump signed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act (CARES) into law which allocates $1.8 billion in funding over the next five years to help people with autism spectrum disorder and to help their families
  • In 2019 President Trump signed into law two funding packages providing nearly $19 million in new funding for Lupus specific research and education programs, as well an additional $41.7 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the most Lupus funding ever

Note: Another upcoming accomplishment to add: In the next few weeks, Trump will sign the first primary anti-robocall law in decades called the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence)
Once it’s a law, the TRACED Act will extend the period the FCC has to catch & punish those who intentionally break telemarketing restrictions. The bill also requires voice service providers to develop a framework to verify calls are legitimate before they reach your phone. The TRACED Act requires carriers to share tools & the ability to block spam callers with customers for free. It also changes the fine imposed on spam telemarketers from $1,500 to $10,000 PER CALL. Earlier this year (2019) Trump’s FCC fined one robocall guy $120 million

Summary

I know, the list is exhaustive! But isn’t it encouraging that even with the constant, non-stop push-back this President has received, he has been able to get this many bills passed, executive orders signed, and deals negotiated? That in itself is a miracle, even forgetting the content of each act! Just imagine how much more could and would have been accomplished if Democrats and Trump-resistant Republicans in Congress had simply joined Mr. Trump to get even more done.

What’s ahead for 2020? I dare not foretell! With Donald Trump in the White House, there is no telling what will be accomplished. But, one thing we know for certain is there will be many opportunities for many additional policies, legislation, and programs implemented under President Trump. Let’s see if Congress will join the “Trump Show!”

Feel free to click on this link and download the above list of Trump’s three years of accomplishments. Share with your friends.

The Trump Show

Big City/State Leadership: No Accountability

December 30, 2019
The feud between the leadership of the two largest states by population and Washington D.C. has reached monumental levels. California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have far more than professional “issues” with President Donald Trump. “They hate the guy.” Having such feelings should make everyone sad. But in this case, because of who is involved, it makes everyone uncomfortable. Political leaders are supposed to work together for the common good of their states and the nation. It is hard to find “common good” when both governors and the President feel the others are inept and inferior leaders.
This personal animus goes far beyond the standard policy disagreements that are so common between those from different political parties. It has consumed these two governors so much that they each have stopped even trying to fix dire situations in their states in their war with Mr. Trump. And while they continue to hurl insults toward the Potomac, their states are falling apart.

Homelessness

The nation is struggling with homelessness. The levels to which homelessness has risen is unconscionable. According to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, California has 129,972 living in the streets while New York has 91,897.  No other states are even close.
Both states receive billions of dollars of federal assistance earmarked for social issues. California gets $376 Billion (for the Fiscal year 2017) but does not explicitly budget for handling the homelessness situation. Most of that money goes to specific obligations like Social Security, Medicare, and other social agencies. New York receives about the same.
The “story” is that neither governor accepts responsibility for the homelessness in their states, nor do they have concrete plans to address that issue. Instead, both point toward D.C. and blame President Trump for not just their homelessness, but pretty much every other issue within their states. That is called “No Accountability.”
Their stance on refusing any accountability has spread through their state governments and trickled down into county and city governments. Every politician wants the money but declines responsibility.
Therein lies the problem we face today. Instead of rolling up sleeves and digging-in for solutions, these and many other governors prefer to point to others who should be accountable.
Want some more examples?

The “Left” Coast

President Trump supporters will clean up excess feces in the Democratic city of San Francisco
The city of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has a big problem concerning homelessness, and that includes the issue of feces. For this reason, pro-Trump activists decided to take action to assist with a group cleanup in the city of San Francisco, California.

TheDaily Signal reported that the San Francisco Department of Public Works responded to 30,136 cases of “human or animal waste” this year, up from 28,353 in 2018. The city launched a $750,000 “poop patrol” in September 2018 to combat the plague of feces, but that didn’t stop this year’s numbers from exceeding last year’s. This data shows that the city of San Francisco, governed by the Democratic Party, is becoming increasingly dirty.

A Twitter post quoted in the Conservatives article reported that homeless people are defecating in grocery stores. For this reason, pro-Trump supporters decided to organize a cleanup activity in the city.

According to The Gateway Pundit, Donald Trump posted a tweet for Nancy Pelosi about the complicated situation on Thursday, Dec. 26, “California leads the nation, by far, in both the number of homeless people and the percentage increase in the homeless population—two terrible stats. Crazy Nancy should focus on that in her very own district, and helping her incompetent governor with the big homeless problem!” he wrote.

Conservative pro-Trump activist Scott Presler announced on Dec. 26 that he would head to San Francisco for a day of organized cleanup. Presler has previously done this community work in the cities of Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

“I’m coming to San Francisco for a cleanup. I hear that SF has a “Poop Patrol,” so we’re going to wear hazmat suits as we did in LA. My goal is to go into America’s dirtiest cities, register voters, & do the job that no one else will do,” he said on his Twitter account.

One would think that San Francisco — especially as the home of the most powerful member of Congress — would be the first in the U.S. that would receive any and all resources necessary to take care of homelessness and other problems. Remember: homelessness comes with more than just a housing problem: there’s drug abuse, mental health issues, and criminal  activities that have paralyzed the once beautiful “City by the Bay.”

But it gets worse:

Consequences of progressive policies in San Francisco: Oracle cancels conference moves to Las Vegas

Technology giant Oracle announced that starting next year, it will move its renowned annual conference from San Francisco to Las Vegas. Previous visitors to OpenWorld had complained about “poor street conditions” and high hotel rates in the Californian city.

The decision by the major Silicon Valley company raises “concerns” about whether the Democrat-governed city can host significant business events that have long been a pillar of its tourism, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report.

High hotel costs, homelessness, open drug use, and incidents of street violence that alarm visitors are among the challenges the city faces.

OpenWorld is a technology conference that has been held in San Francisco for the past two decades, attracting some 60,000 visitors each year.

The San Francisco Travel Association estimates the move will cost San Francisco $64 million a year, according to an email to its members.

We did not even include similar problems like these in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Local leaders in all these cities plus every member of California’s Washington D.C. Congressional contingency refuse personal, local, or state accountability for these and other issues crippling their state. Yet they in unison point to the White House and place blame directly on the Trump Administration.

By the way: the homelessness and criminality problems in California began its precipitous escalation during the first Obama term, long before Trump’s election.

The “Other” Coast

The “Big Apple.” No, New York City is NOT the whole of the state of New York. But it dominates the state in every way. Many don’t even realize New York’s capital is upstate: Albany. But Manhattan sucks up most of the oxygen anywhere in New York.

The two most powerful men in NY state and local government are Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Both carry the exact same feelings for the President as do California’s governor and Congressional members. Both Cuomo and de Blasio struggle with homelessness, massive drug abuse, and rampant criminal issues that are all escalating rapidly. They have no fixes. So, how do they handle it? They blame the Trump Administration.

New York’s mayor — in spite of the massive federal dollars that pour into his city to help with homelessness — wants and expects more from President Trump. He wants the feds to issue more housing vouchers to let people staying in shelters move into rental homes. He’s aiming to eliminate long-term homelessness in the city over the next five years.

“The problem ultimately is Donald Trump has not shown any willingness to give us the tools we need, most especially Section 8 vouchers, which allow people to live in rental housing, de Blasio said. “That’s the single-strongest piece we need from Washington that we are not getting right now.”

In addition to these problems is a rash of hate crimes that of late have been targeted at members of the Jewish Community in Manhattan and elsewhere. Anti-Semitic hate speech is flooding the nation but is especially vicious in New York because of the vast Jewish populace. It’s not just a vitriolic speech. It has spread to violence — even murder.

The New York Police Department is increasing its presence in several Brooklyn neighborhoods as it investigates at least nine possible anti-Semitic attacks that took place in recent days. All of the suspected hate crimes took place in Brooklyn, known for being home to a large number of Jewish residents. “Anyone who terrorizes our Jewish community WILL face justice,” Mayor de Blasio wrote on Twitter. “Anti-Semitism is an attack on the values of our city — and we will confront it head-on.”

The mayor continued: “An atmosphere of hate has been developing in this country over the last few years. A lot of it is emanating from Washington, and it’s having an effect on all of us,” he said.

When asked if he was blaming Trump, he said, “not just the president,” but said “we need a different tone, starting in Washington … that encourage this country to actually find some unity and some common ground” that he does not think the country has had in recent years.

Accountability

Folks, in big cities all across American and most of our largest cities, there is no accountability shared among their leaders!

They refuse to be accountable to those who they are supposed to answer to voters. It’s not just in L.A., San Francisco, other California cities, and New York City and State and other cities — it’s in almost every large city in the U.S. and their respective states. These leaders, along with many of their Congressional representatives in D.C., shirk the accountability that goes with the responsibilities they accepted when they each took an oath of office. How do they handle it? They all point at the White House and loudly cry, “It’s Donald Trump’s Fault!”

There is a common denominator in most of these circumstances: the states are controlled by Democrat governors and state legislatures, and their Congressional members are almost all members of the Democrat Party.

I am not saying Democrats are the problem. What I AM saying is that there is an adopted attitude of political elitism that permeates the leadership of the Democrat Party that says, “I am responsible for everything. When things go well, they do so because I am in charge. When things go poorly, they do so because Republicans obstruct my leftist wishes and destroy what was to be a long list of accomplishments!”

The wheel always stops at “Donald Trump” on their “Wheel of Blame!”

Summary

It’s become nothing but a comedic taking point when these leaders always blame the GOP and the President. GOP leadership in D.C. has known the spiel perfected by Dems. What’s different today is that under this President’s direction, Conservatives are no longer content to ignore it and just let Democrats spin their stories. GOP leaders are now encouraged to stand up and shout the truth in each circumstance.

Dems are not used to having real leaders in the federal government. Trump is a leader. Trump is a problem solver. He identifies issues, determines how it repairs those issues, puts the resources and leadership in place to right the issues, and then holds those in leadership over each area accountable! 

Democrats are always quick to find problems, blame each problem on their political opponents, cry that more money needs to be spent to fix the problems, allocates the money, the problems are never fixed, and no one is held accountable for the break-downs!

The list of Trump accomplishments in his presidency is exhaustive. We have published them each year and will do so for 2019 in a few weeks. That list will once again prove that Donald Trump became President because voters wanted problems solved, and there were no problem solvers in D.C.

There have been some things he’s tried that when implemented, did not (or have not yet) accomplished their expected objectives. Some call those “failures.” Mr. Trump calls them “obstacles.” Most often, when those things happen, those who request them failures quit and walk away. Mr. Trump operates this way: “There were good reasons to go after this. We just hit a snag. Let’s find ways to learn what part of the process did not work and find a better way.”

His way is NOT traditional in Washington, D.C. But his way most often DOES work.

I laugh until I cry when Democrats continually refuse to acknowledge his many positive results for ALL Americans. Instead, they throw everything they can muster to make him look bad — even in the midst of something working perfectly! 

Once again, the Left thinks Americans are stupid. I’ll finish by quoting that great American Historian, Forrest Gump: “Stupid is as Stupid does.”

FISA: Time to Reform or Time to Go?

December 18, 2019

Unless you live in a barrel, you have heard in numerous conversations the word “FISA.” “FISA” actually stands for “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.” FISA legislation regulates the United States Government’s ability to surveil (or “spy”) American citizens who may be communicating with people outside the U.S. Such surveillance is governed by a special court called “FISC,” or “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.” Why would this ever be necessary?

The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC, also called the FISA Court) is a U.S. federal court established and authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants against foreign spies inside the United States by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Such requests are made most often by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In 2013, a top-secret order issued by the court, which was later leaked to the media from documents culled by Edward Snowden, required a subsidiary of Verizon to provide a daily, on-going feed of all call detail records—including those for domestic calls—to the NSA. The Edward Snowden matter brought the FISA process to light and thrust it into the forefront of intelligence agencies’ process operations. This was the first time average Americans knew anything about this process.

How Does FISA Work?

Each application for one of these surveillance warrants (called a FISA warrant) is given to an individual judge of the court. The court may allow third parties to submit briefs. When the U.S. Attorney General determines that an emergency exists, the Attorney General may authorize the emergency employment of electronic surveillance before obtaining the necessary authorization from the FISC, if the Attorney General or their designee notifies a judge of the court at the time of approval and applies for a warrant as soon as practicable but not more than seven days after approval of such surveillance, as required by 50 U.S.C. § 1805.

If one judge of the court denies an application, the federal government is not allowed to make the same application to a different judge of the court but may appeal to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. Such appeals are rare: the first appeal from the FISC to the Court of Review was occurred in 2002 (In re-Sealed Case No. 02-001), 24 years after the founding of the court.

Also rare is for FISA warrant requests to be turned down. During the 25 years from 1979 to 2004, 18,742 warrants were granted, while only four were rejected. (this is important and will be discussed later) Fewer than 200 requests were modified before being accepted, almost all of them in 2003 and 2004. The four rejected applications were all from 2003, and all four were granted in part after being submitted for reconsideration by the government. Of the applications that had to be modified, few were before the year 2000. During the next eight years, from 2004 to 2012, there were over 15,100 additional warrants granted, and another seven were rejected. Over the entire 33-year period, the FISA court issued 33,942 warrants, with only 12 denials – a rejection rate of 0.03 percent of the total requests. This total does not include the number of warrants that were modified by the FISA court.

FISA Corruption

It’s easy to see how the FISA process could easily be corrupted for partisan and covert purposes. The fact that FISA corruption is so easy to implement has given pause to numerous of those on Capitol Hill, who are both concerned with the obvious actual and attempted electronic intrusions into multiple U.S. companies and even the government itself. The most recent of such alleged FISA abuse occurred during the FBI Trump Campaign investigation. It allegedly began with a FISA warrant submitted to the FISC for authorization to surveil the communications of Carter Page, who was an associate of the Trump Campaign. Uproar ensued about alleged “wiretapping” of then Candidate Donald Trump shortly after a visit to Trump Tower by former NSA head Mike Rodgers. Speculation is that Rodgers, in that meeting, informed Mr. Trump that his campaign headquarters at Trump Tower was electronically surveilled. The next day, the Trump Campaign moved its headquarters to New Jersey.

NOTE: unless and until President releases to the American public the FISA warrant applications filed by the FBI to obtain FISA warrants, we will not know the specifics of the basis for that surveillance. It is expected for those to be released at any time

It is uncanny how partisan are the comments and analyses of the findings of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz as published in his 500+ page report a few days ago into FISA abuse alleged to have occurred during the Trump Campaign investigation. It depends on whom you speak or listen as to whether the Horowitz findings vilified the FISA process during the FBI investigation or supported it. Shortly after its release, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana made this request of the President:

“The Inspector General report showed the FBI was willing to do anything in order to spy on Carter Page, including making 17 significant inaccuracies and omissions. The American public deserves to know everything the FBI did,” Kennedy said in a statement. I’m asking President Trump to declassify the entire record so that Attorney General Barr and FBI Director Wray can release it to the American people. If the FBI wants to continue the employment of rogue, politically-motivated agents, then let the public read the entire record.”

As does Senator Kennedy, numerous Americans both inside and outside of Washington feel the structure of the Court gives the government an “open season” on surveillance of Americans — ALL Americans — that apparently have and could going forward be for partisan and political purposes. Remember this: only twelve of 33,942 FISA warrants filed in its history did the FISA Court deny.

Fix FISA or Dump FISA

The House recently voted against an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, proposed by Reps. Justin Amash of Michigan and  Zoe Lofgren of California. FISA Section 702, which was inserted as an addition to the 1978 FISA Act in 2008, was intended to be used solely to monitor communications by foreign nationals outside of the United States.

In recent years, Edward Snowden’s revelations showed that Section 702 provided the government with a legal cover to collect data on communications between millions of U.S. citizens without warrants or probable cause. According to a National Security Agency (NSA) transparency report from April 2019, in 2018, communications by U.S. citizens or residents were queried 9,637 times, over 2,000 more queries than the previous year.

The Amash-Lofgren Amendment would have withheld funding for Section 702 in the budget for the fiscal year 2020. If it had passed, any requests for Section 702 funding by governmental bodies such as the NSA would have had to make an express commitment to not use those funds on the warrantless collection of U.S. citizens’ data.

Forty-seven organizations, including the ACLU, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and FreedomWorks, urged Congress in a June letter to pass the amendment to “significantly advance the privacy rights of people within the United States.” Two Republican representatives, Chip Roy of Texas and Jim Jordan of Ohio, rose to defend the amendment during the ten minutes of debate that was afforded. Despite these endorsements, the change was struck down 252-175, with over 100 members of each party voting against it.

Unfortunately, as ordinary American citizens, we find ourselves in something of a conundrum. It’s hard for us to say, “Yes, we support FISA and want it to continue,” or “No, we think the Government with FISA has too many unchecked opportunities to abuse the FISA system, so we want it abolished.”

Summary

Here’s what a legal writer Mark Wauck stated about whether we should keep or abolish the FISA process:

“It seems to me that since Watergate our politics have been almost totally transformed, with the Left feeling ascendant, despite occasional setbacks. At the same time that the Left has taken over education and most other public institutions, the Intelligence agencies–and of course the FBI in particular–have assumed a huge role in domestic intelligence. It’s true that this is partly the result of the GWOT (“Global War on Terrorism”) and FISA’s application to it, but I believe it was happening anyway.

The current abuses that we’re seeing coming to light attributable to the Obama Administration, are very scary. However, given that the Left feels no constraints about our traditional liberties, is it possible that FISA actually gives them a bit of pause, slows them down a bit just to hide what they’re doing? If they were to have 8 years with no constraints, with the total and enthusiastic cooperation of Big Data companies, what might the result be?

This is what worries me. Would the abolition of what is undoubtedly unconstitutional lead to Big Brother?”

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul — a Libertarian at heart — has long questioned the validity of the FISA system in regards to the Constitutional protection of the rights of Americans. According to the Senator, the process in its purest forms should work correctly. But there is a problem: people with partisan opinions and perspectives of its purposes:

Should we fix the process hoping for good results? Or should we simply ax it to once again rely on a prosecutor presenting evidence to a judge sufficient to justify a surveillance warrant?

There is far too much corruption at the DOJ and FBI that has been exposed in the last few years for me to feel comfortable recommending continuation of the FISA process. Too many people in powerful positions that impact FISA investigations have been shown to be grossly politically biased. Unless and until the Intelligence agencies have demonstrated their commitment to strict adherence to not just the letter of FISA warrant applicant and subsequent warrants, but to the FISA process, I recommend that FISA be ditched and we return to the 250-year-old process to obtain warrants: convince a judge with facts of any case when presenting a sworn warrant application for a surveillance warrant. If facts in evidence justify such a warrant, that judge can issue it.

If there’s “meat on the bone,” justice will be served. And the personal lives of Americans will once again be protected from Big Brother or surveillance abuse who once gains power seldom every relinquishes it.

NEWS BULLETIN!!!!!!

In a rare public order Tuesday, the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [FISC] strongly criticized the FBI over its surveillance-application process, giving the bureau until Jan. 10 to come up with solutions, in the wake of findings from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.

The order, from the court’s presiding judge Rosemary M. Collyer, came just a week after the release of Horowitz’s withering report about the wiretapping of Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to President Trump.

“The FBI’s handling of the Carter Page applications, as portrayed in the [Office of Inspector General] report, was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor described above,” Collyer wrote in her four-page order. “The frequency with which representations made by FBI personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable.”

“As [FBI Director Christopher Wray] has stated, the inspector general’s report describes conduct by certain FBI employees that is unacceptable and unrepresentative of the FBI as an institution,” the bureau responded in a statement Tuesday night. “The director has ordered more than 40 corrective steps to address the report’s recommendations, including some improvements beyond those recommended by the IG.”

Horowitz said he did not find significant evidence that FBI agents were involved in a political conspiracy to undermine Trump’s candidacy in 2016. However, the report did find numerous errors and inaccuracies used by FBI agents to obtain permission to monitor Page’s phone calls and emails.

While Collyer’s order did not specify exactly what reforms the FBI needed to implement to its policies for obtaining permission to wiretap people under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, the order did say that the FISA court will weigh in on whether the reforms are deemed sufficient.

“The [FISA court] expects the government to provide complete and accurate information in every filing with the court,” Collyer wrote. “Without it, the [FISA court] cannot properly ensure that the government conducts electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes only when there is a sufficient factual basis.” (FOX News)

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The “Trump Train”

November 15, 2019

Yessiree: I jumped on the “Trump Train” Thursday night at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City, Louisiana. The President joined 15,000 of his closest friends inside the arena and a large number (uncountable) of those looking in from the outside who could not enter because of capacity limits. The picture to the left was taken from a suite about 100 yards from the stage. I used it here so that all could see just how crowded the event was and how close he was to the crowd. I came away with many unexpected feelings and opinions.

  1. Mr. Trump seemed much more gracious and thoughtful when I listened to his entire speech and actual conversation with the large and biased crowd. I guess that when I’ve looked in to see his other rallies at other locations, most of what I saw were edited or at least just partial segments of those rallies. In context, he certainly showed a communication prowess I did not expect.
  2. He connects with an audience. I was not a fan of The Apprentice. Quite honestly, I never watched an entire episode. But in retrospect, even on that television show, he spoke to a small number of people gathered around a table at the end of the teaching show. In Bossier City, it was a huge crowd that were there to see him and experience interactions with him. No one was disappointed. He spoke “To” those 15,000+, not “At” them. They responded in kind.
  3. I was surprised at the makeup of the crowd. Because of news reports that I’ve seen and heard from a year prior to the 2016 election and since, I fully expected to be there with nothing but redneck white supremacists dressed in camo or white sheets. There certainly were a number of folks from Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas who looked to be working-class Americans, but I saw dozens and dozens of people I know who are business owners, retired wealthy people, and many elected officials at local, state, and federal levels that I was shocked to see in attendance in a Congressional election off-year. To my surprise Mr. Trump has an appeal to a diverse cross section of Americans.
  4. The President was actually respectful on the most part when speaking of his opponents from the Democrat side: that is, except of Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Remember: this was actually a rally for the GOP Candidate for Louisiana Governor in Saturday’s election. Eddie Rispone — a south Louisiana businessman — is running against a one-time heavily favored incumbent Democrat, John Bel Edwards. This was Trump’s third trip to Louisiana stumping for Rispone. And polls show those first two trips at least gave Rispone a couple of large bumps. We’ll see what this the third such trip will accomplish.

Summary

Let’s be honest: it’s late here. I wanted to share with you my initial feelings about the Trump Rally while they are still fresh in my mind. Additionally, there were no impeachment inquiry hearings on Thursday and I felt I could give you a break. They will resume on Friday. On Saturday we’ll reconvene to discuss and share our thoughts on the Friday testimonies. But one bit of news was released to coincide with Mr. Trump’s arrival when he stepped off Air Force One: The Ukraine Foreign Minister released some information regarding the Trump “Ukraine-Gate” debacle.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Prystaiko released the following on Thursday regarding Ambassador Sondland’s comments and conversations about links between U.S. aid to Ukraine being delayed that was tied to initiation by Ukraine investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden and Burisma.

Ukraine did not hear from U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland about a link between the delay in military assistance to Ukraine and the investigation into the case of Burisma Holdings, where son of former Vice President Joe Biden Hunter worked.

“Ambassador Sondland did not tell us, and did not tell me exactly, about the relation between the [military] assistance and the investigations. You should ask him. I do not recall any conversation with me as with foreign minister. It was not we, the Ukrainian officials (who were told this),” Prystaiko told the journalists in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said he had no contact with Sondland as an official.

“I have never seen a direct link between investigations and security assistance. Yes, investigations were mentioned, you know, in a presidential conversation. But there was no clear connection between these events,” the minister said.

Once again, an official from Ukraine has countered U.S. Democrats continuous assertions that in that telephone conversation between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, Mr. Trump threatened to hold foreign aid from Ukraine unless Ukraine restarted their corruption investigation into Hunter Biden and the Ukrainian company whose board on which he served: Burisma. That alleged extortion or “quid pro quo” was the fuel that lit the fire of the whistleblower that came forward anonymously. That jump started this latest Trump impeachment investigation.

Apparently, there’s “no there there.”

Oh well, they’ll be plenty more to divert the attention of Americans away from the actual extortion by an American politician who demanded Ukraine fire a prosecutor investigation then Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and his Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. Vice President Biden was caught on tape explaining how he had told the former president of Ukraine that unless that prosecutor was fired within six hours, the U.S. would NOT pay to Ukraine the nearly $1 Billion of aid Congress had authorized. Biden’s actions documented by his own confession was NOT a quid pro quo. It was extortion and blackmail.

Do you like me wonder why no one on the Left has assigned any importance at all to what the VP did? Also, why do they continue to simply shop for wrongdoing by Mr. Trump while ignoring the 900-pound gorilla in the room!

Back tomorrow (Saturday) with analysis of Round 2 of the public impeachment inquiry testimony.

Trump Thunderstruck

November 9, 2019

I’ll bet you that you have not yet seen this video. I cannot think of a better way to start a Saturday in November that with a hot cup of coffee, the volume on my audio/video system turned WAY up, and watching and listening to members of this “integrous” group of professional journalists who each earn six-figure annual salaries — some more than that — to be what their title denotes: Journalists. Few are that. What are they?

I’ll let the President with the help of AC/DC answer that question.

Turn it up!

Oh, I forgot:

“Geaux Tigers — Beat Bama!”

A Blue Wave

November 7, 2019

It is humorous in this political environment that for every election at any level — federal, state, or local — those from both major parties declare specific partisan certainties of each election’s results. None of the specifics of those election results seem to matter to the parties. When their candidate wins, it’s because the other candidate’s policies were summarily rejected, and voters roundly approved their candidates. It’s the old “Glass half-full or half-empty” example in each election.

November 5th’s runoff elections around the nation resulted in a few changes — very few changes. But to read the major newspapers or watch or listen to national television morning shows, President Trump certainly was the candidate running on each ballot in each state that held elections. The moving trucks are today at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue moving the Trumps to their new permanent residence in Florida. America saw a “Blue Wave!”

“Morning-After“ 2019 November Election Blue Wave Headlines

(CNN) “Democrats were celebrating November 5th, while President Donald Trump and Republicans were left to explain why they were behind in one of the reddest states in the nation.”

(MSNBC) Morning Joe: “Trump lost Kentucky for the Republicans.”

(NBC News) “In a blow to Trump, Democrat Beshear is the apparent winner in Kentucky governor race, NBC News projects.”

(ABC News) “The Note: Blue wave continues the ride through Kentucky, Virginia.”

(The Philadelphia Enquirer) “The blue wave crashes down on Pennsylvania again, as voters from Philly to Delaware County turn left.”

The Philadelphia Enquirer’s FrontPage Election Headlines:

  • Trump is on borrowed time after Democratic election massacres in battleground Pa. suburbs | Maria Panaritis
  • Democrats win across the Philadelphia region as Republicans are fading even on friendly turf
  • Democrats make history by winning control of Delaware County

Wow! I guess this means it will be President Elizabeth Warren or President Joe Biden moving in to replace the Trumps at the White House. But, seriously, this “Blue Wave” process needs to be discussed at least once during this election cycle. So we’re going to do that today. But first, consider this:

Conventional wisdom is that after a defeat of almost any kind, the loser fades away into obscurity. The above media reporters and editors certainly expect that throw-in-the-towel response by Republicans regarding the Democrat wins. Democrat Party leadership feels this way: “Let’s beat them down mentally so they’ll simply pack it in.” You know what? Much of the time that works. But I doubt it will in this 2020 election madness.

Politically, any edge — even a perceptual one void of facts — opens a door for votes.

If you raise a pig as your pet and keep that pig in the company of a bunch of dogs, sooner or later, that pig will try hard to bark. The pig will believe it’s a dog. Of course, the pig is not a dog and certainly cannot bark like a dog. But “perception is reality.” That specific reality? “The pig’s gonna bark. Just listen!”

Purpose

You should know that these election headlines we see and hear are NOT accidental. Nor is the term “Blue Wave.” There’s a “Blue Wave Political Partners, LLC” in the Northwest. Who are they and what do they do?

Based in Seattle, Blue Wave Political Partners, LLC was founded in 2014, evolving from H+P Political Compliance in order to accommodate the firm’s expansion into political fundraising. Lora Haggard and Jay Petterson have worked together since 2003. They were joined by Sue Jackson in 2007. Each brings a breadth of experience in accounting, budgeting, and federal committee compliance developed through treasury management on dozens of Democratic campaigns, committees, and organizations. With Kevin Geiger’s outstanding background in political fundraising, Blue Wave now offers fundraising services to Democratic campaigns and initiatives. Having each served in senior capacities on campaigns and committees, the partners of Blue Wave offer more than thirty years of cumulative political campaign fundraising and compliance experience. Blue Wave is also located in Georgia, Oregon, and North Carolina.

The fact that Democrats have a formalized arm — albeit a non-profit — to raise campaign dollars for Democrat candidates across the nation should tell us the importance to the Democrat Party of a “Blue Wave.“

There’s been no Democrat “Blue Wave” in recent elections. Not just in the federal government but in state and local elections, Republican and other Conservative candidates have increased their numbers. There are 27 Republican and 23 Democrat governors. That’s a slight edge, but an edge no less.  The Kentucky gubernatorial race (the results of which are still not final) would be the 24th Democrat governor. That mix can hardly be called that of a “Blue Wave.”

The shouts proclaiming a “Blue Wave” reverberated throughout the nation in 2018 when the midterm elections saw control of the House of Representatives go back to Democrats. One would have thought that all Republicans had been banished from the House, the Senate had turned blue in a landslide victory, plus, President Trump had resigned in disgust.

Keep this thought in mind: a reality in politics is not necessary for Democrats Shangri-la. Dems are masters at messaging “absolutes” to their members that are not absolutes at all. Often, those absolutes are outright lies. We’ve seen it happen countless times before. It happened in 2016 when Hillary failed to break that glass ceiling. And no matter Dems called their House victory in 2018 or the Kentucky governorship or the Virginia statehouse victories, none of those can truly be termed a “Blue Wave.” At best, they were “pale blue ripples.”

Democrats have a long way to go to get to the beach!

How can Dems “grease” the “Blue Wave” wheels?

For starters, how about a faux impeachment process? How about getting the most untruthful, arrogant, and least qualified attorney in Congress to head a fictitious impeachment process to rid the world of President Trump? Pelosi Democrats cannot afford for the American people to look-in on their secretive official/nonofficial, truthful/dishonest, hearings. Why is that? Americans would quickly discover that Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) has been lying to Americans about all-things-negative-about Trump for three years! He carries around a sharp-pointed stick, a microphone, and a notebook 24/7. What are their purposes?

The sharp stick is for Schiff to continually poke President Trump with untruthful allegations, knowing that the President will never allow false charges against him to stand without a response. Schiff thinks if he can goad the President into responding, Americans will automatically believe the lies Schiff is telling about Mr. Trump. (Schiff in doing that shows just how little he thinks of his fellow Americans)

The microphone is for the California representative to reach-out to his inside sources at the New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, and the news departments of the Big Three to give them exclusive uncorroborated, unsubstantiated and from “anonymous sources” facts about this impeachment matter currently underway. He’s never seen a microphone or TV camera he could not schmooze into carrying an interview in which he feeds Americans lies and rumors. Let’s face it: many Americans love them some gossip!

Schiff’s notebook? He must jot down all of his allegations and claims made against the President so that when he’s referred to previously answered questions, he has a point of reference to guarantee he’s not caught in any lies.

It’s a pretty good process IF your target audience does not require the truth. The funny thing for Schiff is this: it appears that he believes his own lies and is confident that Americans do as well! How could ANY reasoning member of Congress continue to peddle the same worn-out lies with which he has been trapped numerous times since Donald Trump was elected? Schiff orchestrated each of the conspiracy theories that have been used by press lackeys to fuel confusion in the minds of American voters regarding the truthfulness of the President. How else could he and other Democrats distract Americans from this historical economy and employment data? How else could Dems keep their blind sheep in line if the sheep all saw and heard the truth of all this?

It’s working masterfully for Democrats!

Make no mistake: Nancy Pelosi is no “dumb broad.” She has earned her political stripes by learning from the best and most deceitful politicrats through the years: Bill Clinton, Barney Franks, Teddy Kennedy, Harry Reid, David Axelrod, Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, and the Obama Gang. Rep. Pelosi knows the system, and she knows how to work the system. Adam Schiff is her pride and joy and her first graduate from the Democrat School of Corruption. And Adam graduated Magna Cum Laude.

That’s what a Politicrat does!

Summary

All of this “Blue Wave” hoopla is by design. It’s sending a unified message primarily to rank-and-file Democrats that says, “House Leadership has this under control.”

But they don’t have it under control. Anytime the opposition is led by a crafty New Yorker who has worked through the most corrupt business environment in the nation to build a multi-billion dollar empire, and his political opponents are without any hope of success.

Just sit back and watch the next two to three months. Schiff and Company will crash and burn in this their Part IV of their “Get Trump” novel. They’ll be required to unleash Part V. I’m sure it will be more crafty, more devious, more intractable than the first four, but there’s one common thread through them all: President Trump did nothing wrong!

Honesty and hard work seem always to fuel great results. Why would Democrats think that the process no longer works?

It IS working. And it will see Mr. Trump at the podium in January of 2021 for his second oath of office.

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Do You Like Donald Trump?

November 6, 2019
That’s the million dollar question. And for everyone, that question will almost automatically prompt you to stop and think through the various feelings you have had during his first term that impact your answer: things he says, ways he says things, his demeanor, his attacks on some, coddling of others, and the list goes on and on. But, at the end of it all, everyone can almost without any lengthy considerations answer that question. And those answers will more than likely determine if Mr. Trump is given four more years to be President.
In that conversation, it’s difficult to be objective. Trump supporters typically will if not ignore negative things about Mr. Trump will at least give him a pass for those. Anti-Trumpsters abide by their default position of dislike for the President. I will step to the side for this conversation. I think we all need to hear from someone who speaks to this issue from outside the political world. So we turn today to Saritha Prabhu who shares her perspective of the President. Ms. Prabhu is a legal immigrant and an independent journalist. Let’s listen to her list:
10 Reasons I Like Donald Trump, From A Female, Former-Democrat Immigrant

Saritha Prabhu

Donald Trump is the perfect president to counter the D.C. swamp and the foreign policy blob.

As a voter who lives far away from the Beltway bubble, I increasingly find myself harboring an uncomfortable secret: I like Donald Trump, and think he’s the perfect president for these times.

Now, I know that’s a big no-no. In fact, I probably should keep it to myself. After all, the mainstream media has been working non-stop to make me and countless others hate the president and see him as Public Enemy No. 1.

I’m also decidedly not the kind of voter who is supposed to like Trump; in fact, all my intersecting identities are supposed to hate Trump with a vengeance: I’m a woman, a legal immigrant, a person of color (never liked the term), a former Democrat, and a third-party voter in 2016.

Liking Trump openly is very difficult these days, and it is not recommended that you do so. It’s especially difficult in the social circles I move in.

If you’ve noticed, even some Trump voters and Trump-supporting commentators say things like, “I don’t like Trump, but I like his policies,” or “He has flaws, but…” which is a neat way of putting distance between oneself and the president.

Enumerating the reasons Trump is alright is especially necessary because of the constant vituperation he faces everyday from different liberal quarters. Here are 10 reasons I like Trump.

First, he is sui generis, a singularly unique individual who has single-handedly transformed almost everything about American politics, by sheer force of his personality and ideas. Presidents dream of being transformational, and Trump has transformed politics in ways many presidents can only dream about.

He has transformed both political parties, the mainstream media, and the presidential campaigns, and moved the Overton Window on many issues. He has shown many of our institutions for what they actually are and for what we suspected them to be, and broken their brains in the process. His methods may not always be good, but the results have been okay.

Second, by loudly questioning everything in his unorthodox way he has made us re-examine many things: our bloated bureaucracy, some of our egoistic federal civil servants who believe they’re in charge of our republic, the much-vaunted liberal international order, our awful elites and the meritocracy that produced them. Most important, his foreign policy ideas and actions have generated a long- overdue discussion on America’s global policeman role and its unsustainable costs to our people.

Third, he loves America, and his love is genuine, palpable and almost retro. We could do with a little of that nowadays, swimming as we are in a sea of self-loathing, self-flagellation, and history-rewriting from the left. America, of course, has its flaws and sins, but it is refreshing to be reminded by our president that it still stands tall.

Fourth, he says what he thinks, is remarkably accessible, and is probably the only president who can’t seem to resist answering questions thrown at him. In this, he demonstrates a guilelessness and, shall we say, honesty quite unlike any politician, past or present. It gets him into trouble, of course, but also gets him admirers.

His rhetorical style is, to say the least, unconventional but often effective. By talking like a real person and not trafficking in platitudes and liberal pieties, he has made it difficult for conventional politicians to do their thing.

Fifth, he is clearly a non-ideologue and pragmatic, shown in spades in the way he has refashioned the Republican Party’s orthodoxies on trade, immigration, and foreign intervention.

Sixth, his care for American voters seems genuine, especially toward the people who voted for him and show him unflagging support. He is indeed an odd president: a Manhattan billionaire who has a “blue collar sensibility” and relates to voters who’ve suffered bipartisan neglect from D.C. politicians for decades.

And may I say that his rallies are a thing to behold: all camaraderie and affection between Trump and the crowd, characterized by his playful, extemporaneous riffs, funny and sarcastic, with the underlying theme being a conspiratorial partnership against the smug, self-dealing ruling class and media elites that need to be defeated. No wonder Democratic leaders are anxious about the 2020 election—they can’t compete with Trump’s offbeat charisma.

Not to mention that he’s funny, but you need a special sensor to appreciate it, which the dour, humorless left doesn’t have anymore.

Seventh, he has had the greatest influence, perhaps, in transforming how we talk about needless, endless foreign military incursions. He expresses in clear, succinct terms why America’s global policeman role is getting to be untenable, as in his press conference after the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, when he stated, “But the United States taxpayer is not going to pay for the next fifty years (for endlessly staying in the region).”

One of his finer moments came when he mused movingly during a recent campaign rally about being present at Dover Air Force Base, seeing caskets return from war zones and witnessing the families’ grief. Would that we have more commander-in-chiefs caring—and publicly at that—about dead American soldiers more than gallivanting around the Middle East looking for civil wars to support endlessly.

Eighth, he has challenged China, our most important geopolitical threat, and done what hasn’t been attempted in our status quo politics so far.

Ninth, he says he’s “president of America and not president of the world,” and that American citizens have to be taken care of first before we take care of the world. What a novel idea. This should be said and practiced more often.

In a sane, common-sense world, Trump’s recent United Nations address touting these ideas would be lauded; instead they were pilloried as isolationist and dangerous. But that is the cognitively dissonant media world we live in now—what is pragmatic is framed as radical and transgressive.

Tenth and lastly, I like his chutzpah and pugilistic style, with its underlying theme of “Honey Badger don’t care.” It’s perfectly suited for this moment: “Who is really in charge in this republic, the voters or arrogant, unelected federal bureaucrats who think they know best and try to override the will of voters?” He seems uniquely suited to take on the combined onslaught coming from many quarters.

Obviously, I don’t like or agree with everything Trump has said and done. Equally obviously, he has moral and ethical failings like many in D.C., but with a difference: he’s no hypocrite and has never pretended to be something he’s not, which can’t be said of his many critics and adversaries. But his flaws and missteps are small potatoes compared to the decades-long, monumental corruption and dishonesty of our ruling and media elite, and the contempt they have toward voters.

The most fun and illuminating part has been watching the mainstream media, academia, Hollywood, and the Democratic Party rip their tolerant masks off and show themselves for what they actually are: vicious, intolerant people who are dangerous when backed into a corner.

I’m now squarely in the camp who believes that Trump is alright, and that nothing he says or does is worse than what the ruling class and media elites do and are capable of. He is far better—or at least far less worse—than them. Truly, as someone said, the office sought the man.

Saritha Prabhu is a freelance writer.

“Doral-Gate”

October 19, 2019

It could not get any worse: the President is trampling on the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution!

Wow. Just think of it: Donald Trump signed a contract to host at HIS resort property in Miami — “Trump Doral” — the upcoming G7 Summit. Everyone knows it is illegal for a president to politically enrich themselves purposely by using the office of the Presidency to create any financial gain for themselves. Mr. Trump owns Doral! What did he think when he signed that contract?!?

Emoluments Clause of the Constitution

The emoluments clause, also called the foreign emoluments clause, is a provision of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8) that generally prohibits federal officeholders from receiving any gift, payment, or another thing of value from a foreign state or its rulers, officers, or representatives. The clause provides that: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States, and no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

The Constitution also contains a “domestic emoluments clause” (Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 7), which prohibits the president from receiving any “Emolument” from the federal government or the states beyond “a Compensation” for his “Services” as chief executive. The common purpose of the foreign emoluments clause was to ensure that the country’s leaders would not be improperly influenced, even unconsciously, through gift-giving, then a common and generally corrupt practice among European rulers and diplomats.

How dare the President think he would get a pass from his obligation under that clause in the Constitution and contract with the G7 to host that world gathering? Hotel rooms, meeting rooms, food, and services cost money. Those international diplomats with security and support staff will pay Trump Doral for their visit! That’s unconstitutional and, of course, is an impeachable offense!

You will probably be surprised to know that there are already several lawsuits filed against President Trump using as their purpose and legal support the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution. Those were filed immediately after his election in 2016. There is an excellent and comprehensive analysis of these cases and how several state and federal courts have already ruled on those. This specific analysis is written in legal language and certainly is not in the format I prefer: “Executive Summary.” I’m a bit slow, and it takes pictures with explanations to help me understand intricate legal issues. I am attaching the three-page analysis of existing Emoluments litigation against President Trump. Here’s a link: https://truthnewsnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/The-Emoluments-Clauses-Litigation.pdf

Feel free to examine it yourself. For those of you like me who prefer the “executive summary” version of the intricate and court-tested legal opinion of these, here it is: “There’s No There There!”

So why the uproar? There IS much uproar.

How about a swim to cool-off at Trump Doral?

Here’s the take of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY): “The Administration’s announcement that President Trump’s Doral Miami resort will be the site of the next G7 summit is among the most brazen examples yet of the President’s corruption. He is exploiting his office and making official U.S. government decisions for his personal financial gain. The Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution exist to prevent exactly this kind of corruption. The Committee will continue investigating, litigating and legislating regarding these matters—including pressing for answers to our prior requests about the G7 selection process—but we will not allow this latest abuse of power to distract from Congress’ efforts to get to the bottom of the President’s interference in the 2020 election.” 

And it’s not just Democrats. The FOX News Legal Contributor — former Judge Andrew Napolitano — weighed in: “He has bought himself an enormous headache now with the choice of this. This is about as direct and profound a violation of the Emoluments Clause as one could create,” Napolitano told Neil Cavuto on Fox Business. Napolitano also pointed to Mick Mulvaney’s insistence that Trump would not “profit” from hosting the G-7 Summit at Trump Doral in Florida.

“Most respectfully, Mr. Mulvaney’s focus on profit, while it may make sense in the economic world, is not what the Framers were concerned about,” Napolitano said. “They were concerned about a gift or cash coming directly or indirectly to the president of the United States, even if it’s done at a loss. Now, the president owns shares of stock in a corporation that is one of the owners of this, along with many other investors. He also owns shares of stock in the corporation that manages it. So those corporations will receive a great deal of money from foreign heads of state because this is there.”That’s exactly, exactly what the Emoluments Clause was written to prohibit,” he said.

Let me analyze for you my perspective from spending much time reading and researching the Emoluments Clause and how it impacts President Trump. I have also spent a few hours reading the linked legal analysis and courts’ findings in litigation against the President since his election. I have much respect for Judge Napolitano and his experience. In full disclosure, I hold NO respect for Rep. Nadler, who, with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) in my opinion, are the bookends to Democrat Party and “Deep State” corruption in Washington. But, Nadler chairs the House Judiciary Committee, so I must say as a Christian “Render to Caesar that that is Caesar’s.” (That means to respect the office Mr. Nadler holds)

After my research and those existing court decisions, my finding is that Trump Doral hosting the G7 summit is NOT in any way a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. 

But I’m just a blogger/podcaster. What do we know? The Democrats always know more than others about pretty much everything. Once again, they know more than we do. And they are screaming — LOUDLY.

So what basis is there for the Noise?

The Noise

I know this will come as a surprise to you, but the Emoluments Clause uproar is just one more link in the Impeachment Debacle that Democrats have forced on the American public. They’ve tried so many things to rid themselves of Donald Trump. None have so far been successful. Why? Because there’s been no impeachable offense on the part of the President that support his impeachment.

First, it was Russian Collusion. Then Conspiracy and Obstruction of Justice. Those were just the tips of the iceberg. There are plenty more: 91 more, to be exact!

Do you think I’m kidding? Heck no. Democrats have floated allegations of Trump impeachable offenses that so far number 94. Want to see what they are? Click on the following link that will take you to a page listing those. Then for complete details of each, you can click on the number of that allegation and see complete details: https://lists.grabien.com/list-things-democrats-have-said-trump-could-be-impeached

Summary

With those two attachments and your looking and reading their contents closely, your Saturday is full of essential information. I hope it’s not too much for you to process. After all, it’s Saturday with college football! But I want to illustrate to you how voracious these Democrats are to get rid of Mr. Trump. I have only been able to surmise why they are so deadset to impeach him. Do they not interact with American voters who are in their lives experiencing the fruits of the improvements in the nation that are results of Trump’s accomplishments? Do they think that Americans are dumb and cannot watch the national news and examine products from liberal and conservative news sources and determine on their own which are legitimate and which are providing us the news organization’s perspective and not merely the news that we can use to assess the reality of what has happened? I do not understand.

                         A little Golf?

This is NOT solely a conservative issue. This is NOT solely a liberal issue. This is an American political issue that has become an information war. “DoralGate” is simply the latest arrow in the quiver of liberalism that the anti-Trump proponents grabbed that might be the right ammunition to exterminate the 45th U.S. President.

By the way: DoralGate might be number 95 in their list of impeachment justifications. But it will not be the last. There’s another 15 months in President Trump’s first term in office. At the present rate, Democrats could run that number up to 200 impeachment reasons!

One more thought: How would Democrats feel if the President said this to the G7 partners regarding their stays at Doral: “We’ll comp the hotel rooms and meeting rooms for your entire contingency. Just pay for your food and tip the help.” Do you think that would pacify the anti-Trump Democrats and never-Trump Republicans? Probably not. Remember their continuing mantra: “Facts don’t matter. We believe in ‘Symbolism over Substance.'”

In closing, let me pose just one question to you: Do you think that maybe the President purposely put this G7 deal together knowing the amount of uproar from the Left it would initiate? If so, who would be surprised? The President is really good at carrying around that sharp stick and pokes his political opponents consistently. I think it would be hilarious if that’s what he’s doing. More uproar, more noise, and more drama between Donald Trump and the Left.

Nothing more needs to be said.

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It’s Groundhog Day — Again!

October 17, 2019

What’s the groundhog fable? If on Groundhog Day the groundhog emerges from his den and he immediately sees his shadow, he will retreat, and Winter will continue for six more weeks. I don’t know how many days have been American voters’ Groundhog Day. Each day we emerge to see the shadow of Washington on the ground in front of us. So we go back into our lives, and the crud in Washington continues. The only difference is the D.C. crud will undoubtedly last longer than six more weeks.

While the House with a multitude of new scheduled hearings is scratching for anything to fuel Trump impeachment, the Grand Groundhog — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — keeps coming out to a microphone saying, “There’s no requirement that we have a vote. We’re not here to call bluffs. We’re here to find the truth to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Doing so is not a game for us. This is deadly serious.” The House Speaker then retreats to wherever it is she stays while nothing gets done for another day, another week, but hopefully NOT another year, in Congress.

Americans know full well what members of the Democrat side of the aisle in the House ARE doing: “Impeachment Inquiry.” But what are House members NOT doing?

“They’re Not Doing Any of This”
  1. The House is NOT taking up legislation to reform immigration law.
  2. The House is NOT a taking up legislation to take care of the Dreamers that are not citizens but are young Americans who were brought to the U.S. by their illegal parents and have lived here — many of them — for years.
  3. The House is NOT taking up legislation to honestly examine and debate options with the intent to complete a border barrier on our Southern border to curb illegal crossings.
  4. The House is NOT taking actions to repair the Healthcare debacle that they with Democrats in the Senate created with Obamacare — a health finance program that without serious editing and revisions will bankrupt America.
  5. The House is NOT taking up legislation to curb the opioid crisis that is killing thousands of Americans each month.
  6. The House is NOT taking up legislation to address the nation’s homeless problem that is concentrated in the largest U.S. cities.
  7. The House is NOT taking up real budget issues with long term projections and agreement on government spending tackling waste with honesty to balance the budget.
  8. The House is NOT taking up legislation to support efforts of the Trump Administration that have proven successful in attracting significant corporations that previously abandoned the U.S. for other countries with more favorable economics. President Trump has shown the restructuring of Obama-era corporate taxing and regulation assists in attracting new business with existing U.S. companies while attracting foreign-based companies to relocate to the U.S.
  9. The House is NOT taking up legislation to tackle the deadly graft and corruption among elected officials and unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
  10. The House is NOT taking up legislation to assure federal and state elections are operated honestly and without foreign interference.
  11. The House is NOT taking up legislation to eliminate election fraud in all 50 states in spite of assurances by former President Obama that there have been NO frauds committed in previous elections.
  12. The House is NOT taking up legislation to rein-in the unfairness of federal election campaign finance.
  13. The House is NOT taking up legislation to regulate or to altogether eliminate federal lobbying, which would remove much of the financial corruption running rampant among members of Congress and members of special interests.
  14. The House is NOT taking up legislation regarding federal and private partnerships for critical infrastructure programs across the country.
  15. The House is NOT taking up legislation regarding the restructuring of the federal tax system to make it fairer and simpler so that every American contributes at some level with personal and corporate investment in its government operations.
  16. The House is NOT taking up legislation to assist our allies in the Middle East in the development of policies to stem terrorist attacks by ISIS and other organizations.
  17. The House is NOT taking up legislation to assure all international agreements between the U.S. and other governments are treaties that require confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
  18. The House is NOT taking up legislation to correct issues that resulted from the federal takeover of the management of college student loans.
  19. The House is NOT taking up legislation to eliminate some House recesses and shorten others to process more legislation that is passed-over because of session time restrictions.

Here’s the big reason the House is not doing more: their work schedule. (click on the hyperlink to go to the 2019 Full House Legislative Calendar) https://truthnewsnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-House-Schedule.pdf

If you look through the calendar as compared to yours, here’s how many days in each month the House was in session as of October 15, 2019, and how many workdays they have not worked (“workdays are M-F minus federal holidays):

  • January they were in session 19 of 24 workdays
  • February they were in session 16 of 20 workdays
  • March they were in session 16 of 21 workdays
  • April they were in session 14 of 22 workdays
  • May they were in session 17 of 22 workdays
  • June they were in session 17 of 20 workdays
  • July they were in session 17 of 23 workdays
  • August they were in session 9 of 22 workdays
  • September they were in session 16 of 20 workdays
  • October 1 thru October 15 they were in session 5 of 12 workdays

That means in 2019, of 206 possible workdays (Monday through Friday of each week minus Federal Holidays), the House has been in session so far just 146. That means they worked only 71% of the time they could have worked conducting legislative tasks.

In fairness, these Representatives will maintain that they took time to meet with their constituents in their districts during the year and took time with their families for vacations. No one loves family vacations more than I. But taking one week for a family vacation during each of the two years of their two-year-term seems fair. Allowing two weeks per year to campaign in their home districts while meeting with constituents still means they would have worked 156 days of the possible 206 they could have been in session or just 76% of their time while taking a week for vacation and two weeks for meeting with and campaigning among their constituents in their respective districts.

I agree with the premise that the Congressional job is tough. I agree that being away from home while living in a pressure-packed political environment with weighty expectations for job performance is robust. But they each knew all of this when they chose to campaign for the job.

In my professional career, I have had hundreds, if not thousands of employees. Each of those during their job interview received in writing what their job expectations were, work schedule, and a full list of benefits. Each of those hired was expected to abide by the requirements of their job that were revealed and agreed to when they accepted employment. Why should it be different for members of Congress? How can we expect less and allow less than we do from any non-political employee of our own?

Americans have during the last decade lived in a nonstop news environment. That 24/7 news cycle is the “new” norm. Subsequently, Americans are learning more details of government operations. Americans are now as never before understanding the specifics of accomplishments by our elected officials in passing legislation. Therefore Americans know better than ever how the bureaucracy of Washington D.C. was created and has been perpetuated to facilitate working conditions, compensation, and benefits for members themselves that are not as were intended. Americans are angry.

Summary

D.C. is not working. Congressional operations must be changed. Members of Congress must work smarter, harder, and longer in their present jobs. If their Congressional job is too harsh, they should resign.

One might consider that an unrealistic expectation. But we all know to live and work in Washington is harder and more demanding than in Hometown America. That is why just a few can do so successfully. Based on the Congressional favorability ratings of Americans, members of Congress are felt to be less than expected and accomplishing far less than expected by Americans. And Americans who see all that is left unfinished are more than ever demanding changes to be made. Congress must complete those essential tasks that are pushed to the back of the line in each Congressional session and never finished.

If you’ve wondered why the Democrat-controlled House has essentially one agenda only — Impeachment — wonder no more. It is because the Democrat Party has only one plank in their party platform for the 2020 election. If Donald Trump is re-elected, it will obliterate their historical operating methods, shine the light of truth in the Swamp, and expose the waste and lack of fulfillment of necessary tasks by each Congress. They cannot allow that to happen.

Expect the angst, bitterness and vocal haranguing to only worsen the closer we get to November of 2020. Don’t expect much legislative progress either. Democrats refuse to allow Mr. Trump any new legislative triumphs until they hopefully vote him out of office.

In the meantime, expect another Ground Hog Day or two often in the next year or so.

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