J’Accuse

Sorry but I had to get this off of my chest .

What do you all think?

I accuse Bernie Sanders, and the Progressives in general , with giving us the nightmare of Donald Trump and  his pernicious incompetent and destructive  administration.

Why you ask?

It was Sanders who first  strongly called Hillary’s integrity in question which played into the Trump’s  motto of Crooked Hillary and Lock Her Up.

It was Sanders and the Progressives who continued to denigrate the Obama economic recovery.  With the media basically going along, they fostered the weak economy narrative . This false narrative then of course was picked up gladly by Trump and the Republicans.

The fact that the Trump economy has simply been a continuation of the Obama recovery was not recognized by the media or indeed Sanders and the Progressives.

Look at the facts. The rise in Stock Market, GDP, and job growth  during Obama’s term has been at least as good or better than Trump’s . Yes, the unemployment rate is lower now under Trump, but that’s what happens with continued job growth for so many months. The same is true with respect to increase wages. Things were all building in that direction.

Bernie and the Progressives continued to denigrate Obama‘s economic performance and the media didn’t contradict them.

When Trump accomplished the same thing , the entire GOP cheered him on and the media had no choice but to agree.

When the public was told that things are bad by Sanders, the Progressives, Trump and the GOP, with the media’s acquiescence  , the public “felt” bad as well.

However, when Trump and the GOP, along with the media, loudly exclaimed that  the economy was now great (even if essentially the same economy as Obama’s) the public began to feel good as well.  

The Democrats and Sanders and the Progressives were responsible for allowing this to happen.

As President Obama said it was a mistake by the Democrats letting the “perfect be the enemy of the good”.

We are now faced with a similar dynamic within the Democratic Party. Those pushing for The Green New Deal, “Socialism”, Reparations, Voting Rights for those incarcerated, Identity Politics, Wealth Taxes ; Free College and Medicare for All - all without raising taxes on other than the wealthy- are making the re-election of Trump more likely; irrespective of how horrible he is.




Sent from my iPhone

Thank You Mike Bloomberg



I now have someone I can believe in, not just settle for, or fear. 

Michael Bloomberg is an honest man of high intelligence and extraordinary competence whose views I agree with. 

It feels great to be for someone; especially someone who can defeat Donald Trump and push back against the forces of Trumpism. 

Bloomberg is someone who can move our country forward in a positive direction rather than tearing it down and trying to rebuild it in a radical, risky and unproven way.

No one is perfect, but if Trump has taught us anything it’s not necessary to be perfect to be elected President of our very large heterogenous  country. 

Bloomberg is not a moderate,  but rather what I call myself- a radical centrist. He rejects both the extreme Right and Left and would boldly pursue a course which is consistent with the values and virtues of our country, both domestically and globally. 

He would be a world leader we can be proud of, who would restore our world leadership and who would most effectively counteract our enemies. 

Fortunately he has the means to convey his message and his qualifications to the American people.

Will they understand all this and come to support him? 

That’s where people like me have a job to do. 

Eric

The Base

Who is the Democrat’s’ Base?

The young Millennials who didn’t bother to vote for Hillary last election, or the  voters who voted for Democrats for President consistently the last ten elections or so ?

And who decides who the Base is?

Police State Tactics

I’m worried that the announcement of a criminal investigation of the DOJ and FBI regarding the investigation by the Trump administration with respect to Russian interference in the 2016 election smacks of internal police state tactics and intimation.

Down this path is tyranny.

Unsolicited advice for Joe Biden

I’m a bit worried Biden’s going to “step in it” somehow. 

I hope he has a great policy team. 

Here’s my suggestions:

1. Instead of Medicare for All, which the public has no clue as to cost, let’s fine tune the ACA and add a public option and restore the mandate. 

2. Roll back tax cuts, but only for the really rich.  Not the “sort of rich” upper middle class. 

Close corporate and rich people loopholes and  give aways which were slipped into,  or hidden in , the Tax Cut Bill. Many of which mostly helped only people like Trump. 

3. Forget about reparations and focus on economic development in marginalized neighborhoods. How would reparations work anyway?

4. Reject voting rights for prisoners in jail. Incredibly stupid. 

5. Smart, effective climate change initiatives; not The Green New Deal which was more of a socialist screed than a program to address climate change. 

6. Reject identity politics and silly political correctness . Only causes unnecessary resentment. 

7. Instead of free college, allow refinancing of student loans and  bankruptcy protection option for student debtors. No reason student debt should be treated differently from other consumer debt. 

8.  Biden is the only one who can make the effective case that the current strong economy is essentially a continuation of the strong economy ( jobs, stock market etc) begun in the Obama / Biden administration. 

9. Don’t say  stupid things; stop talking while you’re ahead.

Eric

Observations

Actually Trump is doing quite a job uniting the country— against him.

Chris Wallace and Shepard Smith speak truth to power. 

It was Comey’s  dam morality that undermined Hillary and tipped the election to Trump.  

 Barr was a very effective defense lawyer for Trump’s personal benefit ; however , I thought his job was Attorney General of the Country. 

In the entire Mueller Report the word “collusion” is never mentioned even once. Yet Barr’s four page summary and press conference used the word “collusion “ over a dozen times. 

 I guess when Trump and Barr say “ no collusion “ they are referring the the total absence of that word in the entire Mueller Report !

Remind me about the scandals that took place  in the Obama presidency. 

3 or 43?

And here I thought  43 new Dems won seats and flipped the House; and 3 women,( AOC, Omar and Talib) we always hear about  weren’t even 1 of them? Not one so called Progressive flipped a single seat from Red to Blue 

How many of those 43 Moderates who flipped seats can you even name. 

No , the media is obsessed with AOC and her mean girls. 

What’s up with that? 

What if HRC had won

There is no doubt in my mind that had HRC won she would have “walked back” ( yes I hate that phrase) some of the policy positions Bernie pushed her to. Most importantly the TransPacific Trade Partnership which would have been our most effective check on Chinese expansion and domination of Asia region.

 She also would have modified and improved the ACA rather than push Medicare for All; rationally tackled issue of soaring student debt, solidified NATO and other alliances against Russia, China and Iran and improved relations with Israel from Obama’s tenure , among other sensible rational things.

There would have been no AOC if HRC we’re President. 

Alas we’ll never know. Thanks to Comey (why does Trump nation hate him; he got Trump elected?) and of course the Russians, we’re stuck with Baghdad Don for at least a few more years. 

God help us all. 

Eric

Words and Meanings - Socialism

Once again I’m focusing on words and meanings, and how they distort rational discourse. 

Socialism is a word misused , intentionally or otherwise , by both the Left and the Right.

Let’s start with the dictionary definition :

“Any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.”

Is that what the Progressives really want in our country?

Is that what the Right really think Obama, Clinton and other Democrats espouse?

More confusion arises from both sides referring to Scandinavian and other European countries as Socialist economies. 

They are all Capitalist economies with strong social welfare programs.  Very different. 

In fact it is their Capitalist economies that generate sufficient wealth to pay for those social welfare programs. 

Just to put a point on it, I can’t think of any real Socialists countries past or present that don’t have single party authoritarian political rule. None are democracies. 

So let’s just drop the term Socialism and get on with a rational discussion of what needs to be done to improve our country for the betterment of all of our citizens.  

Is the madness over?

I guess we should be thankful for Rep Omar’s hateful statements ; no doubt her actual views are a lot worse. 

There is no way the Democrats could call for the resignation of a progressive, young Muslim women of color who contemporaneously makes anti- Semitics remarks. 

Therefore, hopefully, zero tolerance with no chance of redemption should  be over. 

Governor Northam should be relieved. 

The focus on Steve King is misplaced. The real comparison should be the treatment of Omar and Northam.

Northam’s misconduct, at worse, took place 35 years ago and his record of public service has been exemplary. Omar’s offensive comments are recent and I’m pretty sure her real feelings are a lot worse and goes way beyond criticism of Israeli policies and conduct.

 It’s too bad this new era was too late for Al Franken. 

Observations

1. Negative reporting against Trump or anybody for that matter (like Rep Cortez) is not necessarily bias; it may well just be accurate . Trump says so many inaccurate things, that pointing that out , while  negative reporting , is not bias.

 Bias is when someone still  supports something that is  factual wrong. I don’t believe CNN, NYT,WP or WSJ does that. 

2. Law enforcement is inherently conservative , so accusing the FBI of conspiring against Trump and the GOP is nonsense. Rosenstein, Mueller and even Comey ( remember his role with John Ashcroft ) are all solid Republicans. I know for a fact that it was FBI agents in NY office that actively worked to torpedo Hillary. 

3. The absolute best person  on cable news is Shepard Smith. He tells it like it is in the face of great vitriol from Fox viewers. 

4. Remember that the term Fake News originally referred to stories like the notorious Pizza Gate story which lead to an almost tragic shooting . In other words completely made up on the Internet. 

Trump turned the concept on its head and applied it to all news that doesn’t agree with him. Quite a trick if you actually think about it.

5. Read the Fifth Risk if you want to learn about the true value of the so called Deep State. 

6. Of course none of this today is very new. 

All governments have embedded bureaucracies. Some were based on merit like the Chinese Mandarin system , others political patronage. 

Elites have always been around ie. Patricians v. Plebeians. Just human nature.    

The Illuminati is just a convenient myth, like the Protocols of the Elder Son’s of Zion.    

Bush 41 v. Trump

Bush 41 v. Trump-  Comparing service to our country prior to election as President.

Bush 41:

Decorated Navy fighter pilot

Congressman

Ambassador to China

Director of CIA

Vice President 

Trump :

Nothing

End of the GOP

With or without Trump, the Republican Party is finished on the national level.

Without Trump, they lack the energy and appeal ( indeed the mania) to bring out the masses needed to win elections for an otherwise minority party.

No other Republicans have sufficient charisma , for ill or good.

The Trumpkins, who hate establishment Republicans, will abandon them .

With Trump, the GOP will be a pariah party. Adding to the growing Democratic base and natural constituency will be thoughtful decent Conservatives and moderate sensible Republicans  who are repelled by Trump and his GOP sycophants.

Either way the GOP as a party is toast.


Eric

Disappointing jobs news for Trump

No this isn’t a misprint .

The jobs report was positive and that doesn’t help Trump’s campaign tactics.

Given the nature of his base ,Trump understands that good news isn’t very exciting to them.  He knows they’d rather be frightened and driven by hate.

If the jobs report was bad, he could  blame it on the scary prospect of a  “blue wave” of Democrats taking over the Congress and plunging the economy back into the abyss with skyrocketing jobs losses, plunging stock market losses, destroying 401k and so on. You get the picture.

Now that would have been more to Trump’s liking. He knows how to exploit that scenario. 

Good news? Meh

Eric

The Real Media Bias

Trump and his supporters are constantly complaining about media bias against Trump in comparison to Obama's media coverage.

 

As to reporting on the economy however, the opposite in fact has been true. Sadly a large part of the blame can be attributed to Sanders/ Warrens and the Progressives.

 

By every measure - GDP, jobs created, unemployment, wages, and the stock  market - the Obama economy was at least comparable to what's been  happening since Trump took office.

 

Yet we are told that the economy is now at last roaring and that things have gotten so much better economically, all thanks to Trump.

 

Trump says it so, the GOP says "amen", and the media reports it as gospel.

 

Part of the blame belongs to Sanders, Warren and the other Progressives . Notwithstanding the strong recovery under Obama, they still focused on the fact that wages had not increased much. The media also  emphasized this one negative.

 

Well guess what, they haven't gone up much under Trump either, but that hasn't stopped the GOP from bragging the great economy.

 

Even Obama himself is partly to blame, at least when it came to the stock market. He refused to tout, let alone take credit for, the skyrocketing stock market under his tenure.

 He apparently bought into the Progressives' argument that the stock market only benefited rich people, and that it would unseemly to tout its success.

Trump and the GOP have no such inhibitions, and it turns out most Americans apparently agree with them given their 401k, pension funds, mutual funds etc. have done well.

Notwithstanding the real facts, the Trump and GOP narrative is that things are so much better now than under the disastrous Obama administration.

It's just not true, and the media has been relatively quiet about that. Now that's what I call media bias.

Lie-gate

Adam Schiff coined this perfect decription of everything Donald Trump.
Now the phrase Lie-gate needs to go viral.

Whoever may read this , pass it on.

Let’s hoist Trump on his own petard .

Russia Probe- Back to Basics

The Russian investigation is about Russian Illegal interference in our Presidential election.  

Let’s not forget that is the basic inquiry. 

Not collusion, not obstruction of justice - those are follow on matters. 

The basic Russian investigation therefore is not a witch hunt or a hoax.

Trump is trying to obfuscate this basic issue with this repeated assertions of “no collusion “.  That’s not the basic issue of the investigation. 

Trump objects to the entire Russian investigation in our election because it put the legitimacy of his election into doubt. 

He’s right; his election was not legitimate. 

Whatever happens with Mueller probe, that conclusion will not change no matter what Trump claims. 

Eric

Words and Meanings - Korean Style

Once again I exam the differences in words and meanings - this time with respect to Korea and nuclear weapons.

US policy and President Trump demand that Korea give up its nuclear weapons .

Kim Jung Un is reported to say he’s in favor of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula .

According to Trump that was a big win for his aggressive, indeed bellicose , policies and rhetoric regarding North Korea. He touted that, at long last , North Korea was considering giving up its nuclear weapons program.

Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

What Kim means by denuclearization is not the removal of nuclear weapons from the entire Korean Peninsula, but also the withdrawal of US troops from South Korea and the end of the US South Korean alliance and protection of South Korea. His use of " denuclearization" is nothing new. His father and grandfather has called for that for decades.

Given that American support includes potential use our nuclear weapons in Korea ( our nuclear umbrella), that’s his definition of denuclearization.

Wow, talk about a big difference in words and meanings. Of course Trump doesn't care, and may not even know this, and his supporters think he's accomplishing great things. 

It will be interesting to see what,if anything,happens.

Korean War Peace Treaty- "Only Nixon Could Go To China"

 North Korea has played Trump beautifully, and could possibly end up with its ultimate goal of preserving  its regime and recognition of its legitimacy internationally, in exchange for freezing or even eliminating its nuclear weapons capacity through a peace treaty ending the Korean War.

 Remember, conveniently, we are still at war since hostilities have only ceased under an armistice. 

 Such a peace treaty is best choice for North Korea.  It doesn’t really care about attacking the US or even South Korea. What it really wants is its own security. What else would it want to do with its nuclear weapons ? North Korea doesn't want to conquer or attack the US or even South Korea.

 The “easy” way to do it is to end the Korean War with a formal internationally recognized peace treaty between US and South Korea and North Korea.

 No Democrat could ever even propose such a peace treaty. The Republicans and Conservatives would “crucify” a Democratic President as surrendering to evil North Korea.

 

 But,  just as “only Nixon could go to China”, so to  only Trump could agree to such a peace treaty with North Korea .

 He’d tout it as a win by eliminating the North Korean nuclear threat ( true enough, perhaps)  but in reality it would be the successful conclusion of North Korea’s existential goals; at a very acceptable cost.

 No regime change and international recognition of its legitimacy. This has been North Korea’s one and only goal.

 No Democrat could give it to them, but Trump could.

 Trump gets a win, the world breathes a sigh of relief , but North Korea is the real big winner.

 Mission Accomplished, Kim Jung-Un.

Observations

1. Why aren’t there any conservative, right wing or pro- Trump comedy or late night TV shows?

 No sense of humor?

2. Where are the great protest songs?

 I haven’t heard any during this Trump era.

3. After Supreme Court’s Second Amendment decision, I thought gun owners could relax and allow sensible reasonable gun reforms. Their guns were safe.

  The opposite happened. Why?

4. Don’t Republicans care about deficits and the national debt anymore?

Watch out for the Bond Vigilantes.

5. Contrary to what Trump and Fox News says , almost every country in the world , except those ruled by authoritarians, dictators, kings and thugs, and sadly Israel,

have lost respect for America and hate Trump.

How is it the Trumpkins believe the opposite is true?