Update no.806

Update from the Heartland

No.806

5.6.17 – 11.6.17

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

            To all,

            The follow-up news items:

-- In the continuing observations regarding the new guy [375, 665, 705 & sub], here is an knowledgeable opinion from Europe.

“Trump 'Most Un-American' U.S. President Seen in Years – Martin Schulz, the former European Parliament president and Angela Merkel's challenger in the German election, says in an interview with DER SPIEGEL that he views Donald Trump as a threat to European security. He also calls on the chancellor to do more to strengthen the EU.”

Interview Conducted by René Pfister and Christoph Schult

Der Spiegel

Published: June 06, 2017; 05:31 PM

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/merkel-challenger-schulz-trump-most-un-american-u-s-president-seen-in-years-a-1150887.html - ref=nl-international

Schulz said, “[W]e cannot allow ourselves to forget that Trump is not the U.S.”  He went onto observe, “Trump is the most un-American U.S. president that the country has had in a long time.”  Based on The Donald’s public performance during the campaign and his presidency so far, I believe Schulz did not go far enough.  Yet, I cannot fault Schulz, he cannot be expected to know U.S. history.  I cannot think of a president from Washington to Obama who acted more un-American than Trump.

-- Prime Minister May’s gamble with a snap elections [801] prior to beginning the Brexit negotiations [796] apparently did not pay off.  The results were less than she undoubtedly expected.

Party                        Seats            Change

Conservative            318             -13

Labour                      262            +32

SNP                            35            -19

Lib Dem                      12            +3

DUP                            10            +2

Others                         13

There are 650 seats in Parliament’s House of Commons; 326 are needed to hold a governing majority.  May’s election gamble lost the slim majority her Conservative Party held.  As of this Update, May is reportedly seeking a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – a right-wing unionist political party in Northern Ireland.  I understood May’s gamble.  I do not understand the British electorate weakening Her Majesty’s Government when the Brexit negotiations are scheduled to begin on 19.June.2017.  We have to believe we will all be better for this challenge.

            All Muslims are NOT the problem today, any more so than all Japanese, or all Germans, or all Italians were the problem 75 years ago.  Regrettably, President Roosevelt overrode his better judgment and issued Executive Order 9066 [19.2.1942] in the hysteria after Pearl Harbor and the sinking of SS Cynthia Olson [7.12.1941].  We need Muslims in all nations and cultures to assist in rooting out and exposing the bad men among them.

            Four assailants attacked the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the Parliament building of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in Tehran.  The attackers injured a dozen people in the attacks.  ISIL claimed responsibility for the attacks.  In that, the IRI and the United States share a common enemy.  Perhaps someday, we can find the path to work together, and share common prosperity and peace.

            I watched the testimony of Director of National Intelligence Daniel Ray ‘Dan’ Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael S. ‘Mike’ Rogers, USN, before the Senate Intelligence Committee.  They were pointedly questioned about whether President Trump ever pressured or ordered to help end an investigation focused on campaign associates.  They steadfastly refused to answer questions on whether they had been asked to influence the probe or to say anything that they knew to be untrue.  We must respect their loyalty and respect for the Office of the President, and perhaps even to Trump himself; however, their testimony was deeply disappointing . . . in our search for the truth.

            The testimony of former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Brien Comey, Jr., before the Senate Intelligence Committee, proved to be informative and yet tragically disappointing.  I quietly prayed for a smoking gun; he did not deliver.  Instead, we are treated to a he-said/he-said situation.  I wanted to reprint his entire testimony, word-for-word, but that is not fair or reasonable.  There was so much in his words that spoke volumes.  Yet, if I boiled all of his testimony to one sentence, it would be: “I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.”  That one sentence carries libraries of connotations.  So, if this whole affair comes down to “he-said / he-said,” then I have no choice but to believe James Comey.  He holds orders of magnitude more credibility than does The Donald, full stop!

            The President likes to say, “believe me,” to virtually anything and everything he says.  Unfortunately, quite a few Americans, perhaps even most Americans, do not believe anything he says – not a word.  He has consistently, repeatedly and persistently associated those two words with falsehoods and serious twisting of the facts.  Bottom line, Donald, we do NOT believe you.  As a proud citizen of this Grand Republic, I find that observation tragic on a gargantuan scale . . . and we cannot believe our commander-in-chief prima facie. 

            If you have to ask for loyalty, you are not likely to achieve loyalty.  Further, loyalty is a two-way street.  Demanding unilateral loyalty is a clear sign of weakness and lack of confidence in yourself and those around you.  I have not a sliver of doubt that is exactly what The Donald asked of Comey.

           The House of Representatives passed [House: 233-186-0-11(5)] a bill short titled: Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 (H.R. 10).  The long title is: “To create hope and opportunity for investors, consumers, and entrepreneurs by ending bailouts and Too Big to Fail, holding Washington and Wall Street accountable, eliminating red tape to increase access to capital and credit, and repealing the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that make America less prosperous, less stable, and less free, and for other purposes.”  The House bill has good elements and not-so-good elements.  It still must work its way through the Senate, and if necessary joint reconciliation before it is submitted to the President for approval.  The words “hope and opportunity” in the title leave me rather chilled, actually.  This bill will not benefit John Q. Citizen, like you and me, but will definitely benefit the big money folks of Wall Street and the banks.  We need to keep an eye on this one.

            On Sunday, Puerto Ricans voted overwhelmingly to become the 51^st state in a nonbinding referendum.  Preliminary results indicated 97% favored statehood, with 90% of votes counted.  Unfortunately, the turnout of eligible voters only reached about 23%, reflecting the success of a boycott effort led by opponents. Opponents of statehood seek to undermine the credibility of the referendum by claiming the vote results do not represent the will of the people.  We shall see how this turns out.

            Comments and contributions from Update no.805:

Comment to the Blog:

“I saw the picture of Kathy Griffin with the bloody head of Trump uncensored. I literally didn’t ‘get’ the joke until you pointed it out.  The image brought me about as much nausea as a picture several years ago of Obama lynched.  Nausea or not, I support free speech.  However, just because it’s legal to do something, that does not make it a good idea or mean that one’s creation will have the intended effect.  Ms Griffin has suffered more than the creator of the Obama image.  Let’s move on to more important issues.

“Trump’s ‘style’/personality is all about aggression and intimidation.  He is not even aware of the possibility of working together with others to achieve common goals.  People either praise and obey him or they are his enemies.  Hence his adversarial approach to the Paris Accord and pretty much everything else.  Let us remember that ‘Make America Great Again’ was only a campaign slogan and has no meaning to Trump or his minions.

“Economics is grossly oversimplified by all parties in the political arena.  Trade deficits are not invariable and unalloyed losses, and demand is not based only on product quality and suitability.  The ‘strong’ dollar is a factor here.  I’m certain there are several others.

“As a progressive, I sincerely wish the Democrats would lead progressives.  That has not happened since at least the Bill Clinton administration.  I didn’t vote for Secretary Clinton, but I can’t say I regret that.  The sources of her campaign and personal funds combined with her personal history in the Senate and as Secretary of State were the overwhelming factors for me.  She is a corporate tool.  Just because she presents herself better than the jackass who won does not mean her bottom line results would be better.  Also, she and her party have refused all responsibility for their failures.  That aggravates the situation.  The U.S. is overdue for real change, but the Democratic Party is part of what needs changing, not the agent of change.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: Griffin.  Agreed.

            Re: “Make America Great Again.”  For having no meaning, it sure is bandied about a lot.

            Re: economics of trade.  Agreed.  Unfortunately, the Ugly American-in-Chief has yet to learn that reality.  I doubt highly he cares a hoot to learn.

            Re: Clinton & Democrats.  Thank you for sharing your perspective.  We may hold different rationale but the bottom line remains the same.

Another contribution:

“I agree with you on Kathy Griffin.  I think she messed up in her damage control post the graphic, by trying to say Trump was trying to destroy her.  She initially had an ok response to her snafu, but then started digging her hole bigger.

“I also have entertained Griffin's graphic was symbolic and used on the global scale of theater, for other sinister purposes.

“Cap, I agree we humans are not doing so well at being good stewards of our Earth.  We have done a terrible job.

“Most interesting parallels, I thinking you very keenly named Cap, to Rome, and where we are today with Trump.

“Trump in my mind is about CORPORATISM, it is his THE ART OF THE DEAL, he sees himself as a businessman (CEO) of the most powerful nation on Earth, though yes, we may fall like Rome.”

My reply:

            Re: Griffin faux pas.  Agreed.  Her apology was heartfelt.  Her subsequent yammering was whining.  She has made a career, denigrating people; her whining about the table being turned is not a good look.

            Re: stewards of our earth.  Unfortunately, Trump and his ilk feel no responsibility for the health of the planet.  Whether mankind’s existence is affecting global warming verges on irrelevant.  Polluting the water, the earth, the atmosphere is wrong and detrimental to the health of the planet, quite akin to second hand smoke in a room.  I do not need another lesson on pollutants.  Profit is NOT the bottom line.

            Re: Corporatism.  It sure appears to be so.

            Re: Roman Empire.  The Roman Empire did not fail because of its power, but rather by its complacency and turning inward.

            My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)