ONE LINER 0020 - R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

August 31, 2018.  We are saying the final FAREWELL to the two giant human beings: Aretha Franklin (the Queen of Soul) and the Senator John McCain (a maverick and a war hero).

Aretha's song  R.E.S.P.E.C.T  is ringing in my ears.  We all respect her as a musical giant and him, for being a politician who 'put the Country first...'

A note to the #45 (President Trump):
It's not enough to demand the Respect from everybody around, while punishing the people who disagree with you, or your political, moral, fiscal, etc, stance.  Respect is to be earned!
Let me use the word which you like to repeat (I suspect, not fully understanding it, and not pronouncing it right) - reciprocal*.  
RESPECT is one these things, which needs to be reciprocal.

In the case of President Trump - the consecutive number of the presidency, #45 is also his place on the list of Presidents, according to the Respect they earned.  Bravo!

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*  according to the Cambridge Dictionary:
reciprocal
adjective UK ​  /rɪˈsɪp.rə.kəl/ US ​  /rɪˈsɪp.rə.kəl/ formal
A reciprocal action or arrangement involves two people or groups of people who behave in the same way or agree to help each other and give each other advantages.

ONE LINER 0019 - 'Mirror, mirror...'

August 27 2018 - The flags are flying half-staff on the government buildings all across the America, to honor the life and passing of the 6 term Senator, former POW, and a patriot - John McCain.  All across the America... except, over the White House, where it retuned to full-staff after 24 hours (required by the law).

Until now, all the presidents in such situations, were trying to show, that they were above the personal feuds, and they are for the unification-not-division... Not this one.

Joke:

In the morning, Trump is standing in front of the mirror and asks:
'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the pettiest President of them all?'
After the moment of hesitation the mirror answers, not caring any more about the rhymes:
'Donald J Trump - the one who shouldn't even be here, since he lost the popular vote!'

My expectations of leadership role of this President (#45) are very, very low at this time (never have been high...), but THIS blows my mind...

VOTE in NOVEMBER 2018.

ONE LINER 0018 - Putin's Arsenal...

Putin is the most disruptive, the most anti - western civilization force on the planet.  
Even though Russia's economy is classified as 28th, or so, in world, his military might is huge and unhinged.  He has many weapon systems which math or supersede their western counterparts (like infamous, and only 'promised' so far, undetectable missile sytem, he unveiled a few moths ago with a stunning animated simulation of Russian attack on... Florida).

However, the most dangerous and the most effective weapon against democracy, American and West-European way of life, and the world's economy, in his arsenal is TRUMP.

Trump is either a TRAITOR, or a naive, senile prick - both of these options are scary...

Think about it, come November...

ONE LINER 0017 - BIRTHER 'Trump' Movement

In 2008, when Barak Housed Obama was about to become the 44th President of the United States of America, the BIRTHER Movement was born.  It was led, for at least 5 years, by Donald J Trump who is about to become the 45th Presidents of the same United States of America.

The most outrageous thing associated with the Birther Movement, was not the fact that they were trying to delegitimize the President Obama, claiming that he wasn’t worn in the States.

The most outrageous thing was, and quite ingenious, was that instead of dismissing such a charge as completely stupid as irrelevant (I will explain why in a moment), all Democrats and anybody supporting the President, assumed the defensive position, trying to prove that Obama WAS born in the States.

The bully (and I mean Donald J Trump) managed to stupefy all Americans, and cry denying the charge! 

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Time has past…  In 2016 Primaries to the Republican Nomination to the Presidential race, there happened to be Senator Ted Cruz.  I do not want to talk about his lack of virtues, and the IQ making the monkeys look like ‘brainiacs’. 

What I am writing here and now is that, like President Obama he was born in a family consisting of an American mother, and foreign-national father.  And this is where the similarities end.

Senator Cruz was born in Canada, not in the States.  And as far as this argument is concerned, Canada is the same as Kenia, or any other country - it ain’t the USA.

And yet, Cruz, being born outside of the country, from a singe American parent, was eligible to run for the Presidency of the USA.

It was, all legal, and agreed by both sides of the isle. 

Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution imposes only three eligibility requirements on persons serving as president – based on the officeholder’s age, time of residency in the U.S., and citizenship status. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the same three qualifications apply to the Vice President of the United States: 

* Only "natural-born" U.S. citizens (or those born abroad, but only to parents at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen at the time) may serve president of the United States.

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How is it possible that Trump could have manipulated the discussion on the presidential requirements the way he did.  How is it possible, that NO-ONE ever rose asking the questions I ask, and dismissing the absurd and completely immaterial, and completely irrelevant accusation.

I am ashamed for all Americans, who, instead of reading the Constitution, engaged in a straggle on the Trump’s terms.

Shame…

ONE LINER 0016 - Presidential First Dance - 1st Lady or 1st Daughter?

Since the beginning of our Country, on January 20, after the Inauguration Ceremony, the ball commences... The new Presidents danced with their wives the First Dance Of Their Presidency.

Knowing how much the 1-st Daughter, Ivanka matters to the President Elect, she is likely to replace the 1-st Lady in this ceremonial dance.
The White House is already incorporating the unprecedented changes - Family Office, instead of 1-st Lady Office, etc.  Trump doesn't care about any tradition or a possibility to be accused of NEPOTISM, CRONYISM, and... you name it, what else...

We are about to have a President, who needs to be under the constant watch.  Constant watch of the Congress (to prevent the likely conflicts of interest), constant watch of CIA (to anticipate and possibly prevent the damaging to the interests of the USA, stupid presidential behavior), constant watch of the fact-checkers (to catch half-baked truths, bragging, and other not-presidential statements, coming from the Office of the President). etc.

In the last couple of years of the President Obama term, I kept rather quiet.  Not everything has been to my liking, not everything was in the right direction...  But now, I expect that this blog will be quite busy, dealing with reality of the Trump Presidency.

I am sharpening my pen...

ONE LINER 0015 - Putin's friend?

The US Congress at the beginning of the 2017, a few days before the inauguration of the President Donald J Trump (alas…), on both sides of the isle, is quite unanimous on Russia being the ‘menace of the world’, and having mingled in the US 2016 election process, by hacking, releasing one sided evidence to the Wiki Leaks and so on.
Russia suffers some sanctions already, and the new sanctions are in the making.

And yet, the President-Elect have been praising the Russia’s Dictator for his wisdom, and handling of the political challenges.  He has been diminishing (and previously totally dismissing) the role Russia played in hacking, and other attacks on the US, and the other allies’ affairs (hacking the newspapers around the Europe etc.).

We all know these facts, and, frankly, I still can’t believe that such a person could have been elected President of the USA.
After so much denying the merit of the findings of the CIA and other agencies about the Russian actions, Trump threatens to remove the sanctions imposed on Russia for their actions against our democracy.
On January 14 in the interview for The Wall Street Journal Trump had audacity to utter such a statement:
“If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?”(1*).

Yes, we have to admit, that Russia is a force, which does some stabilizing action in the Middle East.  Yet, it’s not by humanitarian means, but indiscriminating ‘extermination’ of the civilian population in Syria, helping the tyrant like Basher Assad, who otherwise would be deposed by his ‘subjects’.  Recently Russia teamed up with another ‘going-dictatorial’ force in the region - Turkey, which instead of fighting the ISIS (or I should say ‘beside’), uses this   opportunity to decimate their Kurdish opposition.

Proving by his actions in Syria, in the recent months, that he was a War Criminal, Putin is probably the last person on the planet who could have been called:”…somebody's doing some really great things”.  Even if he is an ‘ally’ in the fight with ISIS, no one can overlook his absolutely illegal (and condemned by the whole civilized world) annexation of the Crimea, and an attempt to steal at least part of the Ukraine.  Let’s not forget the situation in Georgia and a fear which he rises in all Baltic States, who gained the sovereignty from the USSR in a peaceful (mostly) process, and do not want to fall under the New, Revived Russian Empire.

Unfortunately, the United States have had in the past some politicians, who disregarded the obvious aggression against the neighboring countries, and wanted to talk and negotiate with the tyrant… I am talking about Joseph P. Kennedy Sr - the father of so beloved President John F Kennedy, who rejected the warnings of the prominent Member of Parliament Winston Churchill that any compromise with Nazi Germany was impossible. Instead, Kennedy supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's apparent policy of appeasement. Throughout 1938, while the Nazi persecution of the Jews in Germany and Austria intensified, Kennedy attempted to arrange a meeting with Adolf Hitler.[39] Shortly before the Nazi aerial bombing of British cities began in September 1940, Kennedy once again sought a personal meeting with Hitler, again without the approval of the Department of State, "to bring about a better understanding between the United States and Germany”.(*2)

Let’s think for a moment how misguided this lack of judgement on part of Kennedy was…

President Elect Donald J Trump is doing the same, stupid mistake diminishing the danger, which is associated with letting Putin do what he wants.

I only hope that being surrounded by the people (who he hand picked himself), who are more realistic about Russia and the thread it constitutes, will influence the change in his thinking direction.

If not… God, save us all.


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1* - http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/13/politics/donald-trump-russia-sanctions-taiwan/
2* - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy_Sr.

ONE LINER 0014: Hilary Clinton - stuck in the era long gone…

Let me start from the statement:  I am a Democrat, in fact more Liberal (on the social issues).
As I wrote before, many times, our goal, as Democrats, in 2016 is to prevent the Republicans from taking the White House to farther ruin, and dissipate the American Middle Class.

That said, I am more and more convinced, that the Secretary Clinton is not the answer to our quest.

To be honest, I hate such politicians, like Hilary Clinton.  
Intelligent - yes, but dishonest, and weak.
Senator Sanders has been absolutely right rising the question: if Secretary Clinton is, al all, qualified to be a President of the USA, having such a history of bad judgment on so many important issues (the war in Iraq, bailing out the banks, disastrous trade agreements, etc).  
We could farther and farther with the list of the wrong judgment proofs - I wrote about it already.

Today I want to shine a spotlight on Secretary Clinton’s disconnection from the 2016 reality.
Not only she still defends her husband’s NAFTA, and her husband’s crime bill, and talks about Super Predators, but uses the metaphors, which have been condemned and discarded a long time ago - in the nineties.

I saw her on TV today (and it’s widely described in many journals, both paper and virtual, like Politico - 1*), saying:
"I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get ‘off the reservation’ in the way they behave and how they speak."

If I said that as a joke I would still be considered a bigot and an ‘asshole’, but it would be a ‘no harm done’ - I am a private citizen.  However, if the ‘off the reservation’ metaphor is used in 2016 by a presidential candidate, it becomes simply another ‘lack of judgment’ moment, and a proof, that she is not grown (as a human being) since the time she was a ‘first lady’.  She is stuck in the past.
I repeat, louder:  SHE IS STUCK IN THE PAST.

As I wrote in my previous article, Susan Sarandon had expressed some doubts if the Sanders supporters, like herself, would ‘have the stomach’ to vote on Clinton in general elections.  I start thinking along the same lines.  
Scary, what the result might be…

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1* - http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-dem-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/hillary-clinton-men-reservation-222645