Month: November 2016

Is This A Purge?

That word leads me to my historical roots….Purge?

It is a verb….that has a couple of meanings……

1.to rid of whatever is impure or undesirable; cleanse; purify.

2.to rid, clear, or free (usually followed by of or from):  to purge a political party of disloyal members.

3.to clear of imputed guilt or ritual uncleanliness.

4.to clear away or wipe out legally (an offense, accusation, etc.) by atonement or other suitable action.

5.to remove by cleansing or purifying (often followed by away, off, or out).

6.to clear or empty (the bowels) by causing evacuation.

7. to cause evacuation of the bowels of (a person).

In political terms I think of the great “purges” in history…..first the Night of the Long Knives when Hitler purged all those people that stood in his way to total power….second there were the “purges” of Stalin in the USSR when he eliminated his rivals and got a bit of revenge on past deeds done to him.
The reason I gave this historical perspective was because their seems to be a purge happening within the Trump transition team.  The purge is not physical but rather political……is he looking for some sort of purity?
I’m sure that somewhere there is troll waiting to pounce on this swearing that I am comparing Trump to Stalin…..I am not……

Big shake-up No. 2 for Donald Trump’s presidential transition team: Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, who had been leading the national security part of the team, resigned Tuesday. In a statement reported by Politico, he called his time “during the initial pre-election planning phase … a privilege” and framed the work as “a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership.” CNN frames it as the loss of “an establishment national security voice.” The New York Times’ take on Rogers’ “abrupt” exit was more colorful, describing a “transition operation plunged into disarray.”

The Times article reports that while Vice President-elect Mike Pence took the reins of the team at large from Chris Christie on Friday, the paperwork that must be signed in order to allow the Obama and Trump teams to work together had yet to be signed, allegedly because the document was being red-lined. A source in the Trump camp expects it will be signed Tuesday, but the Times pulls no punches: “The slow and uncertain start to what is normally a rapid and meticulously planned transfer of power could have profound implications for Mr. Trump’s nascent administration.” The Wall Street Journal notes Rogers was “considered a close ally” of Christie. While no reason was given for Rogers’ resignation, Bloomberg sources say he was asked to proffer it by team officials.

Also word has come out that Pence has ordered all lobbyists off the transition team…….

Tuesday brought a big shake-up for Donald Trump’s transition team, but the president-elect took to Twitter to assure Americans that there’s a “very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!” USA Today reports by way of a team insider that Vice President-elect Mike Pence and transition executive director Rick Dearborn are cleaning house, wiping lobbyists from the team. “This is to ensure President-elect Trump’s commitment to ban lobbyist involvement is being upheld at all levels of the transition,” an unnamed aide tells Reuters. And the ball is moving: Necessary paperwork that had been awaiting Pence’s signature since Friday was delivered to the White House Tuesday evening, though additional materials are required before agency-specific briefings can occur.

As for what was behind Mike Rogers’ resignation Tuesday, many sources seem to be settling on his closeness with former transition team head Chris Christie (though Reuters floats an alternate theory about Rogers not going after Hillary Clinton hard enough during the Benghazi investigation). CNN’s sources take it a step further and say Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner has been pushing to erase Christie associates from the team. The Washington Post sources echo this, calling the situation, in the words of the Post, “a troubling episode of political score-settling.” It reports that in 2005 Christie, then a US attorney, prosecuted Kushner’s father for tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign contributions; he was handed a two-year sentence.

If so he is making good on his campaign promise…..on the other side….without competent people at the helm of the important positions like SecState or position in the world could become more dangerous than it is today.

This move should give the establishment GOPers a bit of a case of heartburn…… is he just seeking revenge?  Or is it Pence that is doing this?  Maybe it is just to keep the media off balanced….many questions…..only time will tell.

 Like it or not…..there is something fascinating going on in DC…I said fascinating not right.

What Does 2016 Mean For Net Neutrality?

About a year or so ago the internet and bloggers were burning up the airways with all sorts of horror stories about what will happen to net neutrality…..then along came the 2016 election and the issue was not so important…..

But we now have a new president-elect and what could that mean to net neutrality?

First, a piece about militarizing the internet….

A global conference of senior military and intelligence officials taking place in London this week reveals how governments increasingly view social media as “a new front in warfare” and a tool for the Armed Forces.

The overriding theme of the event is the need to exploit social media as a source of intelligence on civilian populations and enemies; as well as a propaganda medium to influence public opinion.

A report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last month revealed how a CIA-funded tool, Geofeedia, was already being used by police to conduct surveillance of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to monitor activists and protesters.

Source: Your Government Wants to Militarize Social Media to Influence Your Beliefs | Motherboard

We know how influential social media can be….look at all the fake news stories from Facebook alone….these caught fire and were past off as “real” facts when they were just lies made to look official….

With all that said……what will a president Trump mean to the internet?

On January 20th, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States. With a Republican-controlled House and Senate behind him, things in this country are going to change… a lot. One of the things that might be on the chopping block early in his administration is Net Neutrality.

This is obviously an issue near and dear to our hearts here at Engadget, and it’s pretty safe to assume that the rules instituted by the FCC in 2015 will be gutted by a Trump administration. In 2014, he described the concept as a “top down power grab” that “will target the conservative media,” and compared it to the Fairness Doctrine — referring to the FCC rule eliminated in 1987 that required broadcasters to present contrasting views on topics of public interest. While it might be tempting to dismiss those vaguely paranoid sounding declarations as simple Twitter bluster, it’s unlikely to be an issue that flies under the radar once he moves into the White House.

Source: Under Trump the future of Net Neutrality and broadband is uncertain

The Right has been all a flutter about their freedom of internet usage and their privacy……will they roll over and play dead…..kinda like they are doing with the lies told them to gain their vote?

My guess is they will play ball with the autocrats that will make up this new government…

“I Will Not Let You Down”

That was the declaration from Donald Trump, president-elect of the US of A, during his acceptance speech on Nov. 8, 2016…..

After it became official that he had won the electoral college I stated that I would at least give him a chance to make good on the promises he made to his supporters and the people of this country.  My biggest concern is that of foreign policy….he made some bold statements about the international situations and I want to know if he will follow through….

Two days after his election and I am already disappointed…..fist, he railed about the DC insiders and that will change…..but yet he is using insiders to advise him on cabinet positions…..one strike

Word has come out about his foreign policy……he promised to pull troops from Korea and that the Iranian nuke deal was dead if he is elected……

New reports from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency suggest President-elect Donald Trump is already reneging on one of his key campaign promises, to make nations like South Korea pay more of the cost for their own defense or face the loss of US troops.

What about the nuke deal?

While the US could conceivably renege on its obligations under the deal, and indeed that has been what some Congressional resolutions suggested doing, it wouldn’t overturn the entire deal so much as render the US the sole violator of it. If anything, such a move risks an international backlash from the other P5+1 nations, particularly those in Europe.

This reality has already been obvious in the first year of the deal, with the Obama Treasury Department slow to keep US obligations related to lifting sanctions, a fact which sparked criticism from Iran, but far more criticism from Western Europe, whose companies are losing out on massive deals with Iran because of US banking sanctions.

Faced with the reality that he can’t effectively “change” the Iran nuclear deal, Trump really has no reason to risk isolating the US economically by trying to roll back US compliance. There is simply nothing to gain, and plenty to lose.

(antiwar.com)

So far 2 promises are about to be broken……how many more?  We still have about 60 days before the swearing in….plenty of time……

While I was asking that question more news hit the wires…..remember at his rallies all the chanting “Build the wall”?  Keep that warm fuzzy feeling……

Prominent Trump aide Newt Gingrich told reportersThursday Trump’s promise to have Mexico pay for a border wall may have been just a “campaign talk.” “He’ll spend a lot of time controlling the border,” said Gingrich, who is expected to have a senior role in Trump’s White House. “He may not spend very much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it, but it was a great campaign device.”

I am sure that the rabid supporters will find some illogical method to justify the lies told to the American people…..they are already whining about the protests the day after the vote…..

But sorry…..a lie is a fucking lie!  You CANNOT justify a LIE!

Trump’s First 100 Days–Redux

Like I have said several times….there are some parts of the Trump agenda that I can relate to……for instance the below graphic……..

If this is his agenda then I applaud him in his efforts……..at least in those first 100 days…..

It is too early to say that I will support this president….but this would be a good start….it might be good to restore the public’s faith in the institution of government…..there are qualified people that are not lobbyists…..it will depend what scale is used to judge the person…..my guess is that a rational independent voice will not be welcome in this new administration.

Too much hearsay right now…..I will wait and see if this part of his promise rings true…..and with what it is replaced.

Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy: What Will He Really Do?

Another op-ed that my friends at Ace News Room felt deserved to be published…..I appreciate their confidence in my analyses……

Ace News asked me for my take on the recent election of Donald Trump and sice I am a foreign policy wonk I thought I would start there….

I have neglected my posts on foreign policy because of the election and all the situations swirling around DC these days……but things are starting to slow down and I can once again return to international situations……

I am on record as saying that are some aspects to Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric that I could agree with……the thing is NO one knows what it will be like in his cabinet right now……

Source: Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy: What Will He Really Do?

If you need a site that specializing in all the news…both good and bad….then please take a visit to Ace News Room….you will not be disappointed.

Closing Thought–16Nov16

This is a moot point because we already have a new prez….but at least give me this…..I am gloating a bit at those dyed in the wool establishment Dems.

You guys lost not because of some superior message by another candidate…you lost because you hand picked the worst candidate possible.

Just to rub your noses in the pile here……

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have beaten Donald Trump by a historic margin if he had been the Democratic nominee, according to a private pre-election poll provided to The Huffington Post.

The national survey of more than 1,600 registered voters, conducted by Gravis Marketing two days before the general election, found that Sanders would have received 56 percent of the vote while Trump would have won 44 percent

Crucially, independent voters, who made up nearly one-third of the general election voters this year, favored Sanders over Trump, 55 percent to 45 percent, the poll found. Hillary Clinton, by contrast, lost independents 48 percent to 42 percent, according to exitpolls.

I know polls are notoriously wrong….but I still like the sound of this one…..because, and please check my archives to confirm, I was dead set against this Clinton from the start and I never wavered from that stand…..unlike so many others……

The Dems did this to themselves….all the back stabbing, underhanded tactics and the lies gave you a candidate that had NO chance of winning……

Congrats!  You f*cked yourselves….

Like I said at the start….this is a moot point but it felt good to tell the dumbass Dems…”I TOLD YOU SO”!

Back Away Slowly

Do you know how many Trump supporters gave me grief over my opinion that the rhetoric will not match the candidate if he were to win the big enchilada?

Many!  They told me that everything would change when was elected…..but will it?

His biggest draw was that he was an outsider and that is what is needed to break the strangle hold of the “elitist” the DC insiders on the levers of power.,….

Well that is a lie….why?  Look who is his chief of staff……one of the biggest insiders……

President-elect Trump has named Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, NBC reports. The choice was widely believed to be between Priebus and Steve Bannon, Trump’s campaign CEO and executive chairman of Breitbart News. In the end, both will stay on board. While Priebus won the big job, Politico reports that Bannon will be Trump’s chief strategist. “I am thrilled to have my very successful team continue with me in leading our country,” Trump said in a statement. “Steve and Reince are highly qualified leaders who worked well together on our campaign and led us to a historic victory.”

Bannon and Priebus represent two camps expected to be fighting for influence over the Trump presidency: Priebus is an establishment Republican with years of experience in politics, while Bannon is a fiery ideologue whose conservative media powerhouse, Breitbart News, is described as a “must-read for antiestablishment conservatives” by the Wall Street Journal. Other establishment Republicans may find some comfort knowing Priebus will play such a central role in the Trump White House, CNN reports. Priebus, who has led the Republican Party since 2011, is widely viewed as a moderating influence who may be able to forge alliances with Republicans like Paul Ryan.

Word is that it will NOT stop there…….

Donald Trump has only been president-elect of the United States for a few days but some of his biggest campaign promises are already looking shaky—including his promise to repeal ObamaCare. Failure to deliver on pledges like the border wall could alienate some of his “most fervent supporters,” though Trump has previously backed away from hardline positions only to return to them later, the Washington Post reports. A round-up of coverage:

  • Prominent Trump aide Newt Gingrich told reporters Thursday Trump’s promise to have Mexico pay for a border wall may have been just a “campaign talk.” “He’ll spend a lot of time controlling the border,” said Gingrich, who is expected to have a senior role in Trump’s White House. “He may not spend very much time trying to get Mexico to pay for it, but it was a great campaign device.”
  • Trump, whose supporters chanted “Lock her up” at campaign rallies, has softened his tone on Hillary Clinton considerably, the Guardian reports. In a 60 Minutes interview that will air Sunday, he described his former rival as a “very strong and very smart” woman who conceded in a “lovely” phone call. “She couldn’t have been nicer. She just said ‘congratulations Donald, well done,'” said Trump. He said Bill Clinton also called, and he “couldn’t have been more gracious.” In a Wall Street Journal interview, Trump said he hadn’t given a lot of thought to his promise to have a special prosecutor investigate Hillary Clinton.
  • The Times of Israel reports that Trump foreign policy adviser Walid Phares cast doubt on several Trump policies in an interview with BBC radio, saying that Trump might not move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem without “consensus,” and that “ripping it up” might be too strong a term for what Trump plans to do with the Iran nuclear deal. He “will take the agreement, review it, send it to Congress, demand from the Iranians to restore a few issues or change a few issues, and there will be a discussion,” Phares said.
  • Politico looks at the Trump team’s efforts to vet Cabinet nominees and plan for his first 100 days, and finds that the man who pledged to “drain the swamp” is assembling a team full of GOP insiders, lobbyists, and people with close ties to Wall Street. Some top members of the Trump transition team served in both Bush administrations.
  • CNN notes that Trump’s suggestion that he will keep parts of ObamaCare goes against his pledge to immediately repeal and replace the law, but much earlier in the campaign, he expressed support for keeping popular parts of the law—and even suggested he would be open to universal health care. “Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say,” he told CBS last year. “I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.”
  • Trump hasn’t provided many concrete policy details since his win, but he’s still promising great things. “This will prove to be a great time in the lives of ALL Americans. We will unite and we will win, win, win!” he tweeted Saturday.

So far the appointees that are being named right now is terrible for an “outsider”….Trump is wading into the stagnant water of Washington…and few seem to care….funny that is not what they said during the process….but I guess when you have NO principles a lot of things are acceptable.

It will be some enjoyment to watch all those rabid, insulting supporters trying to justify being lied to in the process….

Let me say again….a LIE is still a LIE no matter what you try to do to justify…..but I guess some people like being lied to…..

It is fascinating to see everyone furiously attempt to read the tea leaves to try figure out what is inside the mysterious early Christmas present (that over half of American voters didn’t want) which we were all given last Tuesday. I think we have it narrowed down to Donald Trump as president will be most like… Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barack Obama, Jessie Ventura, or Adolf Hitler.  (Personally, I do not like using the AH reference and that makes me better than about half of the Trump supporters who do not hesitate to make such analogies)

Regardless, it will be so exciting to find out what we got in exchange for debasing our entire political process for at least the next generation!

Source: Trump’s Base of Supporters Clearly Doesn’t Care That He’s Already Broken Campaign Promises | Mediaite

How the U.S. Military Can Save $1 Trillion

On January 20th Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of these United States….and shortly after that he will face the yearly challenge of the budget….there ought to be lots of back and forth and accusations will fly…..

Only days left before the best comedy in town….the budget debate……

Our biggest budget will be that of the Pentagon with all its glory and secrets

The National Interest magazine has a suggestion for the Trump-ites and others to consider when decided what will be best for the Pentagon…..

Cut the U.S. military’s size, but retain its technical edge.

The United States could reduce Pentagon spending by over a trillion dollars in the next decade—spending $5.2 trillion rather than the currently planned $6.3 trillion— by adopting strategy of military restraint. That’s the bottom line of a study I produced along with several colleagues as part of “Developing Alternative Defense Strategies 2016,” an exercise organized by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, where groups from five think tanks used CSBA’s “Strategic Choices” software to reimagine the U.S. military budget.

The others all increased military spending. The teams from the Center for New American Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies added a few percent—tens of billions a year for the decade. CSBA’s team added about ten percent, and the American Enterprise Institute’s twenty.

Source: How the U.S. Military Can Save $1 Trillion | The National Interest

But then I am NOT sure that the country wants to save money…they prefer to reduce tax revenue and then spend their asses off so they can piss and moan about the deficit next election……so they can cut revenue…..it is all so predictable.

My suggestion is crap on the F-35 and that worthless ship that the Navy cannot afford the ammo for its guns….this would be a good start…..then proceed from there….

Secede and Decentralize: An Open Letter to Clinton Supporters

Some think the Dems are in total denial and in a state of confusion on what they need to do to repair their reputation from the caning they took in the last election…..

It is humorous since they have been taking the same caning since 2010 and they did not pay attention……so will they this time?

But since that Clinton supporters are all butt hurt by the results of 2016 they need consoling….

This is an open letter to Clinton supporters from the Mises Institute…..a Libertarian group from the ground up…..

Dear Clinton Voters:

I know this election has been painful for you. Many feel betrayed and even believe yourselves no longer living in the country you thought you were. Reflect on that pain and frustration for a moment. Now recognize how you feel now is how an equally large, possibly larger, number felt for the past eight years. Those who are of a liberty bent feel it all the time, no matter who ends up in office. Reflect on it, feel it, understand it, own it.

Before you get the wrong idea, this is not my attempt at rubbing in your face the loss of your candidate or an endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump. If anything, I share your pain and frustration, just for an entirely different reason. What you’re feeling, this hopelessness, this feeling that you’re no longer represented, this feeling that people other than you are now able to dictate your way of life, this is all a result of the massive expansion of the Federal government. Elections have long ceased being voting for someone you think represents the lifestyle you want to live and are, in practice, an exercise on determining whether or not you get to impose your preferred lifestyle on someone else.

Source: Secede and Decentralize: An Open Letter to Clinton Supporters | Mises Wire

There will be many such “suggestions” in the next couple of years…..but the question really is….will Dems try to change their direction or will they just pray for rain…..the Dems will be as always…they will gloat when they win and whine when they lose…..same as Repubs.

But there is a few suggestions that the Dems should consider……

1. Federal Government, please get your act together. Come up with a plan to reduce the national debt. Enforce the law or make new ones but do not willfully disrespect our laws. Re-engineer your vast array of laws, regulations and bureaucracies to try and deliver efficient accountable government services.

2. Back off in attacking who I am and my family’s values. Get off this social justice, ethnic group obsession. We are all Americans. Please treat us equally and speak to us as one class of people with the same aspirations.

3. Supreme Court, interpret our existing laws. Do not usurp the role of the State legislatures by creating new laws.

There is only so much you can do…..but that is considering if you really want to find a way to regain your standing among the people……

Your idiocracy in this last election made me think of a quote by H.L. Mencken……”On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

Or possibly “you reap what you sow”……”you asked for it….you got it”!

I am sorry….but so far I see nothing that would give me any confidence for the future.