Month: February 2017

Statue of Liberty

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus (1883)

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Emma Lazarus (1883)
Emma Lazarus (1883)

You can’t always get what you want

Trump ignores Copyright Law

Apparently Trump thinks, “You can’t always get what you want,” doesn’t apply to him. The 1969 Rolling Stones song, which was used in the opening scene of the iconic 1983 movie The Big Chill, has been used repeatedly by the Trump campaign and subsequent administration (most recently in the SC event and the CPAC) without permission, credit, or payment of any kind. They have been told to stop using their song by The Rolling Stones but they just ignore it. The Trump administration have had similar complaints by other artists such as Adele, Neil Young, REM, and Aerosmith but continue to flout the law.

Things I want to see from Trump

  1. Tax returns (nobody ever gets audited for paying too much tax)
  2. Divestment of all businesses (likely compromised by the Emoluments Clause; first by the Trump D.C. Hotel, then by the Mar-a-Lago fees, and now by the grant of the Trump trademark in China)
  3. Emails

The question is, “Does Trump belong in The Bigly House or just The Big House?”

Odds for impeachment are now 11-10. Other questions arise such as, “Is Trump manipulating the stock market?”—attacks on Lockheed-Martin and Boeing followed by a visit to Boeing’s SC plant.

The only “Fake News” that I have found came from Trump, Conway, or Spicer!

Putin’s chess game is working

This article in Time magazine has got it dead right:

As Moscow Advances, U.S. Allies Look Warily to Trump for Clarity

Putin is playing a chess game with his pawns and knights while distracting the West. He has no interest in ISIS, Syrian rebels, or the Crimean people but has his eyes on Europe. He wants to break the EU and NATO and he is achieving his goal.

Putin’s aims are the ports of Crimea and Syria with access to the Mediterranean and he is now focusing also on Montenegro. He has stimulated the rise of nationalism in the UK, and the USA and soon to follow will be France (Marine Le Pen has promised to leave NATO), the Netherlands, and Germany. Similarly, influencing Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria, and other former Eastern Bloc “members”. He continues to test NATO resolve with forays into Estonia and Eastern Ukraine.

Healthcare is a Fundamental Human Right

The World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution enshrines “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.” The right to health includes access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality. … Universal health coverage is a means to promote the right to health.

WHO | Health and human rights

Nobody should have to decide on putting food on the table vs. going to the doctor or having an essential operation. It shouldn’t be based on your employment status, where you live, how sick you are, or how much you can afford to pay.

God and Religion

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three major monotheistic religions, all originated in what is known today as the Arab World. If they all believe in one god, then they must all believe it is the same god. Then all that is left are man’s machinations that created all the different ways of worshipping the one god that defines your beliefs.

It is these thousands of beliefs and practices and the impossibility of justifying them that creates all of the tension.

Statistics by Kim Kardashian

Statistics

Number of Americans killed annually by:
Islamic jihadist immigrants:2
Far right-wing terrorists:5
Islamic jihadist terrorists (including US citizens):9
Armed toddlers:21
Lightning:31
Lawnmowers:69
Being hit by a bus:264
Falling out of bed:737
Being shot by another American:11,737

I am not a fan of the Kardashians but Kim’s post was brilliant! Trump wants to protect us from the two deaths by spending millions of dollars and creating untold conflict and anguish. And yet, he ignores the 11,767 deaths (unless they are in Chicago) because of the support he receives from the National Rifle Association (NRA).

How is the government going to pay for all this?

Trump’s administration promises:

  • to cut corporate and individual taxes
  • build a multi-billion dollar wall
  • infrastructure spending to improve airports, bridges, and roads
  • massive military spending (including nuclear weapons)
  • replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with cheaper better healthcare, etc.

How do they plan to pay for that with less income from taxes?