One Party Rule

April 10^th 2017

With the swearing in of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, the republican authoritarian takeover of our country is almost complete. The flagrant gerrymandering of districts and dark money poured into election propaganda by conservative special interests has denied the majority of our country a proper representative voice.  We now are ruled by a triumvirate of conservative fanatics who have stopped at nothing to force us into a one party system.  We no longer live in a representative democracy. The America of old is no more, and we face an uncertain future under the control of a crass undisciplined president and an unprincipled congress.  

AHCA Death Sentence

March 13^th 2017

The AHCA bill that Trump and the republicans are ushering hastily through Congress is not a health care bill; it's a death sentence for many, especially elderly Americans. The conservative philosophy of tax credits versus subsidies in the bill will make it impossible for millions to obtain healthcare. The reductions in Medicaid will badly hurt the poor, the sick, and the disabled citizens who look to government for some help to stay alive. It will severely impact the 50% of all pregnant women who depend on Medicaid to help them safely through the birth of their child. It will make it far too expensive for elderly citizens, not yet on Medicare, to pay for insurance as the premiums increase up to five times more than young people pay.

This bill truly illustrates the cold hearted philosophy of the conservatives. They are bent on destroying the social safety net and this is a first step on the way. I've no doubt that Medicare and Social Security are next on their target list and the reasoning for all this destruction seems to be that the rich need more tax breaks. The very fabric of our American society is under attack and we need honorable representatives to step forward and stop this decline immediately before it's too late.

Trump Bull in a China Shop

March 13^th 2017

For two months I have been waiting for the awakening of conservative America to the con-job Trump and his cohorts have loaded on us. But it would seem that, like the proverbial frog in hot water, they simply choose to ignore reality and continue to applaud Trump's outrageous claims, actions, and proposals.

In a recent poll over 90 percent of democrats and 60 percent of independents disapprove of Trump's temperament and are dismayed at the new course the nation is taking. Yet 62 percent of republicans are still sticking with their man regardless of the disaster that looms ahead. The republicans seem to have fallen prey to Trump's ludicrous portrayal of all who oppose him as enemies of the people. That's dictator-speak, and a dangerous position for any President of the USA to be taking.

Are conservatives so fully bent on getting their way that they would let this power monger and his puppets control our lives at the expense of our national identity? We are rapidly losing the image of the "shining beacon on the hill" as Trump lies and screams his way through ill thought out orders and actions like a bull in a china shop. We need proper checks and balances on this administration. All the strong and honorable representatives of yore would be appalled that our congress has allowed this to occur. I look to our representatives to show some spine and start bringing real facts and information to bear so that we can return to the normal form of governance that has built our nation over the last 240 years.

AHCA

March 8^th 2017

Tom Price finally released the republican plan to replace Obamacare. After 6 years of repeal votes, denigration, claims of death spirals and boasts of a cheaper, better plan than Obamacare we see the results of their work. It's a stinker!

They obviously have put little or no thought into this mess that they call the American Heath Care Act. Early reviews by insurance companies indicate it will cost a lot more, especially for the millions of poorer and older people who benefited from the Obamacare subsidies and those needing Medicaid. It also means millions of people will lose the insurance they gained under the ACA.  

The republicans have basically taken the Obamacare model and  gutted the elements that were intended to help those in need whilst eliminating the taxes from the rich, and the individual mandate that helped pay for the less fortunate. Is this the great plan that Trump touted? It's just another indicator of how the country has been conned by this man and the conservatives who have no idea of what it takes to govern or to build a better America.

We would be much better expanding the Medicare model to all citizens in need of health insurance with a proper payroll and income tax system on those that can afford it to ensure that that the system remains solvent.

Putin's Russia

March 6^th 2017

Regardless of the Veracity of the Trump-Putin connection there is no doubt that Putin is pleased with the chaos and disruption in the Western World. This is what he has been working towards since he took over the helm of the motherland. His vision has been one of returning Russia to its "rightful" position among the power broker nations of the world and with Trump's election he is well on his way to accomplish that goal.

As the western alliance struggles to understand the chaos and confusion of Brexit, Trump and Le Pen, Putin is quietly building Russia's credibility as a partner for Turkey, Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and maybe even France. Ex-soviet states that have moved philosophically to western thinking are now bracing for the next Putin onslaught. His plan is working and we in the west have fallen into the trap as Putin's well-oiled propaganda machine has spread misinformation, fake news, and lies through the cyber war he has been waging for the last decade.

His unscrupulous fake media efforts aided and abetted by extremists here at home have influenced the minds and opinions of millions of Americans who have fallen victim to the stories and leaks designed to do exactly that. The new age of psychographic profiling based on our everyday use of social media has provided Putin with the data needed to target susceptible elements of our population and the election results show the powerful capabilities that Russia now commands through their cyber espionage warfare.  

George Orwell in his book 1984 predicted a grim thought control world in his future; it appears now that his prescience was not misplaced.