By now it has happened

Obamacare.  The GOP promises that we'll have something bigger and better.  With all the rhetoric that has been spewed to the party loyalists, I doubt that they can deliver anything that is half as good as what they pledge to destroy, if only because they never have worked to design something that can replace Obama's signature accomplishment.  It saddens me that the only thing unifying the GOP has been a pledge to destroy healthcare for millions. Yet, it could be much worse.  We don't know what the "new normal" will be in the near future.  

Recently Meryl Streep came out and protested the president elect's style in a recent speech at the Golden Globe award show. She didn't even have to mention him by name.  Was she justified?  She decried the bullying that passes for strength nowadays, and attacked a subculture that wants power for its own sake, and not to do something good with it.  What is wrong with that?

There is a rush to undo the gains made in society over the past 8 years.  We have a president who is likely owned by the Russian government.  He is already breaking some of his many promises, pledging to build a wall along our Southern border with our money, then convincing Mexico to pay for it.  Does anyone really believe that they will do so?  I doubt it very much.  Strangely enough, some of his nominees have more class than Trump has, including Jeff Sessions.  Sessions is willing to say that Waterboarding is torture, something that Trump can't bring himself to say.  Why is that?  Could it be that many Trump supporters only care about their rights, and not the rights of humanity?  Could it be that they have no empathy for others, and like Trump, are on a narcissistic ego trip?  

It is troubling how extreme how today's GOP seems for a centrist.  Abortion should have been a question settled 40 years ago, and it is still in play because of cultural politics. White supremacists have cleaned up their message, and use phrases such as "Southern Heritage" when they fly the Confederate Battle Flag.  (Heck, most of these people don't know that the "Stars and Bars" referred to a different flag, the flag the South wanted to use for its national standard.)  Centrists fear a government led by people who would shut down polling places heavily used by poor people.  Centrists fear a government who would take rights away from the GLBT community because it angers a small religious minority. Centrists fear a government run by people who can not compromise in any way.  And now, we will get to see what a "Right Wing" government will do.

There is a big problem in America, and it is the Urban/Rural divide.  Maybe it is about time that we think of dividing this nation into three separate nations: (1) States along the Pacific Coast, (2) States along the East Coast, and (3) The "Heartland" states.  Each would inherit the US Constitution, but would make its own laws following the dissolution of the America we once knew.  Only then would we be able to see which nation's laws makes the most sense.  But until then, we have this social conflict that can not be resolved, and can result in a second civil war. Hopefully, we will not see that happen....

Thoughts on the coming change in control.

Like it, hate it, but Obamacare (or, the Affordable Care Act) has been a political hot point for the last 6+ years.  If it had been enacted by a Republican administration, the Democrats would be looking to dismantle it.  But it was enacted by Democrats, and the GOP will soon be in charge of that den of iniquity called Washington, DC.

This year's group of Republicans is worse than most one-party governments.  They have already set their sights on dismantling programs designed to help the poor and needy. And they have decided to eliminate a non-partisan ethics office that helped keep politicians in check. There are very few GOP politicians willing to check and balance the incoming president and his tangled web of conflicted interests. And there are even fewer in congress who want the Office of Congressional Ethics keeping an eye on their affairs. What is surprising to me is that the President Elect has chastised congress for not having its priorities in order - they should be focused on things like healthcare instead of the Ethics Bureau.

The President Elect has been amazingly friendly to Russia, given that both the CIA and FBI have stated that the Russians have hacked the computers of the DNC.  I'd bet that Putin is calling Trump a "Useful Idiot" in private circles. Unlike many loyal Americans, I am not angry at Putin. He is acting in the best interests of Russia as he sees it.  Instead, I am angry at many in the GOP who refuse to stand up and tell the President Elect that he must take the hacking allegations seriously.  

Right now, the entire GOP appears to be like a kid in a candy store.  They can have anything they want, and as much of it as they want.  The big question is: Will they over do it?  Given current behavior, the answer appears to be "Yes".  Only time will tell.

A short note on a small plot of land.

In an ideal world, the map of Israel (and its neighbors) would look something like the map above. Israel could be the orange shaded nation in the middle, while Palestine would be tha nation shaded in gray.  This is the "Two-State" solution that most people want and believe in.

With the effective annexation of the West Bank, successful negotiations could have taken place on Israel's terms, as it would control what land would have been given to Palestine for nationhood.  But this was, is, and probably not be what Israel wants to do.  Instead, it has placed illegal settlements in key sites in the West Bank, making it impossible for a practical two-state solution to be negotiated.

There is no way to say any one party to this inter-generational conflict is guilty or innocent. The forebears of today's Israelis were kicked out of the land by the Romans roughly 2,000 years ago.  The British promised this land to both Jews and Arabs at the end of World War 1, and the aftermath of World War 2 made it necessary for Jews to establish a home in their traditional homeland.

- - - - - -

Recently, the US abstained from a vote condemning Israel for its illegal settlements on the West Bank. Trump went wild, saying that Obama has betrayed our national interests.  But whose interests come first - USA's or Israel's?  The only reason that America doesn't abandon Israel is the political support Israel gets from American Jews and Christian Fundamentalists who want a place for the Messiah's second coming.  Both groups support Israel for religious reasons, and not for reasons that benefit America.

There is only one reason for America to support Israel, and that is a moral one. We should support democracies wherever they are found, and respect them even when they act in their interests, not ours.  But if we did that as a policy, we'd never have had the pissing match with Iran, we'd have never have used the CIA to overthrow Salvador Allende, and we'd insisted on an official "Two-China" policy.  Sadly, Israel is evolving into an Apartheid state, and none of the pro-Israel camp seems to care.  Soon, demographics being what they are, there will be more disenfranchised Arabs in the lands Israel controls, and no way to allow them a voice in their lives - as that would come out as "Death to Israel!"

Time is running out for a Two-State solution, and Israel's actions are only making matters worse for that solution.  Our Secretary of State has effectively said, that in a Single State solution, Israel could either be a Jewish state or a Democracy, but not both. Most people want the Two-State solution, but radicals are making this impossible.  Is helping the radical element a way to make peace?  I doubt it. 

- - - - - -

Today's GOP is filled with people who would usurp the power of the presidency and invite the Prime Minister of Israel to speak to Congress, bypassing the State Department.  It looks like they will give Israel everything it asks for - and then some. This is not a healthy development.  It'll be like a kid in a candy store, and mistakes of excess will likely be made. Slow moving initiatives with countries such as Iran will be scuttled.  Who knows what will happen then?

Every nation has a right to be secure in its borders.  And every people have a right to be treated fairly in the nations in which they live. The Israel-Palestine conflict will likely be with us for generations yet to come, as both sides are taking positions only meant to stir up people for the benefit of those other than themselves.  Religious zealots living in Israel have no desire to live in peace with their Muslim neighbors. The Arab side is no better, as Muslims have been taught for generations that the Infidel is their sworn enemy, and that the Infidel must be expelled from Muslim territory.

In a way, the Arab nations are right.  Solve the problem of Jerusalem and you'll solve the problem of the Middle-East.  Sadly, I don't see a huckster real estate promoter being up to the challenges this region will present him in the next four years....

When did America stop being great?

When did America stop being great?

The false prophet always plays his siren's song to the same type of people - those who have lost many benefits of privilege, but don't see that they didn't deserve them in the first place. Trump appeals to those who want to return America to the 1950's, where "White America" ruled the world. Of course, they gloss over evils such as "Jim Crow" and enforced conformity to get there.

It is right to fear what will happen in this country. We're already seeing violence committed by Trump supporters who think they have the right to force others to submit to their will. (We never saw this with the Bushes, Clinton or Obama.) We've opened the social equivalent of an infected pus ball under the skin, and have only started to see the ugly mess come out. There is a lot of repressed hatred coming out from people who could not properly articulate or manage their problems. And it will go somewhere, causing a lot of damage.

We can't expect ignorant people to educate themselves. They often think they have more knowledge than they have, making it impossible for them to see how ignorant they really are. (See: Dunning-Kruger effect.) Think of the person who says: "God said it, I believe it, and That's it!" First, how can he prove that God said something? Next, how can this person know that his preacher or rabbi is telling him the right way to understand the holy book? And then, why is he absolutely sure that his beliefs are correct? Has he tested them? (Even Christ had to undergo tests of faith in the Bible.) These are among the people who have supported Trump, and still follow this extremely flawed leader only out of tribal loyalty.  And now, they have gotten what they want - a messianic leader even more flawed than they are.

Sadly, the worst will likely happen in this country over the next few years. We've already seen the North Carolina legislature go back on a deal involving their law authorizing discrimination against the GLBT community. We've seen that same legislature strip away power from the governor, to keep it in the former executive's party's hands. We've seen that same legislature make it impossible for the opposing political party to have an effective check and balance in the bureau of elections - making sure that the opposition party only has power in non-election years. This is the kind of behavior that signals the end of a republic, and the Trump supporters have "drunk the Kool-Aid."

The "Thousand Year Reich" only lasted 12 years. Who will lead the world when America falls? China? We are unprepared for the loss of what we cherish most, and many of us don't even see what is happening yet. I never experienced fear like this before, as I didn't understand what could be lost. Now, I see evil for what it is, and we've gotten way too close to the fires of Hell not to get burnt. I hope we will reverse this course towards the destruction of our country, but I doubt it.

I am lucky to have experienced America close to its greatest period in history. I am lucky to have known an America that looked outward to the world. I am lucky to have grown up in an America that welcomed diversity. Yes, it was a very flawed America, but one we could be proud of. My sincerest hope is that we will weather this coming storm, and that our children's generation will restore the greatness America lost during this coming era of darkness.

It can happen again, and be even worse.

The above picture was censored for years. What would the public have thought if it knew that thousands of people were being herded up on the West Coast and sent to prison camps without due process of law? The United States Government had considered these pictures too inflammatory for public viewing until they were unearthed from the National Archives in 2006.  

- - - - - -

Most people don't know that Japanese food was as common as Chinese food in the USA (at least on the West Coast) until World War 2.  But, after Pearl Harbor Day, our government had a ready made excuse to strip everything of value from law abiding people and deny them their basic human rights.

Could this happen again?  Of course!

We now have a president elect (at the time this blog entry was written) who has expressed a desire to force Muslims to register themselves with the Federal Government, so that the government could do what it wants after the next terrorist disaster.  This is dangerous. This is the same president elect wants to put limits on 1st Amendment freedoms for the rest of us.  Can you imagine what would happen if Alec Baldwin did a Saturday Night Live sketch that offended someone who had the power to incarcerate people without due process of law?

- - - - - -

We live in a culture where people live in fear.  They pick and chose their news sources to conform to the way they imagine the world as being, and not as it really is. So their biases are confirmed and strengthened.  Recently, one self appointed "examiner" went to a pizzeria to examine reports of a Child Abuse ring in the Pizza Parlor, associated with some high level Democrats.  The problem, is that this jerk opened fire on people, triggered by fake news. This person acted as a self appointed police force without any hard facts, and put people's lives at risk.

Of course, I have posted the BBC links to the real story, and have shown only the tip of an iceberg.  Fake news is being disseminated, and people believe it.  Although this was not done by OUR government this time, it has happened in the past, and will happen in the future.  Thankfully, services such as Google and Facebook recognize the need to use Artificial Intelligence to filter out this misinformation. But it's not enough.  People inclined to believe in conspiracy theories will do so no matter what facts are presented to them. They can't afford to challenge their beliefs. As the Archie Bunker character noted, "My dad was this way.  How could this man be wrong?" When one is taught that right is wrong and wrong is right, how can a person come to a rational interpretation of the facts?

- - - - - -

The other night, I started to have a conversation with a woman I consider a moderate. I had posed the idea that Liberals should give up opposition to 2nd Amendment rights.  Instead of opposition, Liberals should advocate that every law abiding person be required to own a gun AND to practice using it on a regular basis.  My idea was to make it possible for people living in Blue States to resist being intimidated by those living in Red States, if we came close to having a second Civil War. She was horrified, as she realizes that we need gun regulation based on population density, and not arbitrary geographic boundaries.  So this line of thought ("Should we increase the risk of violence in cities, so that we can protect ourselves in a war between rural and urban areas?") got shut down for a while, as it triggers great intellectual discomfort among liberals and moderates who live near big cities.  

This is a big problem.  How does one fight back against an armed opponent?  Should we be taking butter knives to gun fights?  This is an issue that Liberals must tackle, both as a metaphor, and as a literal statement.  Liberals have to become serious in defending their rights - even if that defense has to use tactics which Liberals find abhorrent.  

- - - - - -

Life is all about risk management.  People (by instinct) want to eliminate each and every risk in their lives.  When they can't cope with what life puts before them, they give up hope then make big mistakes.  Sadly, enough people gave up hope and chose someone who could be a tyrant.  They have put their faith in the wrong things, and now the piper will be paid. These will not be pleasant times for most of us, and I hope we finally learn to see through the fog and act a little more rationally 2 and 4 years down the road.

Conflicts of interest, and worse.

The closer we come to Trump's presidency, the more we see that conflicts of interest will rule the day.  Yes, there are quite a few cabinet appointees who are likely to oppose the goals and purposes of the departments which are supposed to head.  But this pales when one thinks of how much business will be done with the Trump Organization while the Trump family has access to the White House and the powers of the sitting president.

Are people upset?  Yes, including many in the GOP.  But party loyalty is getting in the way of eliminating this problem.  The GOP is getting drunk on the power they expect to have as of January 20th. Big business will get everything it wants for the next 4 years, and very little will get in the way.  People who voted for Trump to drain the swamp will again be disappointed. And that leads to the question: Can anything be done to stop this mess?

At the time I write this, there is a movement to have 37 "faithless electors" deny Trump the presidency and force the election to the House.  This movement of "Hamilton Electors" is trying to get 37 electors to vote for a Republican like Kasich, giving the House the chance to restore sanity to the presidency before anyone takes office. Although I doubt this movement will change things, it would be nice to see the election go to the House, and it would be nice to see the GOP toss Trump out.  Even though they would likely keep Pence as the VP in
this scenario, we would avoid even larger problems from a man (Trump) who believes that 

"l'état, c'est moi"

Or, in English: 

"I AM THE STATE!"

If we look at French History, shortly after the American Revolution ended, the French Revolution started as a response to the corruption of France's elites.  Eventually, it resulted in an end to France's monarchy (vive la Guillotine!) and prepared the way for Napoleon and his destructive behaviors. Can America afford to go down this path?  No.  But we will know if it is more likely than not depending on whether the Hamilton Elector movement succeeds or not. And by the time you read this entry, we will have the answer to this question....






."

The fear of censorship is real

The internet "Wayback Machine".  It is an invaluable resource housed in a server farm in California, and is used by news outlets from both sides of the aisle to extract an objective truth of what was publicly available on the internet at any given time.  I have used it myself for more mundane issues, such as retrieving web pages for a defunct "Church of Elvis" site which has been down for about 15 years. And with the election of President to be Trump, they consider the prospect of government interference enough to announce that they will clone their entire server farm in Canada to preserve their essential data. 

I am not a fan of Trump, and I think worse things could happen than if a GOP congress were to impeach him, and let VP Pence take the reins of the executive branch of government.  But this is far from ideal.  As I write this, the Electoral College hasn't voted, and enough "faithless electors" could potentially change their allegiances to affect this election.  But I strongly doubt this will happen.  For the first time in my memory, we will see a president elected who openly claimed that the election was rigged - even after he won the election!

What does this mean to America?

Sometime in January, President Obama will hand over the reins of government to the new President Trump.  We will have a man in power who has no respect for legal precedent, no respect for the rights of citizens to protest the government, and has no respect for previously negotiated contracts.  His administration will be known for promises not kept, and conflicts of interest that will only serve to make this man and his family richer than they are now. It will also be known for the political extremists who joined his cabinet, as political payback to extremist groups who supported him during his campaign.  

Over time, I expect to see attacks on hard won labor rights and hard won civil rights.  Look at Trump's position on labor issues - he recently said that wages as a whole are too high. Yes, he has flip flopped on this issue several times in regard to the minimum wage.  But can we trust labor rights to a man who discriminates against American labor?  In addition, with a vice president who ignored the AIDS crisis and supported Gay Conversion Therapy, can we expect someone like that to protect the rights of this community?

Trump has said that he'd nominate a man like Antonin Scalia for the vacant Supreme Court seat.  And recently, he has said that he would take away American Citizenship AND put a person in jail for at least a year, if convicted of burning an American flag.  Can we say that he will respect any constitutional right when Scalia himself said that flag burning is a constitutionally protected right?

How do we deal with the potential threats of a Trump presidency?

In an op-ed piece in the New York Times, Luigi Zingales says that the Democratic party should work with Trump when he wants to do something that helps the party achieve some of its goals, and strongly oppose him when he goes the other way. The Democrats should resist having another Clinton dynasty come in the persona of Chelsea, but should grow new leaders from their ranks.  Opposition to Trump should be modeled on Italy's opposition to Silvio Berlusconi, as they were able to remove him from office using issues instead of personality hatred as their means of motivating the electorate.

The above only covers resistance at a macro level.  What about the little people who could get in Trump's way?  For me, I believe that if one could get a second passport, that one should do so now.  Money can slowly moved outside the country and invested elsewhere. This could be done legally, without records, if the amounts are small and the resulting foreign investments were not interest bearing. (I'll let my readers figure this out for themselves. There are legal issues involved in the movement of money across our border that I don't want to discuss here, lest I am charged with giving information on how to commit a financial crime.)  Ideally, one would have a skill that is in hot demand AND would make it possible for a quick exit to Canada. Americans with skills on this list will likely be welcomed North of our border. But what about the rest of us?  The New York Review of Books published Rules for Survival in an Autocracy. And they are:

• Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says.
• Rule #2: Do not be taken in by small signs of normality. Consider the financial markets this week, which, having tanked overnight, rebounded following the Clinton and Obama speeches.
• Rule #3: Institutions will not save you. It took Putin a year to take over the Russian media and four years to dismantle its electoral system; the judiciary collapsed unnoticed.
• Rule #4: Be outraged. If you follow Rule #1 and believe what the autocrat-elect is saying, you will not be surprised.
• Rule #5: Don’t make compromises. Like Ted Cruz, who made the journey from calling Trump “utterly amoral” and a “pathological liar” to endorsing him in late September to praising his win as an “amazing victory for the American worker,” Republican politicians have fallen into line. Conservative pundits who broke ranks during the campaign will return to the fold.
• Rule #6: Remember the future. Nothing lasts forever. Donald Trump certainly will not, and Trumpism, to the extent that it is centered on Trump’s persona, will not either. 

I don't know exactly what will happen over the next few years.  But I do think these will be trying times, and it will be our duty to protect America from its own delusions of greatness.