Trump’s Travel Ban
The View from the Middle
I was just watching The Five on Fox News and heard one of the great comments yet on the media’s reaction to Trump’s travel ban. Dana Perino compared the coverage of the Trump travel ban to the coverage of hurricane Katrina back in 2005. Her point was that the coverage was devastating and that the pictures of protesters and weeping passengers were so very compelling. The entire group just nodded their heads in agreement. But they all missed the point. Unfortunately, even Dana missed the real perspective she was bringing to this story.
In the Trump ban, 115 or so people were inconvenienced. I’m not suggesting that I don’t feel for those people. I’ve been stranded in airports, and I was not being questioned as a potential terrorist. I’m sure it was not fun. I was, however in Israel once and was vetted pretty aggressively. I made no complaints.
So, 115 people inconvenienced. Let me give you some of the statistics of the fallout from Katrina.
-1,833 deaths
-One Million people displaced
-108 Billion dollars in property damages
I could go on with the statistics, but please get the point. The media covered a minor inconvenience for 115 people, who, as of today, have been released and are on their merry way in America (oops, 2 people were sent back) with the same passion, volume and criticism as they did Katrina. Enough said. Just think about that.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
The Trump Inaugural - One for the Ages?
Trump’s Inaugural – One for the Ages?
The View from the Middle
The measure of every inaugural address rests in a combination of the words articulated but also the delivery of their messages. I can still remember seeing John Kennedy’s breath in that cold morning in 1961 as he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. I can also recall the great communicator, Ronald Reagan, as he suggested that “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government IS the problem…”
While Donald Trump adequately delivered his speech today, I don’t think he delivered it with the same affect of Kennedy or Reagan. To insure, however, that I captured the essence of his speech, I printed the transcript and read his words, which I think may elevate this speech to a more memorable level.
Personally, I was looking for a message of unity, and I was disturbed when some commentators insinuated that he didn’t deliver it. After reviewing the transcript, I found at least nine accounts on unity. In fact, I concluded that unity was the major theme. So, what else had the talking heads missed?
President Trump had some great one-liners, all under the theme of unity. The first one that stuck out to me was short but inclusive and positive as he said that, “We (all) share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny.” We are all together in this struggle called life, and while we have different approaches to resolving issues, we must remember that we share the same goals. We all want smart kids, less violent crime and less poverty and misery. It is these goals the bind us together.
He next opened the door to healthy debate as he said that, “We must speak out minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.” This is an open door to Democrats and event the “never Trump” Republicans to have a dialogue in pursuit of progress and solutions. We all must admit that Donald Trump has already demonstrated this ability as we have watched his cabinet nominees differ from his positions with his encouragement. We have also watched the eclectic collection of people he has met at Trump Tower including Kanye West, Al Gore, Steve Harvey, Andrew Cuomo and Martin Luther King III.
And possibly my favorite line of the speech was, “whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their hearts with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” Is there a race or gender or faith that wishes for poverty and government dependency? No! We are all born with the same aspirations for success and righteousness and freedom to pursue our own beliefs and goals. And who didn’t like the line that stated, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”
Even his condemnations were non-partisan, and unbiased. He criticized Democrats and Republicans and the mainstream media alike as he said, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while ‘the people’ have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians (Democrat and Republican) prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.”
At a time when 81% of Americans don’t trust our government, this is not only the prevailing sentiment of the citizenry, but this statement actually captures the truth. And, THIS is what Americans are sick of and what swept Donald Trump into the White House.
He started slow and a little dark, but ended strong and aspirational with the vision of those two kids in urban Detroit and the wind-swept plains of Nebraska. Some have called this the “Forgotten Man” speech, although those words were only used once in the speech. I will call this the “Unity” speech because of its dominant theme.
If you have not read this speech, I would encourage you to do so with an open mind. The words may go down in history as the right message for the right time for the American people.
The View from the Middle
The measure of every inaugural address rests in a combination of the words articulated but also the delivery of their messages. I can still remember seeing John Kennedy’s breath in that cold morning in 1961 as he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. I can also recall the great communicator, Ronald Reagan, as he suggested that “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government IS the problem…”
While Donald Trump adequately delivered his speech today, I don’t think he delivered it with the same affect of Kennedy or Reagan. To insure, however, that I captured the essence of his speech, I printed the transcript and read his words, which I think may elevate this speech to a more memorable level.
Personally, I was looking for a message of unity, and I was disturbed when some commentators insinuated that he didn’t deliver it. After reviewing the transcript, I found at least nine accounts on unity. In fact, I concluded that unity was the major theme. So, what else had the talking heads missed?
President Trump had some great one-liners, all under the theme of unity. The first one that stuck out to me was short but inclusive and positive as he said that, “We (all) share one heart, one home and one glorious destiny.” We are all together in this struggle called life, and while we have different approaches to resolving issues, we must remember that we share the same goals. We all want smart kids, less violent crime and less poverty and misery. It is these goals the bind us together.
He next opened the door to healthy debate as he said that, “We must speak out minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.” This is an open door to Democrats and event the “never Trump” Republicans to have a dialogue in pursuit of progress and solutions. We all must admit that Donald Trump has already demonstrated this ability as we have watched his cabinet nominees differ from his positions with his encouragement. We have also watched the eclectic collection of people he has met at Trump Tower including Kanye West, Al Gore, Steve Harvey, Andrew Cuomo and Martin Luther King III.
And possibly my favorite line of the speech was, “whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their hearts with the same dreams and they are infused with the breath of life by the same Almighty Creator.” Is there a race or gender or faith that wishes for poverty and government dependency? No! We are all born with the same aspirations for success and righteousness and freedom to pursue our own beliefs and goals. And who didn’t like the line that stated, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”
Even his condemnations were non-partisan, and unbiased. He criticized Democrats and Republicans and the mainstream media alike as he said, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while ‘the people’ have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians (Democrat and Republican) prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.”
At a time when 81% of Americans don’t trust our government, this is not only the prevailing sentiment of the citizenry, but this statement actually captures the truth. And, THIS is what Americans are sick of and what swept Donald Trump into the White House.
He started slow and a little dark, but ended strong and aspirational with the vision of those two kids in urban Detroit and the wind-swept plains of Nebraska. Some have called this the “Forgotten Man” speech, although those words were only used once in the speech. I will call this the “Unity” speech because of its dominant theme.
If you have not read this speech, I would encourage you to do so with an open mind. The words may go down in history as the right message for the right time for the American people.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Obama's Farewell Address
Obama’s Farewell
The View from the Middle
If you have read my articles, you must know that I am a small government guy. I totally agree with Carly Fiorina’s assessment that our government is too large, too expensive, too corrupt, too inept, too wasteful and it is stifling the aspirations of our citizens. And since most Americans agree with most if not all of that appraisal, why would we want to make government bigger?
Yet, Barack Obama is a big government guy. If we have a problem, government is the solution. Have a problem with healthcare? Let’s put it under government control. Our kids’ math and science scores continue to fall behind other developed countries? Let’s throw gobs of money at our failing public school system. I don’t hate Barack Obama, but I do fundamentally disagree with most of his policies.
But when he says something good, I will be glad to report it and support it. With that in mind, I must confess that I actually agree with almost everything he said in his farewell address, and I hope ALL Americans were listening and willing to implement his suggestions. Let me layout a few of the themes I identified.
I thought his major overall message was one of unity, which I have written about often. He said, “We have to start with the premise that every American loves this country as much as we do.” Absolutely! He suggested that we must embrace new American citizens and allow them to participate in the promise of freedom that brought them here. But he also added that THEY must accept the American creed and assimilate into our society. I certainly can support both sides of that challenge.
He laid out a theme of civility, which I believe is sorely needed in our country today. He said, “ we must reject the bitter rancor in politics today”, and I do. Whether it is the grade school insults like “crooked Hillary”, or “lyin’ Ted” or the multi-syllabic, pseud-intellectual epithets like misogynist, or xenophobe or homophobe or bigot, he was denouncing them all. While the crowd cheered wildly at that comment, I hope they understand that there have been mountains of offenses from both sides of the political equation in this area.
He even proposed that Democrats and Republicans should listen and pay attention to “the middle-age white guy”. This was particularly gratifying to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am one of those guys, maybe at the high end of “middle-age”, but I’m in there. Secondly, it seems that it is still politically correct to denigrate, malign and even discriminate against that group. Now, he may have done this for political expediency, since this is the group that kept Hillary out of the White House, but it’s still nice to have the President stand up for me and my peeps.
Finally, he stated that we must have a peaceful transition of power from his administration to the new Trump administration. He also gave credit to George W. Bush for the handoff he gave to him. I am proud of George Bush for his transition, and I would hope that every President would see the benefit of such coordination. It is clear, however, that his fellow Democrats do NOT agree with the President on this subject as they try their best to distract, obstruct and delegitimize our next President. There is still time, however, and I hope Democrats, the media and even some “never Trump” Republicans will see the wisdom of President Obama’s words and stand down.
In my opinion, this farewell address rivaled his famous “there is no Black America and White America” speech of 2004. It was well constructed and well delivered (there was a bit of an echo problem, but you can’t blame Obama for that). But it was just words. Even according to President Obama, he did not deliver the unity that famous speech vowed.
Over the next few months and years, we, the American people, should continue to remind Mr. Obama and his supporters of the words he spoke in this farewell address. We need to hold them accountable and point out when they are being hypocritical of these promises. If they actually deliver on this pledge of unity and civility, I will be surprised, but pleased.
The View from the Middle
If you have read my articles, you must know that I am a small government guy. I totally agree with Carly Fiorina’s assessment that our government is too large, too expensive, too corrupt, too inept, too wasteful and it is stifling the aspirations of our citizens. And since most Americans agree with most if not all of that appraisal, why would we want to make government bigger?
Yet, Barack Obama is a big government guy. If we have a problem, government is the solution. Have a problem with healthcare? Let’s put it under government control. Our kids’ math and science scores continue to fall behind other developed countries? Let’s throw gobs of money at our failing public school system. I don’t hate Barack Obama, but I do fundamentally disagree with most of his policies.
But when he says something good, I will be glad to report it and support it. With that in mind, I must confess that I actually agree with almost everything he said in his farewell address, and I hope ALL Americans were listening and willing to implement his suggestions. Let me layout a few of the themes I identified.
I thought his major overall message was one of unity, which I have written about often. He said, “We have to start with the premise that every American loves this country as much as we do.” Absolutely! He suggested that we must embrace new American citizens and allow them to participate in the promise of freedom that brought them here. But he also added that THEY must accept the American creed and assimilate into our society. I certainly can support both sides of that challenge.
He laid out a theme of civility, which I believe is sorely needed in our country today. He said, “ we must reject the bitter rancor in politics today”, and I do. Whether it is the grade school insults like “crooked Hillary”, or “lyin’ Ted” or the multi-syllabic, pseud-intellectual epithets like misogynist, or xenophobe or homophobe or bigot, he was denouncing them all. While the crowd cheered wildly at that comment, I hope they understand that there have been mountains of offenses from both sides of the political equation in this area.
He even proposed that Democrats and Republicans should listen and pay attention to “the middle-age white guy”. This was particularly gratifying to me for a couple of reasons. First, I am one of those guys, maybe at the high end of “middle-age”, but I’m in there. Secondly, it seems that it is still politically correct to denigrate, malign and even discriminate against that group. Now, he may have done this for political expediency, since this is the group that kept Hillary out of the White House, but it’s still nice to have the President stand up for me and my peeps.
Finally, he stated that we must have a peaceful transition of power from his administration to the new Trump administration. He also gave credit to George W. Bush for the handoff he gave to him. I am proud of George Bush for his transition, and I would hope that every President would see the benefit of such coordination. It is clear, however, that his fellow Democrats do NOT agree with the President on this subject as they try their best to distract, obstruct and delegitimize our next President. There is still time, however, and I hope Democrats, the media and even some “never Trump” Republicans will see the wisdom of President Obama’s words and stand down.
In my opinion, this farewell address rivaled his famous “there is no Black America and White America” speech of 2004. It was well constructed and well delivered (there was a bit of an echo problem, but you can’t blame Obama for that). But it was just words. Even according to President Obama, he did not deliver the unity that famous speech vowed.
Over the next few months and years, we, the American people, should continue to remind Mr. Obama and his supporters of the words he spoke in this farewell address. We need to hold them accountable and point out when they are being hypocritical of these promises. If they actually deliver on this pledge of unity and civility, I will be surprised, but pleased.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Putin's Big Mistake
Putin’s Big Mistake
The View from the Middle
While we are never going to find an e-mail signed by Vladimir Putin authorizing the hacking of the DNC, let’s assume that the Russians did it. Is anyone out there shocked? Is it totally unreasonable to suggest that Putin might even have authorized such a hacking? The answer to both of these questions is, “No”. But the more important questions are, what was the impact of this hacking and what was the intent.
Did the slow-drip release of these e-mails impact the outcome of the election? I would say, no. Hillary was a flawed candidate who had e-mail problems of her own making. She also made some strategically poor decisions trying to win states like Texas and Arizona while ignoring her “assumed” blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And it’s not like Donald Trump had smooth sailing throughout the general election. First there was the daily onslaught by the mainstream media. Then there was the devastating Billy Bush video and finally there was Hillary’s suggestion that the hacked e-mails were tantamount to an endorsement of Trump by Putin. Many would argue that the people most hurt by the hacking of the DNC were Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Podesta, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in that order.
All of this mud slinging in the final days of the campaign just served to strengthen the resolve of each base, and at best confuse the middle. Let’s face it, everyone (Hillary, Obama, the mainstream media, Putin, and yes even I) expected Hillary Clinton to win the Presidency on November 8th. President Obama even performed a “mic dropping moment” in late October suggesting that Trump would never be President. He obviously thought the election was in the bag. They all believed that the e-mails were not having an impact and were literally planning fire works for election night.
That brings us to the $64,000 question. What was Putin’s intent? Now that the intelligence community has released their final report, it is being suggested that it was not Putin’s intent to change the outcome of the election. Even Vladimir Putin believed that Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President of The United States. His intent, they surmise, was to weaken our next President and our country and thus improve his position in the world. BTW – I suggested this in my 12/17 blog entitled “Of Electors and Putin”.
After a few minutes of celebration in Moscow, Putin must have experienced an “Oops” moment. He had devoted significant resources and took a tremendous risk to collect dirt on our next President, and now Hillary was out. The President of the United States was going to be Donald Trump who favors a strong military, energy independence for the US and improved nuclear capabilities, among other things that are all bad for Russia. Damn!
Could this be why Putin has been so magnanimous in his response to Obama’s sanctions? Let’s just hope that Trump can see Putin for who he is, a ruthless killer and no friend to the US. If he can play Putin like he played Hillary and the US press, this could be a very good thing for America in next four years
The View from the Middle
While we are never going to find an e-mail signed by Vladimir Putin authorizing the hacking of the DNC, let’s assume that the Russians did it. Is anyone out there shocked? Is it totally unreasonable to suggest that Putin might even have authorized such a hacking? The answer to both of these questions is, “No”. But the more important questions are, what was the impact of this hacking and what was the intent.
Did the slow-drip release of these e-mails impact the outcome of the election? I would say, no. Hillary was a flawed candidate who had e-mail problems of her own making. She also made some strategically poor decisions trying to win states like Texas and Arizona while ignoring her “assumed” blue wall of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
And it’s not like Donald Trump had smooth sailing throughout the general election. First there was the daily onslaught by the mainstream media. Then there was the devastating Billy Bush video and finally there was Hillary’s suggestion that the hacked e-mails were tantamount to an endorsement of Trump by Putin. Many would argue that the people most hurt by the hacking of the DNC were Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Podesta, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, in that order.
All of this mud slinging in the final days of the campaign just served to strengthen the resolve of each base, and at best confuse the middle. Let’s face it, everyone (Hillary, Obama, the mainstream media, Putin, and yes even I) expected Hillary Clinton to win the Presidency on November 8th. President Obama even performed a “mic dropping moment” in late October suggesting that Trump would never be President. He obviously thought the election was in the bag. They all believed that the e-mails were not having an impact and were literally planning fire works for election night.
That brings us to the $64,000 question. What was Putin’s intent? Now that the intelligence community has released their final report, it is being suggested that it was not Putin’s intent to change the outcome of the election. Even Vladimir Putin believed that Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President of The United States. His intent, they surmise, was to weaken our next President and our country and thus improve his position in the world. BTW – I suggested this in my 12/17 blog entitled “Of Electors and Putin”.
After a few minutes of celebration in Moscow, Putin must have experienced an “Oops” moment. He had devoted significant resources and took a tremendous risk to collect dirt on our next President, and now Hillary was out. The President of the United States was going to be Donald Trump who favors a strong military, energy independence for the US and improved nuclear capabilities, among other things that are all bad for Russia. Damn!
Could this be why Putin has been so magnanimous in his response to Obama’s sanctions? Let’s just hope that Trump can see Putin for who he is, a ruthless killer and no friend to the US. If he can play Putin like he played Hillary and the US press, this could be a very good thing for America in next four years
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Obama - Hypocrisy as an Art Form
Obama – Hypocrisy as an Art Form
The View from the Middle
The average hypocrite will try to say one thing one day and then do the opposite in the weeks, months or years that follow. President Obama is more than capable of that kind of hypocrisy.
The President used his famous “there is no black America and no white America” speech to paint himself has the great uniter, and it was on more than race. In the same speech he said, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is (just) the United States of America”. These are really great words that paint a wonderful, positive picture, but let’s see how this Duplicitor In Chief did against this promise of unity.
From “the Beer Summit” to Trayvon Martin to Ferguson, the President has taken sides, and the wrong side at that. The Beer Summit was a clumsy apology, George Zimmerman was found innocent and “hands up, don’t shoot” never happened. By virtually every measure, today this country is more divided racially than when the President took office. Even the President himself was forced to admit this lack of unity earlier this year and paint it as one of his great regrets.
But certainly he must have done better delivering on his promise to reach across the aisle and unite Democrats and Republicans. Not really. In fact, he has done the opposite. Remember when he told Republicans that they would have to “sit in the back seat” when it came to legislation. How about when he passed his signature legislation (Obama Care) without a single Republican vote in either House of Congress. And of course we all remember his notorious “I’ve got a phone and a pen” statement that told the Republican Congress he was going to by-pass them completely.
Now, that’s what I call “reaching across the aisle”. Unfortunately it has been with a fist instead of an open hand. But this kind of hypocrisy is child’s play compared to recent events. Many people had forgotten his promises by the time he delivered the opposite. These days, The President can make and break promises within days and sometimes within the same speech.
After the election of Donald Trump, The President promised the most positive and effective transition in history. So, what has he done? First, he came out and stated that he would have won a third term if he had run again. This, of course, is totally unprovable either way and simply serves as a slap in the face of the President Elect. I guess it’s part of his plan to deliver the best transition ever, and just a real classy thing to do.
Next, The President decides that he is finally going to get tough with Putin, in the last 21 days of his Presidency. Never mind that Putin laughed at Hillary’s “reset button”. Never mind that The President let Putin run wild through Crimea, Eastern Ukraine and Syria. As he is closing the door on his Presidency he has decided to take a hard line and make some threats to Putin that he can’t possibly deliver. This is also a “no-win” situation for Trump. If he makes good on Obama’s promises, it will certainly make Putin even more difficult to deal with in the years to come. If he cancels the sanctions, Trump will be seen as Putin’s puppet. Thanks, Barry.
And finally, the piece de resistance of Obama’s hypocrisy is his betrayal of Israel at the UN. This act is a classic because it allows Barack Obama to break two promises simultaneously and caused John Kerry to contradict himself within his own speech.
Let’s be clear. This treachery will not help Donald Trump get off to a fast start as President and is not part of a seamless transition for the President Elect. This will be a distraction in the first, critical 100 days of the Trump Presidency. It will delay or totally prevent work the new President must do to deliver on his promises to create jobs, secure the border, reform the tax code and reduce the country’s regulatory burden, etc., etc., etc. Again, thanks Barry.
Finally, John Kerry’s speech may go down in history as the most illogical spiel ever given as he tried to hide the betrayal that was so evident to the rest of the world. He actually tried to claim that the Obama administration was the most the most pro-Israeli administration in our history – AS he was stabbing them in the back. That was the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Kerry compared Israel’s building of apartments (settlements) in the West Bank to the Palestinians’ practice of launching rockets into Israel and blowing up innocent women and children. He also failed to remind the world that the Palestinians and their terrorist arm Hamas will not recognize Israel’s right to exist and have, in fact, promised to wipe Israel and all Jews off of the face of the earth. How would you like to have these guys as your neighbor?
Personally, I’m never surprised with hypocrisy in Washington. This last gasp of duplicity by the Obama administration, however, has set a new outrageous standard.
The View from the Middle
The average hypocrite will try to say one thing one day and then do the opposite in the weeks, months or years that follow. President Obama is more than capable of that kind of hypocrisy.
The President used his famous “there is no black America and no white America” speech to paint himself has the great uniter, and it was on more than race. In the same speech he said, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is (just) the United States of America”. These are really great words that paint a wonderful, positive picture, but let’s see how this Duplicitor In Chief did against this promise of unity.
From “the Beer Summit” to Trayvon Martin to Ferguson, the President has taken sides, and the wrong side at that. The Beer Summit was a clumsy apology, George Zimmerman was found innocent and “hands up, don’t shoot” never happened. By virtually every measure, today this country is more divided racially than when the President took office. Even the President himself was forced to admit this lack of unity earlier this year and paint it as one of his great regrets.
But certainly he must have done better delivering on his promise to reach across the aisle and unite Democrats and Republicans. Not really. In fact, he has done the opposite. Remember when he told Republicans that they would have to “sit in the back seat” when it came to legislation. How about when he passed his signature legislation (Obama Care) without a single Republican vote in either House of Congress. And of course we all remember his notorious “I’ve got a phone and a pen” statement that told the Republican Congress he was going to by-pass them completely.
Now, that’s what I call “reaching across the aisle”. Unfortunately it has been with a fist instead of an open hand. But this kind of hypocrisy is child’s play compared to recent events. Many people had forgotten his promises by the time he delivered the opposite. These days, The President can make and break promises within days and sometimes within the same speech.
After the election of Donald Trump, The President promised the most positive and effective transition in history. So, what has he done? First, he came out and stated that he would have won a third term if he had run again. This, of course, is totally unprovable either way and simply serves as a slap in the face of the President Elect. I guess it’s part of his plan to deliver the best transition ever, and just a real classy thing to do.
Next, The President decides that he is finally going to get tough with Putin, in the last 21 days of his Presidency. Never mind that Putin laughed at Hillary’s “reset button”. Never mind that The President let Putin run wild through Crimea, Eastern Ukraine and Syria. As he is closing the door on his Presidency he has decided to take a hard line and make some threats to Putin that he can’t possibly deliver. This is also a “no-win” situation for Trump. If he makes good on Obama’s promises, it will certainly make Putin even more difficult to deal with in the years to come. If he cancels the sanctions, Trump will be seen as Putin’s puppet. Thanks, Barry.
And finally, the piece de resistance of Obama’s hypocrisy is his betrayal of Israel at the UN. This act is a classic because it allows Barack Obama to break two promises simultaneously and caused John Kerry to contradict himself within his own speech.
Let’s be clear. This treachery will not help Donald Trump get off to a fast start as President and is not part of a seamless transition for the President Elect. This will be a distraction in the first, critical 100 days of the Trump Presidency. It will delay or totally prevent work the new President must do to deliver on his promises to create jobs, secure the border, reform the tax code and reduce the country’s regulatory burden, etc., etc., etc. Again, thanks Barry.
Finally, John Kerry’s speech may go down in history as the most illogical spiel ever given as he tried to hide the betrayal that was so evident to the rest of the world. He actually tried to claim that the Obama administration was the most the most pro-Israeli administration in our history – AS he was stabbing them in the back. That was the pinnacle of hypocrisy.
Kerry compared Israel’s building of apartments (settlements) in the West Bank to the Palestinians’ practice of launching rockets into Israel and blowing up innocent women and children. He also failed to remind the world that the Palestinians and their terrorist arm Hamas will not recognize Israel’s right to exist and have, in fact, promised to wipe Israel and all Jews off of the face of the earth. How would you like to have these guys as your neighbor?
Personally, I’m never surprised with hypocrisy in Washington. This last gasp of duplicity by the Obama administration, however, has set a new outrageous standard.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Prayers For Our President
The View from the Middle
Franklin Graham just sent out a Facebook post asking all of America to pray to God to give Donald Trump wisdom and to bless his Presidency for the good of the country. I want to double down on that request.
Donald Trump will receive an unprecedented campaign of harassment, negative opinions and even false reporting, and it has already begun. Paul Krugman of the New York Times actually suggested that Donald Trump might try to engineer another 9/11-type attack to build his own personal popularity. Unbelievable! Now, Michelle Obama is trying to tell the people of America that there is no hope for America because Trump is our President. I guess the Obamas are not going to follow the example of George W. Bush and not second guess or impede the sitting President, even though President Obama said he appreciated Bush’s discretion.
Donald Trump needs our prayers for wisdom, strength and even success, not only for him but for all Americans, Democrat or Republican or Independent.
The View from the Middle
Franklin Graham just sent out a Facebook post asking all of America to pray to God to give Donald Trump wisdom and to bless his Presidency for the good of the country. I want to double down on that request.
Donald Trump will receive an unprecedented campaign of harassment, negative opinions and even false reporting, and it has already begun. Paul Krugman of the New York Times actually suggested that Donald Trump might try to engineer another 9/11-type attack to build his own personal popularity. Unbelievable! Now, Michelle Obama is trying to tell the people of America that there is no hope for America because Trump is our President. I guess the Obamas are not going to follow the example of George W. Bush and not second guess or impede the sitting President, even though President Obama said he appreciated Bush’s discretion.
Donald Trump needs our prayers for wisdom, strength and even success, not only for him but for all Americans, Democrat or Republican or Independent.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Of Electors and Putin, Two Quick Thoughts
Of Electors and Putin – Two Quick Thoughts
The View from the Middle
On the Electors:
At a time when the Democrat Party should be going through some self-analysis to figure out how it can compete for voters in the future, they have become the spoiled kid at the mall, kicking and screaming in a tantrum at the election results.
The latest effort by Hollywood elitists to convince Republican electors not to vote for their party’s candidate is particularly misguided and desperate. First, the message is coming from snooty Hollywood “B” actors who know nothing about the concerns of average Americans. These are the elitists who 60+ million Americans said they were sick of listening to when they voted for Trump in the first place.
Second, what do these Hollywood snobs know about the original intent of our Founding Fathers? Nothing! They are just spinning a twisted, self-serving tale that caresses their narcissistic fantasies. They don’t even like the constitution. They just want all of us worker bees to shut up, get in line and do as they tell us. Good luck with that.
Do we really want 538 individuals, who where not actually elected but appointed by each state’s respective parties, to subvert the wishes of 120+ million voters across the country. Why should we even have a popular vote? Sounds like a fast track to despotism or an aristocracy at best.
On Putin, President of Russia:
Are any of you shocked that Russia is trying to hack into our government databases? Obama has known for eight years and done nothing about it. He even advised Trump as late as October to “stop whining” and go out and compete for votes. Of course, that was when Trump was a 100 to one long shot in Vegas. Now that Hillary lost and Obama only has four weeks left in office, he is talking tough and laying down threats that Trump will have to make good on.
Hillary has been blaming Putin for the leaks from the very beginning and suggesting that he was doing it to help Trump. She obviously thought that connecting Trump to Putin would work in her favor. I think she was right. The content of the emails was balanced by linking Putin to Trump, so the whole Wikileaks dump was a wash. Hillary lost because her main message was that she should win because she was a woman. She also ignored working white Americans and whole states like Wisconsin.
I heard a left-wing commentator admit that Russia has been hacking us for a long time, but suggesting that they usually do this just to get to know us better. Ha! This time, the commentator suggested that the Russians had evil intentions. News flash for all Americans, Russia always has evil intentions when they breach our systems. They could have released these emails, as they did, so that every American could see what Hillary and her campaign team really thought. They could have, however, saved these emails to bribe a sitting American President, assuming Hillary won. What they did was actually the lesser of two evils.
This reinforces the importance of properly protecting our government’s data. Personal servers in your basement are a real No-No, Hillary.
The View from the Middle
On the Electors:
At a time when the Democrat Party should be going through some self-analysis to figure out how it can compete for voters in the future, they have become the spoiled kid at the mall, kicking and screaming in a tantrum at the election results.
The latest effort by Hollywood elitists to convince Republican electors not to vote for their party’s candidate is particularly misguided and desperate. First, the message is coming from snooty Hollywood “B” actors who know nothing about the concerns of average Americans. These are the elitists who 60+ million Americans said they were sick of listening to when they voted for Trump in the first place.
Second, what do these Hollywood snobs know about the original intent of our Founding Fathers? Nothing! They are just spinning a twisted, self-serving tale that caresses their narcissistic fantasies. They don’t even like the constitution. They just want all of us worker bees to shut up, get in line and do as they tell us. Good luck with that.
Do we really want 538 individuals, who where not actually elected but appointed by each state’s respective parties, to subvert the wishes of 120+ million voters across the country. Why should we even have a popular vote? Sounds like a fast track to despotism or an aristocracy at best.
On Putin, President of Russia:
Are any of you shocked that Russia is trying to hack into our government databases? Obama has known for eight years and done nothing about it. He even advised Trump as late as October to “stop whining” and go out and compete for votes. Of course, that was when Trump was a 100 to one long shot in Vegas. Now that Hillary lost and Obama only has four weeks left in office, he is talking tough and laying down threats that Trump will have to make good on.
Hillary has been blaming Putin for the leaks from the very beginning and suggesting that he was doing it to help Trump. She obviously thought that connecting Trump to Putin would work in her favor. I think she was right. The content of the emails was balanced by linking Putin to Trump, so the whole Wikileaks dump was a wash. Hillary lost because her main message was that she should win because she was a woman. She also ignored working white Americans and whole states like Wisconsin.
I heard a left-wing commentator admit that Russia has been hacking us for a long time, but suggesting that they usually do this just to get to know us better. Ha! This time, the commentator suggested that the Russians had evil intentions. News flash for all Americans, Russia always has evil intentions when they breach our systems. They could have released these emails, as they did, so that every American could see what Hillary and her campaign team really thought. They could have, however, saved these emails to bribe a sitting American President, assuming Hillary won. What they did was actually the lesser of two evils.
This reinforces the importance of properly protecting our government’s data. Personal servers in your basement are a real No-No, Hillary.
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