Is this what a president for the common man does?

Posted on August 4, 2020 by jilldennison under education, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Trump supporters seem to be unaware of the many ways in which they are voting against their own best interests, or effectively shooting themselves in the foot, when they vote for Trump. Keith provides a few of these examples in his excellent post this afternoon. Thank you, Keith!

musingsofanoldfart

Many of the Trump base have no idea they are voting against their economic interests. This advertised populist, common man president, fails to let folks know the following:

– in his first two hours of being president, he repealed a regulation that would have reduced homeowners insurance premiums for securing mortgages with the less than 20% down, that was scheduled to go in effect February 1, 2017. This would have helped about one million low income homeowners.

– he has hobbled the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was very successful, but banks and credit card companies did not like it. The CFPB penalized these companies for fraudulent and aggressive lending practices, with 95% of the fines going to cheated consumers. In short, the CFPB helps folks who are targeted.

– he eliminated a new requirement that said all investment advisors have to be fiduciaries, meaning they must put your interests…

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Ignorance is Bliss

Posted on August 4, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Our friend Jeff from On the Fence Voters has written a thoughtful post about the current state of affairs in the U.S., or rather the ignorance that created the monster who created that state of affairs. There is much food for thought here, and I hope you’ll take a moment to read and consider his words. Thank you, Jeff!

On The Fence Voters

The dumbing down of America began long before the current president rose to power. It’s easy to blame the man, but in this case, he’s merely jumping on the bandwagon and taking the ignorance to new and immense heights.

For all of his faults, and there are too many to list here, recognizing the stupidity of so many Americans and capitalizing on their failure to reach even the bare minimum of intellectual curiosity might be his most significant and long-lasting contribution to America’s decline.

All you need to do is scan the news every day for examples of how far we’ve gone from being the envy of the world to a country ultimately coming apart at its seams, flailing and hurtling head-first into a world of conspiracy theories, lies, racial division, and absurdity…

*Rep. Louis Gohmert of Texas tests positive for Covid-19 and claims that it was the mask itself…

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Let’s Do the One Thing Trump Is Incapable Of: FOCUS

Posted on August 3, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

We are bombarded with so much ‘news’ on a daily basis, much of it designed to raise our hackles, to speak to our worst nightmares, to instill either fear or a sense of hopelessness. Our friend TokyoSand reminds us that in order to win in November, in order to defeat the current regime and begin to restore some semblance of democratic principles, we must maintain our focus. She makes some excellent points that we all need to keep in mind. Thank you once again for your clear thinking and sound advice!

Political⚡Charge

How did you feel when you heard that Trump had suggested delaying the election last week?

Outraged? Scared? Angry?

I certainly saw all of these things in articles, opinion pieces, on social media, and in conversations. And people talked and talked and talked. I found it hard to be online, with so much fear and panic in the air.

It didn’t seem to matter when folks–including constitutional professors and scholars–pointed out that Trump can’t delay the election. That the only body that has that authority is Congress, and Pelosi and McConnell would have to agree to a new date. That just is never going to happen.

No, what I saw was people who WANTED to wallow in the fear and “what if” scenarios and dive deeper into the darkness.

Not to be mean, but I just don’t have time for that. I will respond…

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The only “Them” that Counts is all of “US”

Posted on July 27, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Fellow blogger and author Peter S Ironwood has written a post that frankly chills me to the bone and that is well worth taking three minutes to read. Thank you, Peter, for putting what many of us fear to say aloud into words.

petersironwood

usa flag waving on white metal pole Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com

Read history, folks.

Totalitarian regimes do this: they divide the citizens agains each other. Trump starts by trying to prevent Muslims from coming to America (unless, of course, they are Muslims from countries where he has financial interests).

grayscale photography of woman Photo by Lucxama Sylvain on Pexels.com

Then, he ignores the needs of Puerto Rico and kills 3000 American citizens with his ineptness and attempts to throw the business for rebuilding the infrastructure to a small inexperienced shell company.

Then, he cages kids and tears babies from their mothers because — after all — they are “illegals.” It is NOT illegal to come to the US border and ask for asylum! No-one IS an illegal. A person is a person. If you sped once and got a speeding ticket that doesn’t make you an “illegal” does it?

two girls doing school works Photo by Pragyan Bezbaruah on Pexels.com

The above are only…

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The Week’s Best Cartoons: Trump’s Goons

Posted on July 26, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs

There are many things wrong in this nation this week, but none so WRONG as the invasion of Portland and now Seattle by Trump’s forces. This week’s round of cartoons by our friend TokyoSand covers it well. Thank you, TS!

Political⚡Charge

There was a lot of news this week, but none bigger than Trump sending in unidentified federal agents to kidnap and harass citizens exercising their constitutional right to protest. The Portland Black Lives Matter protests have been going on for 50+ days now.

The nation’s great editorial cartoonists captured the moment like no one else can. Here are the best cartoons I found this week.

Trump Responds to the Portland Protests

ByMarc Murphy, *Louisville Courier-Journal*

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Tell me why (an underused question)

Posted on July 22, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs

Our friend Keith has a question … well, quite a few of them actually, and they all begin with “Why?” These are not easy questions, not ones that any of us can answer, but they are the questions we should ALL be asking. Check out his questions and see if you can add a few of your own. Thanks Keith!

musingsofanoldfart

The Beatles sang, “Tell me why…., you cry and why you lie to me.”Why? A question we do not ask enough, especially of those who need it asked again and again. I witness politicians, business leaders, experts and regular people like us say things as if they are fact, but the comments are merely opinion or conjecture. And, in the case of one person in particular, any comment is likely untrue.

So, here are a few why questions.

– Why does a person who claims things that run contrary to his narrative are a hoax, actually made money off hoax strategies? We have heard words like Climate change hoax, Russian hoax, Ukrainian hoax, Coronavirus hoax, etc. from this person, but he made a lot of money off selling his name to developers for projects he had nothing to do with. The name was supposed to bring in more customers…

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The Week’s Best Cartoons 7/18

Posted on July 21, 2020 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Humour, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs

And to end the day with a bit of humour, I bring you TokyoSand’s excellent selection of political cartoons from last week! Thank you, TS!!!

Political⚡Charge

Every week, I enjoy searching for editorial cartoons responding to the news and sharing them with you on Saturdays. This week, there are some recurring themes plus some new ones.

Let me know which ones resonate the most with you in the comments!

Rest in Power, John Lewis

ByAndy Marlette, *Pensacola News Journal*

Back to School?

ByMike Luckovich, *Atlanta Journal-Constitution*

COVID

Goya

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Trump’s Attack On Democracy

Posted on July 21, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs

While Donald Trump claims to be the “law and order” president, he has broken the law and breached the U.S. Constitution more than a few times, especially last week in Portland, Oregon. Charles French provides us with a chilling assessment of where this could lead. Thank you, Charles, for this excellent post, and your generous permission to share it with my readers.

charles french words reading and writing

flag of america (Photo by Sharefaith on Pexels.com)

What happened the other night in Portland, Oregon should have all Americans who believe in the Constitution, Freedom, and Democracy outraged and frightened. Please do not divert the subject by speaking about “riots”. That is an issue that is addressed by local and state authorities, not the Federal Government. The President does not seem to care about the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Fourth Amendment says, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Having Federal agents, wearing police insignia without identification of person or office arresting people without warrants and taking…

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David Brooks pens an editorial – President Biden’s first day

Posted on July 20, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Last week, I posted a column by Michael Gerson, a conservative and Republican, who pointed out the failures of Trump and posited that 2020 will NOT be a repeat of 2016. Today, our friend Keith posted a column by another conservative Republican writer, David Brooks, who paints a comforting picture of what a Biden presidency will look like and why both parties will benefit from such a presidency. Take a look for yourself … thank you, Keith!

musingsofanoldfart

David Brooks has long been my favorite conservative pundit. I first became aware of him as he teamed with more liberal Mark Shields to do a recap of the week on the Friday show of PBS Newshour. They epitomized the PBS doctrine of civil discourse. I have read two of Brooks’ books – “The Social Animal” and “The Road to Character” – which are excellent reads, and have had the good fortune of hearing him speak.

Like other conservative pundits, George Will, Michael Gerson, Erick Erickson, et al, Brooks is deeply disappointed in the actions, verbiage and temperament of the current US president. So, when he penned the editorial, “President Biden’s first day,” I was intrigued and not surprised. Here are a few quotes that shape the article.

“The first thing you’ll notice is the quiet. If Joe Biden wins this thing, there will be no disgraceful tweets and no…

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Dreaming of a Real President

Posted on July 17, 2020 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Jeff has a dream … a bit different than mine, but the end result is close. Thanks, Jeff!

On The Fence Voters

Breaking News…..

Ladies and Gentleman, from the Oval Office, the current president of the United States:

“My fellow Americans, It’s been a tough five months for our country. Tonight, I’m coming to you with a heavy heart and a heavy mind. After weeks of study and deep soul searching, I’ve concluded that my administration’s response to the Covid pandemic has been inadequate. Presently, we’re losing the battle, with cases now approaching seventy-five thousand a day with deaths and hospitalizations on the rise exponentially. At the current rate, we will break the one hundred thousand mark in less than a few weeks. I’ve been told that we may even reach one million cases by the fall without drastic changes, with nearly a million deaths.

For that reason, I’m announcing the following changes that, according to my top health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, will immediately begin to turn the page for our…

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Filosofa's Word

Cogito Ergo Sum

Category Archives: Re-blogs

The Week’s Best Cartoons: Trump’s Goons

Trump Responds to the Portland Protests

Tell me why (an underused question)

The Week’s Best Cartoons 7/18

Rest in Power, John Lewis

Back to School?

COVID

Goya

Trump’s Attack On Democracy