Tag Archives: 2016

Hello 2023!

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Personal, Random, Social commentary

What follows is a repeat of my 2016 New Year post … a time when Obama was still president and we were all certain that television buffoon couldn’t possibly become the next president, though we wished he would just sit down and shut up.  I considered writing a new post this year to ring in the new year, to opine on the current status quo, but I think the 2016 post says just about what I would say today, so … why re-invent the wheel?  Anyway, I’ve got cooking to do for tonight’s New Year’s Eve bash (just the 3 of us and a quiet night at home, but still a special family time.)  So with that, I wish you all a safe and happy New Year!

I do not quite understand why it is, but most of us welcome in the new year with great hope for the next 365 days, almost as if we believe that the slate we were using for the past 365 days was wiped clean at the exact moment the ball hit bottom in Times Square, and we are now starting afresh with new hopes, new dreams, a clean slate on which to write a new story, a better one.  Okay, okay … I am not going to be a the one to dash those dreams, those ethereal images that you are seeing with such joy.  Life will see to that soon enough, probably when you awaken in the morning and turn on the news, pick up the morning newspaper, or boot up the computer.

Do you make resolutions at New Year’s?  I do not, so I am always curious about people who do.  Oh sure, I hope that I can do better at certain things than I have in the past, but that is pretty much a daily hope of mine.  Do people who do make resolutions start thinking about their resolutions a week in advance?  A month?  I once had a friend who made his resolution on the morning of January 1st … same resolution every year … when he awakened with a massive hangover and resolved then and there to quit drinking, effective immediately.  His resolution usually lasted for about 12 hours.  Have you ever made a resolution and actually kept it throughout the year?  I don’t think I personally know anybody whose resolution was anything other than a dim memory by January 31st, so I am curious if some people who do make resolutions actually do manage to keep to them.

I do not make resolutions, but I think about, based on the past year, what the year 2016 might bring.  It would be lovely, and I am sure some say this is their hope for the new year, to think that within the next twelve months we will see peace and prosperity around the world, an end to wars in the Middle East, an end to racism and bigotry in our own nation, more love and tolerance, less hatred toward our fellow man, and an end to the highly annoying facebook memes that attempt to compress complex socio-political issues into a single sentence.  Who wouldn’t love to see an end to ISIS, Boko Haram, al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations?  These are dreams we could all share, even if we are divided on who should be the next president of the U.S.  But sadly, just like the person who buys a lottery ticket and goes to bed dreaming of a new home, a new car, and telling his boss “I quit”, when we look back a year from now, I am pretty sure those problems will still exist, others will have joined them, and people will still be … well, human.

Filosofa is not a cynic, contrary to what you may think.  I am actually known in my circle of friends as quite the optimist … annoyingly to some.  But I am a pragmatist, a realist, and as such I do not live in a world of dreams.  One of the readers of this blog commented yesterday that we need to say to ourselves, “okay, the world is a mess … now how do we fix it?”  I like that attitude. So, while I do not make resolutions, I do have hopes.  Unlike hopes for world peace, an end to all war, etc., my hopes are that people will start asking themselves “what can I do to make the world a little bit better?”  And then start looking for answers.  The answers are all around you, if you just realize what the question is.  Many years ago, my answer to this question was, and still is, to treat everybody as human beings.  These days, I try to make a difference by writing, in hopes that I might be able to make just one person think about things that matter.  Most of us, realistically, are not in a position to bring about world peace.  We cannot all be Mother Teresa or Gandhi.  We cannot all be leaders of nations.  But we can make small differences within our own small spheres of influence, in our community, in our neighborhood.  We can volunteer one day a month at a homeless shelter or food pantry, we can help a neighbor who is struggling, we can donate unwanted clothing or food items to the poor.  We can find ways to fight violence without resorting to more violence.  We can talk a little bit nicer to people, say “good morning” and “thank you so much” to the young person who bags our groceries.  Think that doesn’t make a difference?  Think again.

So my hope for the new year is that we all try very hard to find the small things that we can do to help people we come into contact with every day.  No, it will not end the conflict in Syria, it will not eradicate Iran’s enriched uranium supply, and it will not remove Donald Trump from the presidential race, but a lot of little deeds add up to making the world just a little bit better.  You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution … your choice.

In closing, I wish each and every one of you a year of peace within your own family and circle of friends, good health and that you be able to meet all of your needs.  Happy New Year!

Hello 2016 … er, um … 2021

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, History, Humour, Personal, Random, Social commentary

I started to write a New Year’s post last night … it began like this …

Well, my friends, we made it through this year of sheer hell.  Most of us have survived not only the coronavirus pandemic, but also the pandemics of hatred and stupidity that have taken over our newsfeeds and the headlines in every major news source.  Sadly, I must remind you that a ‘new year’ is but a manmade contrivance to help us keep up with our lives, not an actual reset of events.  That said, I think 2021 will start just as 2020 ended … with a raging pandemic and political chaos; with people dying by the hundreds or thousands, with a megalomaniac and his bootlickers attempting to turn this republic into an autocracy by overturning our votes.  Nothing changes just because when the clock strikes midnight you pop the cork on a champagne bottle, kiss your loved ones, and turn the calendar to January 2021.  You won’t wake up in the morning to find that Donald Trump is in prison and that we actually have an intelligent, concerned president.  You won’t wake up to find that you can now go out for dinner, take in a movie, or pop over to the mall for a bit of shopping without wearing a mask.  You still won’t find toilet tissue, Lysol, or Clorox disinfectant wipes on your grocery shelves.  You will still be limited to two packages of meat at your local grocery store.  You will still be worried sick about sending your child back to school.  And more than 1,813,000 people will still be dead worldwide of a virus that is nowhere near being controlled. 

Um … not quite the tone I was shooting for, but very much an honest assessment.  Then, I began to wonder what my New Year’s post five years ago, the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 was like, so I went digging around in the archives.  I think you will find my words kinder and more hopeful back then, plus I think that, knowing what we know now, you will find some humour in it! 

I do not quite understand why it is, but most of us welcome in the new year with great hope for the next 365 days, almost as if we believe that the slate we were using for the past 365 days was wiped clean at the exact moment the ball hit bottom in Times Square, and we are now starting afresh with new hopes, new dreams, a clean slate on which to write a new story, a better one.  Okay, okay … I am not going to be a the one to dash those dreams, those ethereal images that you are seeing with such joy.  Life will see to that soon enough, probably when you awaken in the morning and turn on the news, pick up the morning newspaper, or boot up the computer.

Do you make resolutions at New Year’s?  I do not, so I am always curious about people who do.  Oh sure, I hope that I can do better at certain things than I have in the past, but that is pretty much a daily hope of mine.  Do people who do make resolutions start thinking about their resolutions a week in advance?  A month?  I once had a friend who made his resolution on the morning of January 1st … same resolution every year … when he awakened with a massive hangover and resolved then and there to quit drinking, effective immediately.  His resolution usually lasted for about 12 hours.  Have you ever made a resolution and actually kept it throughout the year?  I don’t think I personally know anybody whose resolution was anything other than a dim memory by January 31st, so I am curious if some people who do make resolutions actually do manage to keep to them.

I do not make resolutions, but I think about, based on the past year, what the year 2016 might bring.  It would be lovely, and I am sure some say this is their hope for the new year, to think that within the next twelve months we will see peace and prosperity around the world, an end to wars in the Middle East, an end to racism and bigotry in our own nation, more love and tolerance, less hatred toward our fellow man, and an end to the highly annoying facebook memes that attempt to compress complex socio-political issues into a single sentence.  Who wouldn’t love to see an end to ISIS, Boko Haram, al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations?  These are dreams we could all share, even if we are divided on who should be the next president of the U.S.  But sadly, just like the person who buys a lottery ticket and goes to bed dreaming of a new home, a new car, and telling his boss “I quit”, when we look back a year from now, I am pretty sure those problems will still exist, others will have joined them, and people will still be … well, human.

Filosofa is not a cynic, contrary to what you may think.  I am actually known in my circle of friends as quite the optimist … annoyingly to some.  But I am a pragmatist, a realist, and as such I do not live in a world of dreams.  One of the readers of this blog commented yesterday that we need to say to ourselves, “okay, the world is a mess … now how do we fix it?”  I like that attitude. So, while I do not make resolutions, I do have hopes.  Unlike hopes for world peace, an end to all war, etc., my hopes are that people will start asking themselves “what can I do to make the world a little bit better?”  And then start looking for answers.  The answers are all around you, if you just realize what the question is.  Many years ago, my answer to this question was, and still is, to treat everybody as human beings.  These days, I try to make a difference by writing, in hopes that I might be able to make just one person think about things that matter.  Most of us, realistically, are not in a position to bring about world peace.  We cannot all be Mother Teresa or Gandhi.  We cannot all be leaders of nations.  But we can make small differences within our own small spheres of influence, in our community, in our neighborhood.  We can volunteer one day a month at a homeless shelter or food pantry, we can help a neighbor who is struggling, we can donate unwanted clothing or food items to the poor.  We can find ways to fight violence without resorting to more violence.  We can talk a little bit nicer to people, say “good morning” and “thank you so much” to the young person who bags our groceries.  Think that doesn’t make a difference?  Think again.

So my hope for the new year is that we all try very hard to find the small things that we can do to help people we come into contact with every day.  No, it will not end the conflict in Syria, it will not eradicate Iran’s enriched uranium supply, and it will not remove Donald Trump from the presidential race, but a lot of little deeds add up to making the world just a little bit better.  You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution … your choice.

In closing, I wish each and every one of you a year of peace within your own family and circle of friends, good health and that you be able to meet all of your needs.  Happy New Year!

Carly Fiorina … for WHAT????? You’ve Got To Be Kidding!!!

Posted on by under Political commentary

A year and a half ago (May, 2015), before da trumpeter ever threw his hat in the ring, I wrote a post about one of the least likely to succeed candidates, Carly Fiorina.  Though she, predictably, dropped out of the presidential race early on, she is back in the news today as Trump considers her for an important post in his administration: Director of National Intelligence.  My mind is reeling with this one.  Well, my mind has been reeling ever since his first proposed appointment, and it just gets worse with each consecutive one, but Fiorina???  Give me a break!  Much of what I wrote in my original post, when she was running for president, still applies and speaks volumes as to why she is as unqualified for this post as she was for president, so rather than re-invent the wheel, I am making some edits to the original post and including it here:

This morning I found, among numerous “breaking news” updates that regularly bombard my text and email message centers, the following: “Carly Fiorina announces she’ll seek the Republican nomination for president.” Not quite awake yet, I muttered to myself, “and just who the heck is this Carly person?” Naturally, I had to do the research, and this is what I found: Carly Fiorina is a former American business executive. Fiorina was an executive at AT&T and its equipment and technology spinoff, Lucent before becoming chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 when she was forced to resign (with a severance package reportedly worth $20 million!).

Fiorina was considered one of the most powerful women in business during her tenure at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard. In 2002, Fiorina pushed for a contentious merger with rival computer company Compaq, which made HP the world’s largest personal computer manufacturer but caused its stock to lose half of its value. In 2005, Fiorina was forced to resign from HP after refusing to address certain concerns brought to her attention by the Board of Directors.  Since then she has been described as one of the worst tech CEOs of all time. Fiorina ordered the layoffs of 30,000 HP employees during her tenure and is a strong supporter of outsourcing jobs overseas.

Fiorina promoted herself as Chair and CEO of Carly Fiorina Enterprises where, according to her political campaign Facebook page, she is “bringing her unique perspective and experience to bear on the challenging issues of our world, championing economic growth and empowerment for a more prosperous and secure world”. That undertaking caused more questions, when it was reported by The San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate that as of July 2009, she “never registered her Carly Fiorina Enterprises to conduct business in California, either with the California secretary of state or the clerk of Santa Clara County, where Fiorina lives.” That created some controversy, since, at that time, it was said (as The Chronicle further explains) that “Fiorina tells the public she’s the CEO of her own business and the chairwoman of her own charitable foundation” . The Chronicle asserted that “Records also show that her Fiorina Foundation has never registered with the Internal Revenue Service or the state attorney general’s charitable trust division, which tax- exempt charities are required to do.” The criticism of Fiorina’s actions continued to imply misleading self-portrayals, as it was pointed out that “titles of CEO and chairwoman imply the existence of a corporation, [but] no incorporation papers have been filed, a check of public records shows… Carly Fiorina Enterprises has not filed a fictitious business name record. A ‘doing business as,’ or DBA, statement usually is required when a business isn’t incorporated.” This controversy contributed, in part, to her loss in a bid for senate seat in 2010 against Senator Barbara Boxer.

Fiorina served as an advisor to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. She was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from California in 2010, losing to incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. On May 4, 2015, Fiorina announced on Good Morning America that she is running for President of the United States in 2016.

She is quoted as saying “Hillary Clinton must not be president of the United States — but not because she’s a woman,” she told a cheering crowd in Iowa recently. “Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States because she is not trustworthy.” Although I am not a huge fan of Hillary Clinton, my opinion is that Ms. Fiorina is neither trustworthy nor does she have the qualifications to be President of the United States. Her knowledge of global issues and international relations is very much limited to business, which is but a small portion of what is involved in being an international leader. She has never served in Congress, nor has she ever held any public office. In fact, her only career experience is as a corporate leader, and while it is true that she was heralded more than once as one of the most powerful women in the U.S., her career is also controversial, as she is a strong believer in outsourcing jobs overseas and was, as previously noted, responsible for more than 30,000 people being laid off at Hewlett-Packard.

To further clarify Ms. Fiorina’s lack of qualifications for the job, under 50 U.S.C. § 403-3a, “under ordinary circumstances, it is desirable” that either the Director or the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence be an active-duty commissioned officer in the armed forces or have training or experience in military intelligence activities and requirements. The statute does not specify what rank the commissioned officer will hold during his or her tenure in either position, but historically a four-star general or admiral has served. On July 20, 2010, President Obama nominated retired Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper for the position. Clapper was confirmed by the Senate on August 5, 2010, and replaced acting Director David C. Gompert. The prior DNI was retired Navy four-star admiral Dennis C. Blair, whose resignation became effective May 28, 2010.

Additionally, given her support of outsourcing jobs overseas, which is diametrically opposed to the stance Trump claims to take, I am surprised that she is even under consideration.  Ms. Fiorina has exactly none of the experience that would qualify her for this position, and it is such an important position that the last thing we need is a failed executive.

 

Hello 2016!

Posted on by under Personal, Random, Social commentary

I do not quite understand why it is, but most of us welcome in the new year with great hope for the next 365 days, almost as if we believe that the slate we were using for the past 365 days was wiped clean at the exact moment the ball hit bottom in Times Square, and we are now starting afresh with new hopes, new dreams, a clean slate on which to write a new story, a better one.  Okay, okay … I am not going to be a the one to dash those dreams, those ethereal images that you are seeing with such joy.  Life will see to that soon enough, probably when you awaken in the morning and turn on the news, pick up the morning newspaper, or boot up the computer.

Do you make resolutions at New Year’s?  I do not, so I am always curious about people who do.  Oh sure, I hope that I can do better at certain things than I have in the past, but that is pretty much a daily hope of mine.  Do people who do make resolutions start thinking about their resolutions a week in advance?  A month?  I once had a friend who made his resolution on the morning of January 1st … same resolution every year … when he awakened with a massive hangover and resolved then and there to quit drinking, effective immediately.  His resolution usually lasted for about 12 hours.  Have you ever made a resolution and actually kept it throughout the year?  I don’t think I personally know anybody whose resolution was anything other than a dim memory by January 31st, so I am curious if some people who do make resolutions actually do manage to keep to them.

I do not make resolutions, but I think about, based on the past year, what the year 2016 might bring.  It would be lovely, and I am sure some say this is their hope for the new year, to think that within the next twelve months we will see peace and prosperity around the world, an end to wars in the Middle East, an end to racism and bigotry in our own nation, more love and tolerance, less hatred toward our fellow man, and an end to the highly annoying facebook memes that attempt to compress complex socio-political issues into a single sentence.  Who wouldn’t love to see an end to ISIS, Boko Haram, al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations?  These are dreams we could all share, even if we are divided on who should be the next president of the U.S.  But sadly, just like the person who buys a lottery ticket and goes to bed dreaming of a new home, a new car, and telling his boss “I quit”, when we look back a year from now, I am pretty sure those problems will still exist, others will have joined them, and people will still be … well, human.

Filosofa is not a cynic, contrary to what you may think.  I am actually known in my circle of friends as quite the optimist … annoyingly to some.  But I am a pragmatist, a realist, and as such I do not live in a world of dreams.  One of the readers of this blog commented yesterday that we need to say to ourselves, “okay, the world is a mess … now how do we fix it?”  I like that attitude. So, while I do not make resolutions, I do have hopes.  Unlike hopes for world peace, an end to all war, etc., my hopes are that people will start asking themselves “what can I do to make the world a little bit better?”  And then start looking for answers.  The answers are all around you, if you just realize what the question is.  Many years ago, my answer to this question was, and still is, to treat everybody as human beings.  These days, I try to make a difference by writing, in hopes that I might be able to make just one person think about things that matter.  Most of us, realistically, are not in a position to bring about world peace.  We cannot all be Mother Teresa or Gandhi.  We cannot all be leaders of nations.  But we can make small differences within our own small spheres of influence, in our community, in our neighborhood.  We can volunteer one day a month at a homeless shelter or food pantry, we can help a neighbor who is struggling, we can donate unwanted clothing or food items to the poor.  We can find ways to fight violence without resorting to more violence.  We can talk a little bit nicer to people, say “good morning” and “thank you so much” to the young person who bags our groceries.  Think that doesn’t make a difference?  Think again.

So my hope for the new year is that we all try very hard to find the small things that we can do to help people we come into contact with every day.  No, it will not end the conflict in Syria, it will not eradicate Iran’s enriched uranium supply, and it will not remove Donald Trump from the presidential race, but a lot of little deeds add up to making the world just a little bit better.  You can be part of the problem or you can be part of the solution … your choice.

In closing, I wish each and every one of you a year of peace within your own family and circle of friends, good health and that you be able to meet all of your needs.  Happy New Year!

On Dr. Ben Carson

Posted on by under Political commentary

Yesterday, when my granddaughter brought in the mail, there was a fat envelope from the campaign offices of Dr. Ben Carson with his picture prominently displayed on the front of the envelope. I frequently tease her about bringing in nothing but “junk mail”, so she wasn’t surprised when I gave her a mock-stern look and said “do you know who this is from and where it should go?” I explained to her that this was a campaign solicitation for Dr. Ben Carson, a renowned medical professional turned radical right-wing politician who is planning to run for the republican nomination for president in 2016. I further explained that Dr. Carson has been an extremely vitriolic critic of President Obama, going so far as to refer to him as a psychopath. My granddaughter is a smart girl and she picked the envelope up with two fingers, rather as one might a rag that had been used to clean the dog’s rear end, and tossed it in the appropriate place, the trash can.

Dr. Ben Carson has earned numerous awards in the field of medicine and he was the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins joined at the head. He was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At 33, he became the youngest major division director in the hospital’s history as director of pediatric neurosurgery. There can be no doubt that Dr. Carson was an excellent and dedicated physician. He retired from the medical field in July 2013 and has recently thrown his hat in the ever-growing ring of GOP presidential hopefuls. It is too bad he didn’t stick with medicine and stay out of politics, as he is now merely another addition to the radical right wing of the Republican Party. Dr. Carson has very limited knowledge of international relations, which is critical in today’s global environment. During a recent briefing on the political system of Israel, Dr. Carson appeared bored and commented that “It sounds complex,” he finally said. “Why don’t they just adopt the system we have?” Sure, Doc, let’s just suggest that to Mr. Netanyahu! Run it up the ol’ flagpole, as they say, and see if it flies. Recently, the Carson campaign has lost four of its senior advisors who have not yet been replaced. Based on some of these comments and gaffes, it would seem that this man is in serious need of some level-headed and politically educated advisors. Now without further ado, let us get to know Candidate Carson.

• Carson is against the legalization of recreational cannabis. He believes it to be a gateway drug that leads to “hedonistic activity”. Hedonistic activity??? Really, Ben, who uses that term anymore? And do you honestly believe that the legalization of pot is more likely to lead to “hedonistic activity” any more than alcohol consumption, which has been legal ever since the ratification of the 21st amendment to the Constitution in 1933, repealing prohibition?

• He stated that he is strongly in favor of the Second Amendment. He also said that if in a position of national authority, he would allow citizens to own any weapons, including automatic and semi-automatic guns that they could buy. Wonderful, Ben, let’s have everybody running around toting sub-machine guns in Kroger!

• He claimed that the ACA (commonly known as Obamacare) originated with Vladimir Lenin, and quoted Lenin as saying that “socialized medicine is the keystone to the establishment of a socialist state”. There is no evidence that Lenin actually said this, and it was ill-advised for Carson to say it, as well.

• He supports a flat tax, which he calls the “proportional tax”. The problems with a flat tax are far too numerous and complex to cover in this essay, but my point in mentioning this is that Dr. Carson is not an economist and obviously doesn’t understand the impact such a taxation policy would have on the infamous 99%. Again, he needs to hire some qualified advisors soon!

• He considers political correctness to be “dangerous”, because it “goes against freedom of expression”. What is political correctness other than common courtesy toward those who are different, whether of a different race, religion, body style, gender orientation, or nationality?

• “Being president”, Carson says, “ain’t exactly brain surgery”. No, it sure “ain’t”, Ben, though I think each has specific qualifications and the two “ain’t” the same. I’m sure Dr. Carson was a highly qualified neurosurgeon, but he “ain’t” got the qualifications to be president.

• “Like most psychopaths,” Carson grumbled. “That’s why they’re successful. That’s the way they look. They all look great.” Said in reference to President Obama as he gave his sixth State of the Union address. I understand that Mr. Carson may disagree with some, or even most, of the President’s policies, but the name-calling is reminiscent of something that belongs on the kindergarten playground.

• He’s invoked bestiality and pedophilia while arguing against gay marriage, and earlier this month, during an appearance on CNN, he argued that homosexuality is a choice, “because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight, and when they come out, they’re gay.” (After an uproar, Carson issued an apology and declared he would no longer talk about gay rights.) Nothing like spouting a bit of rhetoric on a topic about which you obviously have no knowledge, huh?

• Railing against ACA, he declared that Obamacare is “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery” and, in fact, “is slavery, in a way.” Similarly outrageous was his contention that “we live in a Gestapo age” and that America today is “very much like Nazi Germany.” You’re kidding, right Ben? I guess history wasn’t required reading in med school.

Though he ranks fairly well in some of the early polls, the odds of Dr. Carson winning the GOP nomination next year are slim. The field is so diluted by an over-abundance of candidates as to be laughable and because of his lack of experience and knowledge in the areas of economics, law and foreign relations, he is likely to be weeded out early in the process, perhaps even in the first debate. Dr. Carson did some great things as a medical doctor, and it’s a shame he gave that up for a pie-in-the-sky dream.

Who the Heck is Carly Fiorina?????

Posted on by under Political commentary

This morning I found, among numerous “breaking news” updates that regularly bombard my text and email message centers, the following: “Carly Fiorina announces she’ll seek the Republican nomination for president.” Not quite awake yet, I muttered to myself, “and just who the heck is this Carly person?” Naturally, I had to do the research, and this is what I found: Carly Fiorina is a former American business executive. Fiorina was an executive at AT&T and its equipment and technology spinoff, Lucent before becoming chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005 when she was forced to resign (with a severance package reportedly worth $20 million!).

Fiorina was considered one of the most powerful women in business during her tenure at Lucent and Hewlett-Packard. In 2002, Fiorina pushed for a contentious merger with rival computer company Compaq, which made HP the world’s largest personal computer manufacturer but caused its stock to lose half of its value. In 2005, Fiorina was forced to resign from HP after refusing to address certain concerns brought to her attention by the Board of Directors Since then she has been described as one of the worst tech CEOs of all time. Fiorina ordered the layoffs of 30,000 HP employees during her tenure and is a strong supporter of outsourcing jobs overseas.

Fiorina promoted herself as Chair and CEO of Carly Fiorina Enterprises where, according to her political campaign Facebook page, she is “bringing her unique perspective and experience to bear on the challenging issues of our world, championing economic growth and empowerment for a more prosperous and secure world”. That undertaking caused more questions, when it was reported by The San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate that as of July 2009, she “never registered her Carly Fiorina Enterprises to conduct business in California, either with the California secretary of state or the clerk of Santa Clara County, where Fiorina lives.” That created some controversy, since, at that time, it was said (as The Chronicle further explains) that “Fiorina tells the public she’s the CEO of her own business and the chairwoman of her own charitable foundation” . The Chronicle asserted that “Records also show that her Fiorina Foundation has never registered with the Internal Revenue Service or the state attorney general’s charitable trust division, which tax- exempt charities are required to do.” The criticism of Fiorina’s actions continued to imply misleading self-portrayals, as it was pointed out that “titles of CEO and chairwoman imply the existence of a corporation, [but] no incorporation papers have been filed, a check of public records shows… Carly Fiorina Enterprises has not filed a fictitious business name record. A ‘doing business as,’ or DBA, statement usually is required when a business isn’t incorporated.” This controversy contributed, in part, to her loss in a bid for senate seat in 2010 against Senator Barbara Boxer.

Fiorina served as an advisor to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. She was the Republican nominee for the United States Senate from California in 2010, losing to incumbent Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer. On May 4, 2015, Fiorina announced on Good Morning America that she is running for President of the United States in 2016.
She is quoted as saying “Hillary Clinton must not be president of the United States — but not because she’s a woman,” she told a cheering crowd in Iowa recently. “Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States because she is not trustworthy.” Although I am not a huge fan of Hillary Clinton, my opinion is that Ms. Fiorina is neither trustworthy nor does she have the qualifications to be President of the United States. Her knowledge of global issues and international relations is very much limited to business, which is but a small portion of what is involved in being an international leader. She has never served in Congress, nor has she ever held any public office. In fact, her only career experience is as a corporate leader, and while it is true that she was heralded more than once as one of the most powerful women in the U.S., her career is also controversial, as she is a strong believer in outsourcing jobs overseas and was, as previously noted, responsible for more than 30,000 people being laid off.

I am fairly politically savvy, keeping abreast of issues and noteworthy candidates, yet I have not heard of Carly Fiorina before today. I am guessing that I am not alone in this, which indicates that Ms. Fiorina is going to have to do some serious public relations work to get her name in the forefront. She is conservative on social issues, as are most republicans, however in the current environment, she will not likely be able to get on base unless she is willing to moderate her position on gay rights/marriage. Additionally, during her senate bid in 2010, she was supported by Sarah Palin, which can only hurt her in the republican primary should Ms. Palin decide to publicly support her candidacy. Inside of an hour, I was able to learn a number of possibly contentious facts that will undoubtedly be put under the microscope by the media in the coming months. One article suggests that she doesn’t seriously expect to win the nomination but that she sees this as a means of marketing her recent autobiography. It seems there are more cost-efficient means of selling a book. That said, I think it is safe to say that Ms. Fiorina will not be a serious threat to H. Clinton or any other candidate next year. However, she may be good for a few laughs!