Snarky Snippets … Again … and Again … and Again 😱

Posted on April 25, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Trump's Staff Picks

Good morning, friends, and welcome to the rabbit hole … er … Filosofa’s Word. Perhaps I should rename this blog “The Rabbit Hole”, what do you think? Anyway, what better way to partly relieve the angst than just a few snarky snippets?

Outrageous!

It seems that politicians no longer care what they say, to whom or about whom they say it. Do they really think that it’s impressive or funny when they thoughtlessly denigrate others? And I’m not just talking about Trump, although he certainly is chief among them for horribly disgusting behaviour and language.A few weeks ago, I wrote about Stephen Moore, one of Trump’s picks for the Federal Reserve Board. What I did not know when I wrote that piece is some of Mr. Moore’s past misogynistic comments that have recently surfaced after an investigation by CNN. Here are just a few (the comments in blue are Filosofa’s own snark) …

When he found his wife had voted for a democrat in 2000, he said “Women are sooo malleable! No wonder there’s a gender gap.” (If we’re so ‘malleable’, jerkface, then how come you couldn’t convince her to vote your way? Maybe she actually … has a brain and knows how to use it???)
“How outrageous is this? This year they allowed a woman ref a men’s NCAA game. Liberals celebrate this breakthrough as a triumph for gender equity. The NCAA has been touting this as example of how progressive they are. I see it as an obscenity. Is there no area in life where men can take vacation from women?” (Oh yeah, Buster, you can go jump in that bloomin’ lake over there!)
“Here’s the rule change I propose: No more women refs, no women announcers, no women beer venders, no women anything.” (Fine by me … try making your own coffee, your own bed, or your own kids, A$$hole!)
“What are the implications of a society in which women earn more than men? We don’t really know, but it could be disruptive to family stability. If men aren’t the breadwinners, will women regard them as economically expendable?” (Your sort are certainly expendable, Bucko!)
“Well, we’ve probably gone too far in providing the safety net for the elderly. To a large extent, we’ve started a system in this country where we are taxing struggling middle-class families that are young to provide lavish government benefits for people over 65.” (Now wait just a minute here … did he say ‘lavish’? I can barely afford my insulin! And why tax the ‘struggling young middle-class? Why not try taxing that fat cat 1% rich bastards?)

As I noted in my other post about Mr. Moore, his wife finally and wisely divorced him, and then he failed to pay child support. What a guy, eh? And Trump wants him to sit on the Federal Reserve Board. Go figure. If the Senate confirms this one …

Steve King can relate?

Another Steve … you know what? Trump seems to attract people with that name and they are all jerks! Stephen Moore, Steve Mnuchin, Steven Miller …

Congressman Steve King … remember him? He’s been on my radar numerous times, but back in March 2017 he earned Filosofa’s Idiot of the Week award. Since then, he has been called on the carpet more than once for bigoted, hate-filled remarks made in public, and was removed from his committee assignments by members of the House. Well, somehow he’s gotten it into his head that it makes him rather like the biblical Jesus Christ …

“For all that I’ve been through and it seems even strange for me to say it but I’m at a certain peace. And it’s because of a lot of prayers for me. And when I had to step I have to step down to the floor of the House of Representatives and look up at those 400-and-some accusers — you know we just passed through Easter and Christ’s passion — and I have better insight into what He went through for us, partly because of that experience.”

Oh spare me. The interesting thing here is that even the unconscionable Mitch McConnell called Steve King out for his bigotry. One of the best comments on the Idiot of the Week post two years ago came from my good friend Emily ..

“When they send people to Congress, they aren’t sending their best. They’re idiots, and numb-nuts, and some, I assume, are good people…”

Why?

We, the United States, no longer have a representative on the United Nations’ committee on racism. Why? We did have a representative on the committee, Gay McDougall. But, she had at some point said things about Trump that he didn’t like, so when the State Department planned to re-nominate her, Trump nixed the idea. And did he replace her with someone else? No, he did not. Why? Because, as we have all heard, he has little or no respect for such international cooperatives, which is why he stupidly pulled us out of the Paris Accord, the Iran deal, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is gradually pulling away from the United Nations. According to one official …

“… it cements the narrative that the Americans just don’t care about these kinds of things anymore.”

Surprise.

I’m certainly no fan of Kirstjen Nielsen, former Director of Homeland Security, but it appears she was at least trying to do one thing right, and that was assure election integrity, or at least an election free of Russian interference, next year. Ms. Nielsen had become increasingly concerned about Russia’s continued activity in the United States during and after the 2018 midterm elections — ranging from its search for new techniques to divide Americans using social media, to experiments by hackers, to rerouting internet traffic and infiltrating power grids.

Concerned, Ms. Nielsen was trying to arrange a meeting with administration cabinet officials to coordinate a strategy to protect next year’s elections, but she was warned off by White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney. Why? Because it might upset Donald Trump who does not wish to hear about the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections since it calls into question whether he would have been able to win on his own.

A) He did not win, for Hillary Clinton had almost 3 million more votes than he, and B) No, he couldn’t win a contest for dogcatcher on his own.

And so, Ms. Nielsen eventually gave up. According to a document prepared by government intelligence agencies …

“Russia’s social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians. Moscow may employ additional influence tool kits — such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations or manipulating data — in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions and elections.”

Yet, we are to do nothing because it might make Little Donnie feel bad? Bull!

I could go on … and on … and on. In this era of Trump, the b.s. just keeps coming at warp speed. I’ve been knocked off my feet a few times in the past week or two, and I’m sure it’s going to get worse before it gets better. My means of surviving is to write about it and share it with you guys! Isn’t that kind of me? I believe it is only right to share everything!

What’s Next???

Posted on April 11, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

That is the oath that every president must take before taking office. Donald Trump took that oath on 20 January 2017.

On Monday, Judge Richard Seeborg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that existing law did not give Mr. Trump the power to enforce the policy, known as “migrant protection protocols”, that would force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases proceed.

Sunday night, Trump fired his hard-nosed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, because she had refused to engage in activities that were illegal, activities in which Trump was overstepping his authority.

Last June, Judge Dana Sabraw ruled against Trump’s policy of separating immigrant children at the border, and yet recently Trump has said he plans to re-implement that policy.

And last Friday, Donald Trump, the ‘man’ who was placed into office by the auspices of the electoral college despite losing the election, gave a little speech to Customs and Border Patrol agents, telling them not to allow any migrants into the country:

“We’re full, our system’s full, our country’s full — can’t come in! Our country is full, what can you do? We can’t handle any more, our country is full. Can’t come in, I’m sorry. It’s very simple. If judges give you trouble, say, ‘Sorry, judge, I can’t do it. We don’t have the room.’”

After Trump left the room, agents sought further advice from their leaders, who told them they were not giving them that direction and if they did what the President said they would take on personal liability. You have to follow the law, they were told. Okay, it’s nice to know at least somebody has some good sense, but still … the person who took the oath of office had the gall to blatantly and publicly violate that oath. He is thumbing his nose at not only the Constitution, but at We the People.

In order for the system of checks and balances as defined by the U.S. Constitution to work, the executive branch must respect the prerogatives of Congress, from appropriations to oversight, and the interpretations by judges of the law and the Constitution. What does it say about a ‘president’ who defies the rule of law, who defies the very Constitution he took an oath to uphold? And what does it say about members of Congress who continue to allow such perfidy?

There have been a number of areas in which Trump has defied the Constitution during his nearly 27 months in office. Just two examples …

Trump is violating both the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses of the Constitution, by accepting payments from foreign and state governments at the Trump International Hotel in DC.
Trump’s first executive order banning travel from six Middle Eastern countries was in violation of the establishment clause of the 1^st Amendment.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

“When someone becomes president, that person’s responsibility is to the country and doing what is in the best interest of the American people and, at that point, business interests need to be put aside because people need to have faith that their leaders are working for them, not that their leaders are working for their own financial benefit.” — Noah Bookbinder, executive director of CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington)

It is painfully obvious that Donald Trump has absolutely no concern for the people of this nation. And yet, some 40% of the people in this nation support him. The current ‘president’ of the United States violates his oath of office on a regular basis, his speech is more fitting for a trucker’s hangout than the White House, he incites white supremacists and supports anti-LGBT groups … and 40% of the nation still love him. I’m stunned, but that isn’t my point at the moment. My point tonight is something I want you to really think about. What’s next?

If he feels so emboldened that he can blow off the U.S. Constitution, that he can defy the orders of federal judges, then where does he stop? Is there any limit to what he will do? Yesterday he signed more executive orders taking away state’s rights to halt oil pipeline construction – construction that would harm the environment and wildlife. Yes, there will be lawsuits and the courts are unlikely to rule in Trump’s favour, but he has already shown that he does not respect the courts.

Until the last month or so, although I was frustrated and sometimes enraged by his behaviour, I felt that the courts and Congress would keep him somewhat in check. I no longer believe that. I now think that this ‘man’ envisions himself as a ruler, a dictator, perhaps even a king. And what choice do We the People have? Congress has proven useless, the courts are being proven useless … where does that leave us? I ask again … what’s next?

‘Toons To Make You Laugh (Or Cry)

Posted on April 10, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Environmental Issues, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary

I think it’s time for another batch of toons, don’t you?

The two biggest topics in ‘Toonland’ this week are ones I refuse to touch, so let’s start with the third biggest. Recently the Idiot-in-Chief declared that wind turbines, or rather the noise from them, cause cancer. This notion came from the cavernous depths inside his rather spongy head, but it made for some good humour at his expense.

And of course one of the big topics remains, as it has been for over two years now, immigration, or rather Trump’s use of immigration as a fear-mongering tactic.

On a related note, there was his demand for Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation because, although she was a cruel and heartless b**ch, she was not quite cruel and heartless enough to suit the ‘man’ without a conscience.

Let us not forget about his determination to squash ‘Obamacare’ and replace it with … the grim reaper.

And beyond all of that, it’s pretty much the usual chaos and insanity that define the reign of Donald Trump.

Have a great weekend, folks! Wha … WHAT??? It’s not the weekend yet? It’s only Wednesday?

Just Two Things …

Posted on April 8, 2019 by jilldennison under Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Trump's Staff Picks

On Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg …

If I had to pick a favourite among the current Supreme Court Justices, it would be Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The woman is intelligent, has spunk, and her heart is in the right place, unlike some others. She has gone through a lot, but she bounces back. Since her most recent bout with cancer, she has returned to the Court, heard oral arguments, authored opinions, and even made a few public appearances outside the courtroom. But yet …

There are some who claim Justice Ginsburg has been dead for weeks, and that democrats … of course, it’s always the democrats … are covering up her death in order to keep the jackal in the Oval Office from nominating another one of his sycophants for the seat. Say WHAT??? How can a person who is in the public eye, who goes to work every day and is seen by her co-workers and others, be believed to be dead? What rock have these people slithered out from under?

According to The Hill …

The Supreme Court has been bombarded with Twitter users demanding evidence that Ginsburg is still alive, while some online videos allege her public appearances have been manufactured.

There are also claims that audio of her from recent Supreme Court oral arguments has been doctored and is nothing more than phrases pieced together from earlier recordings of her remarks.

There’s little chance the Ginsburg conspiracy theory is going away anytime soon, experts say, mainly because the biggest proponents are unlikely to accept any proof that she’s alive.

I have a solution. Invite them all to visit the court at a specified date and time, then let Justice Ginsburg go ‘round the room and poke each one of them in the eye with a stick. Perhaps that will convince them.

It seems, though, that Donald Trump is hoping for Justice Ginsburg’s demise, for he has already decided on a nominee for her replacement: Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett, not surprisingly, is known as a “superstar” among the religious right.

Barrett is young (46) and has vociferously made known her willingness to overturn Roe v Wade, which, along with Obergefell v Hodges seem to be the only thing the religious right cares about when it comes to the Supreme Court. Take away women’s rights and take away the rights of the LGBT community, and Trump’s biggest fan base will be happy.

Personally, I hope that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stays healthy for at least another two years.

Not tough enough???

The big news of the day is that Trump apparently forced the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Now, I’ve never liked Nielsen, always considered her to be rather a cold, heartless bitch, but apparently she wasn’t heartless enough to suit Trump, and that should concern us all. It will likely thrill his base of white supremacists, however, who would like nothing better than to line the southern border with armed guards who are told to shoot first and ask questions later.

Rumours abound, as they will when facts are not made available. One, the most probable one, is that Trump is eager to reinstate his horrendous child-separation policy, taking children from their parents when they cross the southern border. Ms. Nielsen rejected the plan, in light of the fact that a federal judge struck down the policy last year.

Another theory was proposed by Josh Campbell, the former FBI agent turned CNN national security analyst. Mr. Campbell believes it possible that Ms. Nielsen was the author of the anonymous OpEd in the New York Times last year that caused such a stir. The basis for his conclusion is stylistic similarities between Nielsen’s letter of resignation and the OpEd. Not much to go on, but if she was the author of the OpEd, now that she has resigned from her position she has nothing to lose by coming clean, so … maybe?

I’m still stunned, though, that she wasn’t ‘tough enough’ to please Trump, even after she authorized the use of tear gas to repel a large crowd attempting to break through a border fence on New Year’s Day. I’m also stunned that Trump has plans to defy Judge Dana Sabraw’s order and reinstate his cruel, inhumane child separation policy.

Are there no longer any restrictions or limitations on the power of the presidency? Has Donald Trump, in fact, become the dictator he always wanted to be? He shuts the government down in an attempt to get his way. That doesn’t work, so he declares a state of national emergency to get his way. That hasn’t worked yet, so he demands the resignation of the Secretary of Homeland Security to replace her with a man who is even more cruel and heartless. Where does it end. When do We the People finally say we have had ENOUGH??? Or do we keep burying our heads in the sand, believing that somehow, in some way, it will all work itself out. Believing that our Constitution, or next year’s election will stop him. Think about it.

Stone Cold Criminals???

Posted on November 26, 2018 by jilldennison under Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

The migrant caravan that Donald Trump said we should be so afraid of, that he said was filled with murderers, rapists, and even some Middle-Eastern terrorists, the one he sent troops to the border to defend against, has finally arrived. Here is what all those “bad hombres” look like:

Lesly, age six, sits in her donated stroller. She has cerebral palsy and cannot walk

María Cáceres and her 15-year-old son Javier. Javier has Down’s Syndrome.

Migrants pushing strollers on the road to … ???

A migrant and her young daughter, who have just had teargas thrown in their faces

Yes, folks, these are but a few of those “stone cold criminals” as Trump referred to them in his early morning tweet:

I cannot say, nor would I, that out of the thousands of people in this caravan, there may not be a few who have committed crimes. Take a thousand people at random from the middle of any city in the U.S., and odds are that you will find a few who have committed crimes. But overall, this is a migrant caravan comprised of families fleeing the violence in their native countries, primarily Honduras.

Let’s talk to María Cáceres (pictured above). María was a tortilla vendor in San Pedro Sula, Honduras when gang members killed two of her brothers and burned down her house. She said she wants asylum in the United States, but really just “wants life to get better now.”

These are people who have, over the past two months, crossed mountains, walked through forests, crossed rivers, been soaked by rains, bitten and stung by insects, all because they are seeking a better life for their children and themselves. When they crossed into Mexico, riot police attacked them with clubs and teargas, yet they persevered.

And then yesterday, U.S. authorities closed off the busiest port of entry along the U.S. border with Mexico and fired tear gas. What a welcome to these poor travelers … these human beings! Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement Sunday that the port of entry was closed “to ensure public safety in response to large numbers of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.” Frankly, Ms. Nielsen, I would be more afraid of these soldiers than I would be of the migrants. Public safety??? I think not.

Donald Trump, Kirstjen Nielsen and others calling to close the border, to deny these migrants asylum, lack normal human compassion. They would deny thousands the right to opportunity, the right to safety, for political purposes. The U.S. was once known as a country that welcomed asylum seekers, that understood what a wonderful thing diversity was. Somewhere along the line, we lost our compassion, we lost our humanity.

Trump’s threat to “close the border permanently” is against the law, however as he believes himself to be above the law, believes that the laws do not apply if they are at odds with his whims, I suspect there will be legal challenges and hate-filled rhetoric bouncing about for the next several months. Just another step in our decline toward becoming a third-world country. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wish to live in a country where the borders are closed, a country that treats human beings seeking asylum as if they were criminals.

When They Go Low …

Posted on July 10, 2018 by jilldennison under Election 2018, Political commentary, Social commentary

Okay, folks … we need to do better. Midterm elections are in just under four months, we have some inherent advantages going into the elections, but we also have some significant disadvantages, and we are shooting ourselves in the foot!

This morning’s Washington Post reports that members of Trump’s staff are being subjected to public humiliation, taunts, hecklers and even thinly-veiled threats. Those who engage in such behaviours are doing two things: they are lowering ‘us’ to ‘their’ level, and they are damaging the image of all democrats.

Mind you, I understand the urge. Donald Trump is disgusting, as are the majority of his staff and cabinet members, not to mention a large number of the members of Congress. Together, they have made a mockery of all we thought this nation stood for, and they are seemingly intent on destroying the U.S. Constitution within four years. The desire to confront and denigrate them is one we can all relate to. BUT … in this case, the old saying ‘fight fire with fire’ is wrong and is going to cost the nation if this insanity continues. Sure, it may be fun to yell at Kellyanne Conway, telling her she should ‘be ashamed’, but what does it gain, really?

First, there was the owner of the Red Hen restaurant who asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family to leave. A week ago, a teacher interrupted her lunch at a restaurant to tell Scott Pruitt — eating with an aide a few feet away — that he should resign as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. On at least two occasions, demonstrators have assembled outside the home of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Two weeks ago, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen walked out of a downtown Mexican restaurant after demonstrators followed her inside to rail against the administration for separating children from migrant parents. “Shame!” the protesters shouted while Nielsen remained in her seat, her head down as she typed messages on her smartphone.

Then last month, Congresswoman Maxine Waters issued the following plea:

“If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them!”

Predictably, Trump shot back by calling her a low-IQ person, as he always does when he doesn’t know what else to say, and then claimed that she had called for harm to his supporters, which was not true, but when did Trump ever let a little thing like the truth get in his way? Still, Ms. Waters was wrong and those who are taking her words literally and acting upon them are also wrong. What is the difference, I ask you dear readers, between what Ms. Waters said and the times Trump has said similar things at his rallies? There is no difference and two wrongs do not make a right.

We are playing right into the hands of the Trump administration and the GOP. Newt Gingrich was buoyed by the very public protests, saying, “They should take solace in the fact that we must be winning, since these people are so crazy. They used to be passive because they thought they were the future. Now they know we’re the future, and it’s driving them nuts.”

The November mid-terms hold enough challenges for democrats as it is. There are gerrymandered districts, designed to concentrate the minority vote into only a few districts. There are challenges such as states trying to pass stricter and more restrictive voter ID requirements. Polling places are being reduced and the hours cut back, especially in areas where there is a concentration of poor or minority voters. At least one state has passed a law making it legal to remove voters from the rolls if they have not voted for the last two years. And then there is the anticipated interference by Russia, which has been verified by officials throughout the security community, but little appears to be being done to stop it. With all these challenges, we do not need to act like 10-year-old children and tarnish our image, for you know that the COP will pounce on any opportunity to highlight our mistakes.

We all have a voice and we should use it. Write OpEds, write a blog, reach out to the opposition, help your local party canvass the neighborhood, and most important of all, use your voice to VOTE on November 6th. Use your voice wisely, for if you don’t, we may all stand to lose our voices.

I have no respect or tolerance for the likes of Conway, Sanders, Miller, Nielsen or any of the other sycophants who slavishly follow Trump. BUT … I believe that no matter how obnoxious they are, they are entitled to a personal life without being provoked and harassed because of their job. The vast majority of Trump’s more well-known staff and cabinet members do not deserve the positions they hold. They do not deserve their hefty salaries that are paid from our tax dollars. However they also do not deserve public harassment and their families should always, always be off-limits. Democrat or republican should not matter … we are human beings and adults, let’s try to act like it?

Playing With Children’s Lives

Posted on July 8, 2018 by jilldennison under Global Issues, Political commentary

When Donald Trump directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to separate children from their asylum-seeking parents at the southern border, we were horrified by the inhumanity of such an order, and more horrified still by the manner in which the order was carried out. Today, that horror reaches an all new level.

Last month Trump signed an executive order to stop separating families at the border, in response to the bipartisan hue and cry over the practice. However, no plans were made to re-unite the families who had already been torn apart, the children in hastily-constructed and poorly-managed detention centers. It took a court order from U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw to force the government to begin reuniting children with their parents. Judge Sabraw ruled that all children under 5 be reunited with their parents by July 10^th, next Tuesday, and all other children by July 26^th. As I noted in my post on Friday, the Justice Department planned to request an extension in time. Their claim was that they were doing DNA matching to make certain they reunited the right children with the right parents, and were also conducting criminal background checks on all the parents, as well as any others that will be living in the home. My antennae went up when I heard this, thinking that in all likelihood the record-keeping of the hasty separations had been so poor that they didn’t know where all the children were. I was mostly right.

Turns out, it’s the parents they have lost track of, although I will not be surprised when, at some point, it is discovered that there are some children whose whereabouts are unknown. When Judge Sabraw asked for a status update on Friday, he was told that 19 of the parents with children under 5 had been released from ICE custody into the U.S. and their whereabouts are currently unknown. Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian said …

“For those folks, in some cases, for example, if we’re not aware of where the parent is, I can’t commit to saying that reunification will occur before the deadline. … We’re still determining what the situation is there and whether those are situations where reunifications may not be able to occur within the timeframe.”

But it gets even better, for 19 parents with children under 5 being held by ICE have actually been deported, and the Justice Department asked Judge Sabraw for ‘clarity’ regarding whether he expected those parents to also be reunited with their children. They had to ask??? The judge affirmed that they were indeed part of the order.

Judge Sabraw said he would agree to delay the deadline for reunifying the youngest children if the government could provide a master list of all children and the status of their parents. Sabraw ordered the administration to share a list of 101 children with the American Civil Liberties Union by Saturday afternoon. “What I’m expecting is a lot of work over the weekend,” he said during the meeting

The judge scheduled a status conference for 10 a.m. Pacific time on Monday. A government lawyer said she could not attend a status conference over the weekend because she had out-of-town dog-sitting responsibilities. Excuse me, ma’am, but I think the lives of 3,000 children may be of a higher priority than your dog-sitting duties???

I have to wonder what the Justice Department thought to do with those children whose parents were already deported, since they seemed uncertain when they asked the judge for clarification? But then, I found the answer … they intended to remand them into the foster care system!

On Friday, six state governors sent a letter addressed to Alex Azar, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The letter begins …

Dear Secretary Azar and Secretary Nielsen:

As governors representing states where separated migrant children are being detained, we write to express our growing concern with this Administration’s ability to reunify families in accordance with the federal court injunction issued on June 26, 2018. Given recent reports suggesting this process is being carried out chaotically and inconsistently, and in light of your agencies’ latest admission that hundreds more separated migrant children are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) than were previously accounted for, we remain deeply concerned that wholly inadequate resources and procedures are in place to ensure children and parents are reunified safely and securely within the court-ordered deadlines.

The letter goes on to say that the responsibility for the children’s welfare and reunification with their parents lies solely in the hands of the addresses, and asks a series of questions related to what is or isn’t being done to ensure the children are reunited without delay. The letter is signed by Governor Jay Inslee, Washington; Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York; Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Connecticut; Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey; Governor Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania; Governor Kate Brown, Oregon.

The letter was primarily in response to information that HHS considered any placement of a child to amount to a reunification — even if the sponsor wasn’t the parent from whom the child was separated, including a foster care setting.

Meanwhile, rumours abound that some of the children who have been returned have been in less than stellar condition, dirty and lice infested. And in one case, it is said that a sexual predator is an employee of the facility and has frequent contact with the children. I do not know how much is true and how much is rumour, so I make no comment on these, other than to say that nothing will surprise me at this point. The federal government has been an extremely poor steward over the lives of 3,000 children, as well as their families. We should be ashamed.

Be Better …

Posted on June 26, 2018 by jilldennison under Political commentary, Social commentary

I did not plan nor want to write a post about the Red Hen. Or about Kirstjen Nielsen or Sarah Huckabee Sanders and their restaurant choices. It is ridiculous and a waste of my time and yours. BUT … there is a bigger issue here and it is an important one: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

I do not dislike Sarah Huckabee Sanders, for I do not know her. Never met her, never had a conversation with her. I do not like the fact that she perpetuates Donald Trump’s lies, I do not like her denigration of certain members of the press, and I think as far as the job she does as White House Press Secretary, she is without values. That said, if I saw her eating in my favourite restaurant I would not harass her, would not so much as give her a sidelong glance. I would either ignore her and leave her to eat in peace, or if I felt I could not do that, I would quietly leave and go elsewhere. The same applies to Kirstjen Nielsen, Stephen Miller and any of the rest of Trump’s entourage.

U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California who is, like myself, passionate about causes and often outspoken, added fuel to the fire:

“Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere. We’ve got to get the children connected to their parents.”

My baser instincts, the part of me that is sick and tired of this circus that surrounds Donald Trump, applauds Ms. Waters, but my head, my intellect, is screaming, “NO NO NO NO NO!!!” This is not the path to bringing an end to the Trump regime, but only fans the flames that feed the frenzy of his supporters. Not to mention Trump, whose ignominious response via Twitter was …

“Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has become, together with Nancy Pelosi, the Face of the Democrat Party. She has just called for harm to supporters, of which there are many, of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!”

Never mind that Ms. Waters’ IQ is almost certainly far above Trump’s and never mind that she did not call for harm to anybody and did not even mention his supporters. And never mind, even, that no other president in the history of this nation has ever spoken in this manner in public. What his supporters and others will hear is what Trump said, even though it is not true. This is not a time when people who slavishly follow Trump are seeking facts, but a time when they believe what comes from his mouth. Period.

There are just over four months until the mid-term elections and if Democrats have any hope of taking a majority in either or both chambers of Congress, we … all of us … are going to have to act better. The Republican Party, such as it is today, has very low standards of behaviour, but if Democrats lower themselves to those standards, I can guarantee you that all is lost.

Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant who asked Ms. Sanders and her party of 7 others to leave, was wrong. She did so in a respectful manner, and she did so with just cause, however she was still wrong. I am appalled that the Supreme Court recently affirmed the rights of the baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. If you have a business, you serve your customers … all your customers. I would hold Ms. Wilkinson, though I understand her reasons, to the same standard.

Maxine Waters is also wrong, though again, there is a part of me that would love to applaud her words, but I cannot. Nearly every day I sit with this baby Dell on my knee, writing about values, about humanitarianism, criticizing ‘the other side’ for their lack of values, for their vulgar speech & actions, for their intolerance of those who may be different than them or have different ideas. So how can I condone or praise the actions of Maxine Waters or Stephanie Wilkinson when they are acting in the very manner I am railing against?

I have a confession of my own. This morning, one of the people who mow and trim the lawns in my apartment complex chopped down our sunflowers with a weed whacker. Every year since Miss Goose was about knee-high, she and I have taken joy in planting sunflowers in our tiny postage-stamp front yard. We lovingly tend them and watch them grow, squeal with excitement when the first one shows its beautiful yellow face. And in less than 10 seconds, they were gone. My confession? I flew out the door in a rage and forced myself to stop a few feet short of the worker, else I would have strangled him. Through tears and with fury I called him every name that came to mind, and acted, in general, like a 2-year-old. Then I came inside, sat down on the stairway and cried for 30 minutes. I had every right to be angry, to be hurt, but I did not have the right to launch a venomous attack on the man who was only doing what he thought was his job. It was not one of my prouder moments.

This is what the past two years have done to us all, but … we are better than this. We must be better than this, else Donald Trump and his supporters will have the last laugh. Hate the behaviours, the ideology, the attitudes if you will, but for the sake of this nation, for all of our sake’s, do not emulate them. Rise above what you see on the news and in the streets every day. Be better.

More of Filosofa’s Snarky Snippets

Posted on June 19, 2018 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Global Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

Having just concluded a rant that has left me with a terrible headache, I am going with some bits ‘n pieces from last night’s news.

👍👍 Thumbs up to New York Times …

Thumbs up to the New York Times for refusing to publish government handout pictures. Reporters have not been allowed in to the makeshift shelters and detention centers where the 2,000 children separated from their parents are being held. Instead, the government provided pictures for news agencies to use, but the New York Times refuses to publish them. I applaud their integrity! There was a time I might have trusted the government, but not today.

Oh, and on this topic …Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told a group of reporters yesterday that the separation of children from their parents at the border does not constitute abuse because …

“We have high standards. We give them meals. We give them education. We give them medical care. There is videos. There is TVs. I’ve been visited the detention centers myself. That would be my answer to that question.”

Sheesh … the woman cannot even speak proper English! Videos and television, so … no abuse.

Beware those space aliens!!!

Yesterday, Trump announced that he would direct the Pentagon to establish a sixth branch of the armed forces dedicated to protecting American interests in outer space. I thought for certain this had to be a joke, but nope. According to the New York Times …

“During a speech at a meeting of the National Space Council, Mr. Trump announced plans to protect American interests in space through monitoring commercial traffic and debris, initiatives he said would be “great not only in terms of jobs and everything else, it’s great for the psyche of our country.”

Minutes later, the president zeroed in on Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and tasked him with the undertaking of creating another branch of the military.

“General Dunford, if you would carry that assignment out, I would be very greatly honored,” Mr. Trump said from the podium, after searching for him in the crowd.

“We got it,” the general replied.”

Your tax dollars hard at work, folks, monitoring space junk! Good for the psyche of the nation??? How so? Can somebody please ‘splain this one to me? Lawmakers and even some members of Trump’s administration appear to be troubled, cautioning that the action could create unnecessary bureaucratic responsibilities for a military already burdened by conflicts. Y’think?

What the … ???

On Sunday, The Washington Post published a story about a previously undisclosed May 2016 meeting between Roger Stone and a Russian national who promised political dirt about Hillary Clinton. Apparently Donald Trump didn’t take the news too well, and used it as an opportunity to double down on his personal vendetta against Jeff Bezos and The Post. There is little doubt in the minds of the sane that this is just another strike against Bezos, a response to The Post’s coverage of Trump that is not rosy and glowing, as Trump would like. 👍👍 to Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post … keep up the good work!

👍👍 to the State of Hawaii …

It’s nice to be able to deliver some thumbs-up for a change! The State of Hawaii just became the first state in the union to ban pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, the pesticide that has been linked to adverse side effects in humans, including debilitating neurological and developmental maladies. This in the face of Scott Pruitt, who has gone to elaborate lengths to protect the manufacturers of chlorpyrifos, which is harmful to children and farm workers.

Last Wednesday, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed the bill into law, a law which also bars the spraying of any pesticide within 100 feet of schools during normal hours of attendance.

Now, I bet you’re wondering who manufactures this lethal chemical, aren’t you? Well, of course it is none other than chemical giant Dow Chemical. That would be the same Dow Chemical that gave a cool $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration and did not want chlorpyrifos to be banned. Shortly after the inauguration, Scottie Pruitt of the EPA announced that he would not follow the recommendation of the agency’s own scientists to ban the use of chlorpyrifos.

And now? Now Dow Chemical has a new request. Dow sent letters to three of Trump’s cabinet heads asking them to ignore government studies regarding the harmful effects of a group of pesticides on endangered species. They want to bury a scientific study. I wonder … how many lives, human and animal, can $1 million buy? Draining the swamp? I think not.

I sincerely hope to see other states follow Hawaii’s lead and place human life above politics and greed.

U.S. vs Human Rights …

I just saw that at 5:00 this evening, Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo will announce the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council. This, in my opinion, is a black day in the history of this nation. I may have more to say about it later, but as yet haven’t had time to fully process the information. I am appalled, but then I think that we are in violation of human rights in more ways than one, so I suppose that to remain in the council would be hypocrisy. 😞

Well, that’s all for today, folks. I haven’t run out of either snark or snippets, but have run out of time and energy. Have a great evening!

A New Assault on Freedom of Press …

Posted on April 8, 2018 by jilldennison under Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

Department of Homeland Security. Their job? To protect us with their 229,000 employees and their $40.6 billion budget. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management.

Now tell me how the following fits into their stated goals?

Homeland Security to Compile Database of Journalists, Bloggers

Feel that chill creeping down your spine, my fellow-bloggers? Fellow citizens who still believe in the First Amendment? Journalist friends?

While I feel the chill in my spine, I am more incensed than anything. HOW DARE THEY???

According to Bloomberg Law …

“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile a database of journalists, editors, foreign correspondents, and bloggers to identify top “media influencers.””

Threats to the freedom of the press began emitting from Trump & Co long before the election, and haven’t slowed since. For the past two weeks, Trump has been railing against The Washington Post because he doesn’t like the way they report on him, and has even suggested they be forced to register as a lobbyist group.

Last October, Indiana State Representative Jim Lucas, proposed a bill that would require professional journalists to be licensed by the state, pay a $75 fee, and submit fingerprints. Lucas is a nutcase who was claiming that if “his” 2^nd Amendment right to ‘bear arms’ required a license, so should the press’ 1^st Amendment right, but even so …

According to an article in Columbia Journalism Review yesterday …

“… liberal journalist Greg Palast announced on his blog that he and fellow producer Matt Pascarella have become subject to a Department of Homeland Security criminal investigation for filming the exterior of an Exxon Mobil refinery [emphasis added] near New Orleans while working on a documentary entitled New Orleans: Big Easy to Big Empty.”

It should be noted that ExxonMobil is a corporation, not a top-secret government facility.

And now DHS is seeking a contractor that can help it monitor ‘traditional news sources as well as social media and identify “any and all” coverage related to the agency or a particular event’, according to a request for information released April 3. But it is in the details that we see a darker intent, for they outline a plan to gather and monitor the public activities of media professionals and ‘influencers’, those of us who disperse information to the public.

Since John Kelly left the Department of Homeland Security to become the White House babysitter, the agency has been led by Kirstjen Nielsen, who was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on 06 December 2017. Nielsen is a Trump sycophant (one of many) who claims he did not make the comment about “shithole countries” (he did) and who claims the threat along the U.S.-Mexican border is real (it isn’t). And now she wants to spend precious DHS resources to monitor journalists all over the world, as well as here at home, even those of us who write humble little blogs. What could possibly go wrong, right?

Freedom of the Press is under attack in many areas of the world, including some led by the very autocrats that Donald Trump appears to nearly worship, such as Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, The Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte, and of course let us not forget Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Journalists who tell too much or criticize the regime are jailed and silenced. “But surely that cannot happen here!”, you say. How much are you willing to bet on that?

The rules have changed and they are frequently re-written as per Donald Trump. Agencies now spend their allotted budgets to do the bidding of Trump, rather than to meet the stated goals of their agencies. And the media are under attack daily by the bombastic ‘man’ sitting in the Oval Office. What could go wrong? Imagine, if you will, that Nielsen decided to actually run DHS in the proper way and said to Trump that no, the agency’s priority at this time is not to monitor the activities of journalists. She would be out within a week, and a different sycophant would take her place.

According to ThinkProgress …

“One of the other points that DHS wants to be able to search is the ‘sentiment’ of a story. Was a writer’s take on events pro-America or not? Did a columnist write an op-ed that looked on President Trump’s latest policy trainwreck unfavorably?”

To which Tyler Q. Houlton, on behalf of DHS responded:

“Despite what some reporters may suggest, this is nothing more than the standard practice of monitoring current events in the media. Any suggestion otherwise is fit for tin foil hat wearing, black helicopter conspiracy theorists.”

Oh no, I don’t think so, Mr. Houlton. When asked to clarify what, precisely, he meant by ‘standard practice’, he replied …

“You are embarrassing yourself with these questions and wild conspiracy theories. Just like you monitored the media to find this story, DHS does the same. Enjoy your weekend.”

Not a very professional response, if you ask me. And remember that WE pay his salary.

I have long sensed that Trump took office believing that the entire federal government, including all its agencies, Congress and the Judiciary were his toys to play with and use as he wishes. This is not the case, and for an agency to even be considering infringing on the 1^st Amendment freedoms of press and free speech simply because not all of us admire him or choose to dance to his tune, is unconscionable.

Again … What could possibly go wrong?

Filosofa's Word

Cogito Ergo Sum

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