Tag Archives: military parade

Still More Head-Shaking Moments …

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Political commentary, Random

say whatA few things crossed my radar this morning … things that either made me say “Say WHAT???” (I seem to say that a lot lately, had you noticed?) or shake my head (or fist).  So, for your head-shaking pleasure, I bring you a few random bits ‘n pieces …

Who to blame … who to blame …

Shortly after I published my post about the ridiculous military parade Trump had scheduled for November 10th at a cost of $92,000 or more, it was announced that the parade has been canceled, or postponed until next year at least.  At the time, no reason was given, but I assumed it had something to do with the cost.  I was fairly certain that Trump would not be a happy camper, and I wondered who he would choose to blame for his own folly.  Wonder no more … the lucky target of Trump’s wrath is none other than the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel E. Bowser.  Though he didn’t name Ms. Bowser specifically, but referred to “local politicians who run Washington, D.C.”, Ms. Bowser saw the finger pointed directly at her.Trump tweet

Notice how, he is going to make sure the taxpayers pay, after all, by traveling to Paris for no other reason than to prove, once again, his petulance.  And, with the money he doesn’t spend on the parade, he is excitedly going to buy himself more toys in the form of jet fighters. Maturity just oozes from his pores, don’t you think?

muriel bowserMayor Bowser, however, is not taking this lying down!

“Yup, I’m Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington DC, the local politician who finally got thru to the reality star in the White House with the realities ($21.6M) of parades/events/demonstrations in Trump America (sad).”

City officials say it was just over a week ago that Bowser received a letter from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen saying the event would take place “on or about Nov. 10, 2018” and discussing the need for planning and coordination with city agencies.  Rather short notice.  Still, the portion for which the city would bill the Pentagon, $21.6 million, is only about 23% of the total cost – the bulk of the cost is actually attributable to the Pentagon for military equipment, personnel, and related costs.  The idea is still ridiculous and the time and money spent on planning this parade was a waste of our money.

Another favour to the wealthy …

There is a reason … a number of reasons, actually … that publicly-held corporations are required to produce quarterly financial reports.  The reports disclose extensive details about their operations, including profit and revenue, and are used by investors to assess the health and well-being of the company in order to make investment decisions.  But Trump’s buddies in the world of ivory towers have complained to him that they don’t like having to file the quarterly reports and would far prefer to only do the reports twice a year instead of four times.

“In speaking with some of the world’s top business leaders I asked what it is that would make business (jobs) even better in the U.S. “Stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system,” said one. That would allow greater flexibility & save money. I have asked the SEC to study!”

The idea is unlikely to be popular with either the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) or with shareholders because the quarterly reports provide important insight into a company’s potential trouble spots and force its executives to address shareholders’ concerns.

Take mine … PLEASE!

Trump is foolishly revoking security clearances of any who have offended him in some way.  He is shooting himself in the foot, and putting the nation at risk in doing so, for the knowledge, experience and insight of those whose clearances he is revoking is invaluable and could be crucial one day.  But, that is a whole ‘nother story … nobody ever expected Trump to act reasonably or intelligently.

McRaven

Admiral William H. McRaven

William H. McRaven is a retired Navy admiral and was commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014. He oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.  When McRaven heard that Trump had revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, he penned the following open letter:

Dear Mr. President:

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.

A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.

Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.

If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.

The letter speaks for itself.

An Ego Trip …

Posted on by under Political commentary, Rants

The people who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 did so based on certain things that they believed in, that they believed would make their lives better, and he promised to fulfill their wishes.  One of those things was a smaller government that provided fewer services.  The reasoning was that if the government shrunk, had fewer employees and provided fewer services, money would be saved and taxes could be lowered, thus putting more money in the pockets of the working class.

However, theory and reality are often not quite the same, and the reality here is that Trump has cut services to the poor and disadvantaged, he has cut taxes for the wealthy, but the working class is no better off than they were before, and in fact have less now than they had before.  Why?  There are a number of reasons, including massive amounts of waste by Trump’s cabinet and by Trump himself, the tax cuts were only to the wealthy, Trump’s tariffs are causing prices to rise, and this …

Trump Military Parade To Cost Taxpayers Nearly $100M

What a colossal and foolish waste of our money!!!

This ego trip was initially, we were told, to cost a mere $12 million.  That would have fed 2,307 average families for a full year, but hey … Trump’s ego is far more important than feeding hungry kids, right?  But now, the estimated cost, $92 million, could have fed 17,692 average families for a full year!  How do we justify this?  What is the purpose of this ‘military parade’?  The answers are that we cannot possibly justify it and the only purpose is to stroke the ego of the megalomaniac in the Oval Office.

The parade is scheduled for Saturday, November 10th, and is to start at the U.S. Capitol and end at the White House where, undoubtedly, the 5,000-7,000 troops who are marching will be expected to salute Trump.  Now, not only is the parade costing an exorbitant amount of money up front, but there is a likelihood that there will be ‘after-the-fact’ costs to repair Pennsylvania Avenue.  Initially, General Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that no tanks would be included in the parade, for they would cause “damage to local infrastructure”.  But now, because Trump wants them, eight tanks will make their way to the White House on a street that taxpayers will then be required to repair.

Now, how did this all come about?  Well, remember last July when Trump happened to be in France during their annual Bastille Day celebration?  As a part of the festivities, there was a military parade, and Trump, exactly like the child who, upon seeing his friends new toy, then insists that his parents buy the same toy for him, decided that he must also have a military parade.  And so, during a meeting at the Pentagon on January 18th, Trump ordered just such a parade for himself.  The Washington Post got wind of it and published the story, after which the White House issued a statement that said Trump “has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.”  Hello?  First, very few, if any Americans will travel to DC to watch this costly display of foolishness. Second … show our appreciation to whom and for what???  Are we supposed to be appreciative to Trump for destroying our environment, our schools, our reputation, and our very nation?  I think not.

Trump originally intended the parade to be on July 4th, Independence Day, but apparently it couldn’t be pulled together quite that soon, so he settled for the November date, which is one day before Veteran’s Day and also marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.  What Trump fails to realize … or simply doesn’t care … is that the Bastille Day parade in France is a long-standing tradition, dating back to 1880!  And, France’s Bastille Day parade is a celebration of citizen’s rights, not military might. The U.S. has no such tradition, nor do we need one.

The U.S. has not held a major military parade in Washington since 1991 to mark the end of Operation Desert Storm. That parade reportedly cost approximately $8 million and was paid for with about $3 million in government funds and the rest with private donations.  Trump’s parade, all $92 million, would be paid for with taxpayer dollars.

Our economy is on the verge of a downturn, due largely to some very poor decisions on the part of Donald Trump and his minions.  The average wage earner has not seen an increase in his or her real wages in years, and in fact, today’s real wages have dropped to 1974 levels (more about this in a future post).  Trump takes credit for a lot that is not his due, and is spending our money willy-nilly on such foolishness as a parade to show American’s gratitude to him, when we should be showing him the back door!  This is nothing but yet another ego trip for Donald Trump at a huge cost to We The People.

Note to Readers:  This evening, a couple of hours after this post was published, it was announced that the parade has been postponed until 2019!  Perhaps sometimes our voices are heard?

A Dark Mood Worsened …

Posted on by under Political commentary

I awakened in a dark mood this morning, made even darker when I came downstairs, fired up the baby Dell, and sat down with my first cup of coffee of the day, only two read two news stories about the continuing saga of idiocy that defines the Oval Office these days …

Pomp and Circumstance Trump-Style

It was one of those “wtf” moments when I read that Trump wants the Pentagon to stage a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.  WHY???  Military parades are the tools of dictators and autocrats to show, not strength, but might. A power trip, nothing more, nothing less.  And at whose expense?  Take a wild guess.

Trump’s egomaniacal military parade is likely to cost this country millions of dollars.  A country that is already unable to pay its debt, a country with no universal healthcare, with an education system going down the tubes, a country that has negated climate-change regulation, saying it was too expensive.  This is like the family who cannot afford to pay their rent buying a Mercedes!

parade.jpgAdolph Hitler was quite fond of his military parades, for they proved to the people that he was all-powerful.  They instilled fear, not pride. Donald Trump continues to model himself after the autocrats, past and present, and then wonders why he is the most unpopular president in modern history.

According to an article in NPR …

“U.S. presidents have long shied away from such displays of military prowess — which typically include tanks, missiles and, in some cases, goose-stepping soldiers — for fear of being compared to Washington’s Cold War adversaries, where such displays have traditionally been potent symbols of state power. Those countries include Russia (and, formerly, the Soviet Union), China and North Korea.”

Members of Congress seem divided on the idea, with some in support and some against.  My take?  It is a tacky display of imperialism and if Trump insists on it, let him pay for it out of his own pocket.

Of Treason and Traitors

When Trump gave his ‘State of the Union Address’ last week, Democrats in Congress did not clap, did not give him the standing ovations that the Republicans did, and he was offended.  I did not clap either … there was nothing to clap about.  He used the time to pat himself on the back, to inflate his “accomplishments” and to generally be the jerk that he always is.

So earlier this week, Trump, once again on the campaign trail, it would seem, visited a facility outside of Cincinnati.  It was here that he said …

“They were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said, ‘treasonous.’ I mean, Yeah, I guess why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country that much.”

Merriam-Webster defines ‘treason’ as:

“The offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family.”

treasonTreason applies better to a president who minimizes and denigrates clear evidence that a foreign power meddled in an American election — and makes no real effort to prevent that from happening again — than it does to a bunch of lawmakers who decline to salute him.

I’m certain that if he ever … ever … says or does anything that can be viewed as in the best interest of the people of this nation, the Democrats in Congress will applaud him.  I’m not holding my breath for that day to come.

Treason: It’s a word that he has used before, to characterize an F.B.I. agent whose text messages made his distaste for Trump clear. In the narcissistic mind of Donald Trump, any who do not pledge fealty to him are traitors guilty of treason.  Now I ask you, dear readers, does this sound llike the president of a democratic nation, or like the autocratic ruler of a kingdom?

rooseveltIn May, 1918, former President Theodore Roosevelt wrote the following:

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it is treasonable to the American public.”

Point made.  I rest my case.  Carry on.