Vote your conscience. But please vote.

“I am not a member of an organized party; I’m a Democrat.” - Will Rogers I too am a Democrat. 

In Texas. More the FDR/New Deal kind, less the Bernie Sanders kind. The herd has been thin for a number of years, although reports say it is on the rebound. Regardless of the prognosis of the Democratic party, or political beliefs in general, the 2018 primary election season is almost upon us. To that end, let me explain myself.

About 20 years ago I decided that in Texas I had to vote in the Republican primary if I wanted to have a say in my federal, state, and local government. The purpose of the primary election was to make sure that We the People had a say in our candidates, not some political party big-wig. So I vote in the Republican primary because I accept that in Texas, a Republican is likely - very likely - to win the general election. Since I vote Democrat in the general election, the primary is where I have my say for my political leaders. To that end, I voted against Rick Perry every chance I got, even when he was just running as the head of the Texas Department of Agriculture, before his ascendancy as erstwhile presidential candidate and to head the U.S. Department of Energy.

If I were writing a joke, I’d say I voted against him on Dancing with the Stars except I don’t watch DWTS. I am generally not a fan of contest shows, especially those that make light of the privilege of voting. DWTS (and the other shows) make it worse by the incessant advertising and media attention as well as having 3 seasons in one 12 month period. The familiarity breeds apathy. And apathy itself is a type of vote. Not for or against a dance team or singer or even candidate, but against the institution itself. In the case of Rick Perry on DWTS, apathy against the TV show meant I broke my pattern of voting against ol’ Rick every chance I got. He didn’t win thankfully, but he got farther along than anyone could have imagined.

If we accept that apathy is a vote against an institution, then what does it mean to not vote in the primaries? Plato said that “The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.” It is hard to remember that when the media inundates with politics at a frenetic pace. Social media, fake news, and Twitter are just a part of the informal media where stories get shared virally. (And what a great description that is.) But it is also the stunt by ESPN giving Kaitin Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. I mean, frankly, be poor, trans, and in a conservative state instead of famous and rich if you want courage. It was a publicity stunt to generate headlines for a sports network that is becoming irrelevant. Or at the other end of the spectrum, let’s look at Fox News. Fox portrays fellow Americans as The Enemy of the state. Forget that whole Bill of Rights thing as they suffocate you with an American flag. Or terrify you with alarming chyrons. There is also Rachel Maddow’s play about Trump’s tax return that was a big nothing-burger. So like DWTS, the media has bred contempt with familiarity making it easy to be apathetic about politics in general.

However, here is the rub: apathy is a vote against an institution so if we are apathetic when it comes to our government then we don’t want a say in our government. And, about 100 years ago our government began to have primary elections where we the people got to choose the candidates for a general election. Then we get to vote in the general election. The idea here is to have, as Lincoln stated, “A government of the people, by the people, and for the people [that] will never perish from the earth.” James Madison’s Federalist 10 expressed a healthy concern for pure democracy and how factions (political parties) can manipulate voters’ passions, hence the idea of a two-tier representative democracy. We vote in primaries, then again in the general election for representatives who are supposed to represent the interests of their constituents. The idea is to do the most good for the most people. However, this only works if we the people actually care about voting at every step of the process. If we let the apathy get the better of us then we get left with two bad choices and disdain for the proud Republic of the United States.

George Washington stated in his Farewell Address: “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” This is the true danger of apathy. We must be on guard against it. Our ancestors fought to preserve the very system that allows us to vote. We as individuals, our children, our parents, our grandparents have served to defend these very freedoms. We OWE it to them to get out and vote every chance we get, every election. Every. Single. Election. Primary. Local. State. Federal. Whether we like the candidates or not. Whether we feel represented. Whether we totally agree. And we are “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity….” It is our privilege. It is our right. It is our responsibility.

The 2018 Texas primary season is upon us. March 6, 2018 is Primary Election Day. The last day to register to vote is February 5, 2018. You can apply for a mail-in ballot until February 23, 2018. Early voting will run February 20-March 2, 2018.

Vote your conscience. But please vote.

My Truth in Gone with the Wind

My fascination with Gone With the Wind began when it first aired on TV in 1976, 1977. The drama, the romance, the clothes! I used to put on my mom's 1950s dresses with a hoop and pretend to be Scarlett O'Hara. Goofy, huh? From there I began to collect posters, plates, books about the movie, the VHS when it became available; I red the book 3 times. I recently put up my collection in my classroom where I teach U.S. History. Why you might ask? Some would suggest that perpetuates the vision of slavery as no big deal. That is far from the truth. I put that stuff up for two reasons: to prompt the question of "why do have that stuff" and to hold myself accountable for the dark truth of my cultural privileges. My journey with GWTW began with a childish, girlish fascination - drama, romance, clothes. (As an ironic twist, my family is from Ohio and fought for the Union in the Civil War.) I had no concept of the complexities and truths of the issues. In fact I swallowed the Lost Cause Myth whole. The south was the land of cavaliers and ladies, manners and honor. Slaves were well cared for, so I thought, and were nothing other than a type of working class. Everyone was content until the Yankees swept in to disrupt the system. I had no experience with People of Color in my upper middle class and very white upbringing. Typical U.S. History did not challenge that assumption either. Later, as I became an older teenager and embraced my identity as a smart, independent female in a male dominated world I saw Scarlett differently. My feminist sensibilities awoke, and I saw her as a women who broke the rules forced on her by a patriarchal system. She lied, stole, cheated, and killed to make her world her own and stopped relying on men. In fact, it was Ashley Wilkes who made her weak because he was weak! The only strong men were her father and Rhett, who believed in the women in their lives and supported them. She was a bad-ass anti-heroine who made her own world. I still love Scarlett for that, and this is one reason why I have my collection up in my classroom. To inspire young women to make their world, care for their family, and not apologize for being themselves. As I matured into adulthood and then studied history, the truth of the evil system GWTW represented haunted me. African Americans were sold, abused, exploited to bolster a system for which the O'Haras and Wilkes et al were a minority. Most whites couldn't own slaves, or only one or two who were immensely valuable to their family. Three to five percent of those owned more 10 slaves, and even less owned 20 or more. Those people made money by driving those slaves mercilessly and by leasing or selling them without regard to family structures. The system predicated white success on ownership of other human beings, and indeed praised it as a core vale in the pursuit of happiness. This is how the Confederate states were able to get whites who had no slaves to fight for the continued ownership of slaves. It was a perverse and evil system along the lines of tyranny. It took away humanity from the slaves for the purpose of profit through violence and intimidation, compelled whites to support it at risk of violence and ostracism, treated women -black and white - as non entities and all for the benefit of a few and the insidious lie of false aspirations. Disgusting. You can see my horror at my childish fascination. So, I packed away the collection for well over a decade. My disgust continued as I understood the criminal way Jim Crow destroyed the promises and progress the Civil War bought with blood. As whites fatigued with the intransigence of a racism most struggled to define (whites mostly), it was deemed "enough" to have ended slavery. The radicals in Congress had even enforced the right to vote for black men, an act that many educated women resented. (of course, the white patriarchy assumed they could return to a variation of the violence and intimidation of the past to return their power. As a result, women getting the vote was a non-starter.) Jim Crow segregation and its subtler version of exploitation allowed racism to persist and white America to sleep at night. The Lost Cause Myth gave meaning to the blood cost of the Civil War and made radicals (those who wanted equality) seem reckless. This is underlying message of GWTW, although Margaret Mitchell was probably unaware of how that myth shaped her story. Age and experience, or maybe just age, softened my perspective on my GWTW collection. The ability to explain what made GWTW symbolic of this complex history grew and so I pulled out and put it up in my classroom - kind of. I really sort of hid it behind other knick knacks and only the most observant teenager (oxymoron?) noticed it. However, 2015 and 2016 happened. Freddie Gray, Philando Castille happened. Trump happened. The 13 white, male Senators writing healthcare happened. Jess Sessions happened. Black Lives Matter and the Women's March happened. There are insidious systems at work that are designed to take away equality. These forces pick and choose which parts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution they follow. They ignore the pledge to each other, the common welfare that is a part of those documents in favor of strict legalistic interpretations and the word "liberty." The very systems that created slavery, Jim Crow, oppression of women and all people of color have reared their ugly head to undo the last 60 years. My conviction is that I can no longer hid what I know. I cannot be ashamed of my own journey in understanding race and oppression. So, this year my collection is at the forefront along with other concepts about dissent, equality, oppression, and freedom. I hope students ask me about GWTW. I want to explain to them that while I did not participate in slavery specifically, I benefit every day from the system that created it. I am responsible for that privilege and the least I can do acknowledge it. This is not about a trite "check your privilege." Every day in my classroom I will be reminded to embrace how power creates haves and have nots and provide them homage. Every day I can choose my words carefully and accept their are phrases and words I don't "own" because of my privilege. (Conversely, there are a few words and phrases I do own because I am a woman.) Every day I can share my own journey with the world around me and maybe help someone take their own step toward empathy and love and responsibility.

A New Civil War

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 cost the U.S. over 600,000 lives, roughly 2% of the population. The American South was economically devastated, and America's absence from global economics led to expanded colonization in Africa and Asia. Arguably that is a broad summary statement that ignores a multitude of nuances but this is not about a history lesson on the Civil War. I am concerned for my country because I see the same polarization and identity fixation that led to the American Civil War. In the last week I have read/hear a couple of items that disturb me. Sean Hannity's show is increasingly claiming the "liberal left" is planning a coup. Senator Ted Cruz's latest fundraising letter claimed a liberal takeover. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick claimed that the "left" wants a state income tax. To be sure, there is vitriol on the left. There are lots of 25th Amendment talks that are counterproductive and the Trump hate - which I totally get - ignores the issues in Congress and at the state level. Anti-fascists are destructive anarchists. Although I would suggest that the Tea Party cohorts of Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are anarchists too, the are just the computer virus within the system instead of the baseball bat destroying the unit. Ultimately, this polarization makes Americans hate one another and that never ends well - see the American Civil War. Those of us who are just the average American need to reject that kind of talk.Turn off Hannity. Reject Cruz and Patrick. Ignore Louise Mench. Hold liberals accountable, such as when Johnny Depp joked about assassination or when Hillary disparages a huge swath of America as "deplorable". That is not excusable. We in the middle - socially, politically, economically - must create a dynamic environment and HOLD OUR POLITICIANS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WELFARE OF AMERICA. Wanting accountability does not make me or you a part of a coup d'etat! That is our system of government. And our government is doing things and planning policy that is not sound and is backward thinking, regardless of where you are on the political spectrum. We can massage how much government and how to use taxes and how to apply taxation and regulation but those are the characteristics of government. Our government has social responsibilities to the unborn, the elderly, children, women, those who lose their jobs, veteransm and much more. A democracy is about different viewpoints and challenging viewpoints. Anyone who suggest that First Amendment protesting or free press is a coup d'etat needs to go back to school. Likewise, anyone who supports extreme nationalization needs to go back to school. We are facing a challenging century, just as the late 19th century was challenging. We can take the easy road and hate one another or pull together and face this head on. It will be confusing, complicated, and messy. But triggering hate for one another is wrong. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Institutions: What are they good for?

I've been thinking a lot about institutions. The institution of marriage. Religious institutions. Educational institutions. Social institutions. Government institutions. Most people praise and honor institutions in the abstract but not when they interfere with personal desire. Take for instance marriage; most people feel marriage is a sacred institution. How many people voted for Trump because of the SCOTUS position and the dissonance of the Obergefell ruling (gay marriage)? Yet, half of marriages (hetero ones) end in divorce. The abstract of marriage is sacred; but half of us recognize it isn't as simple or desirable as that. Take religion; most people label themselves as "spiritual" and want the right to go to church, whether or not they actually go. Religious values matter, right? Be nice. Love one another. Give to charity. Except for when we are anonymous, when we can be rude or snide. And don't forget when religion becomes a club, a cultural hallmark that has nothing to do with spirituality or Jesus, God, Allah, Buddha, or whatever. In this case, we honor the "church" as a religious institution but we have trouble identifying which churches fit that and what the appropriate institutional members look like. Each person thinks it looks like theirs and not someone else's, as though it is a label one can purchase or a badge you can earn. Educational and social institutions, like schools and clubs and communities, are important. Except the voucher movement and online education are fracturing what the educational institution looks like. The same can be said for Facebook and Twitter fracturing the social institutions. If I can take my property taxes to any school or if higher education is out of reach for many then is education even an institution? Politicians control much of what we teach anyway, so it might legitimately just be an extension of the state. Social institutions of all types are collapsing - malls, social clubs, political organizations. Kid participate in competitive sports over community sports and mom and dad shop online rather than shopping together. We can't even go to the pharmacy without alcohol being sold, so almost every social occasion is lubricated and intoxicated. (Some religious groups excepted of course, but see the previous paragraph....) Government institutions include local, state, federal levels as well as the three federal branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). Also included is the right to vote and the right of free speech/free press and the right to jurisprudence. Read any news story or talk politics for 5 minutes and the damage to our perceptions of a government for the people, by the people, and of the people is shocking. Citizens were so disgusted in November of 2016 they just skipped voting. Skipped it. Or skipped the primaries that chose the final two candidates. Or maybe life just got in the way - I won't say every person skipped voting out of protest. That is self reflection and not for me to point fingers. We do know that voter ID laws and gerrymandering have skewed the right to vote and now POTUS wants an election commission. POTUS wants to limit the press and most people ridicule the media, rightly and wrongly, but never promote accountability or praise. The poor and people of color know that the law works against them. Red states are attacking blue cities and the federal government can't even agree if we need access to health care. (Cue Marie Antoinette "Let them eat cake" or as John Cornyn said, "Let them choose not to have healthcare".) Citizens do not trust nor do the believe in their government to act FOR them. So if all of these institutions are failing then what are they good for? Do we want them as a society or no? I think this is a legitimate question to ask ourselves. As much as I would like to slap a big TRUMP on this decay, it started a long time ago. Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers? McCarthyism? 1929? I am not sure when we forgot to pledge our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor to each other in favor of the pursuit of happiness but somehow we got things mixed up and our institutions suffered for it. We better decide pretty quickly what they are good for and stand up for them without fear and without recrimination based on a foundation that strengthens institutions not weakens them.

What really matters anymore?

It all started with Bill Clinton's "what is the definition of is" and "I did not have sexual relations with that woman". There is no right and wrong, only the legality of black and white. (Unless you are black, in which case....well, that's another blog.) The irony is that the party of values that trashed the Democrats for two decades over the fuzzy meaning of words now find themselves in the same situation. Is it collusion to want to win? What politician doesn't play dirty to get elected? Did he really break the law? These are the same mental gymnastics Democrats went through with Bill Clinton, and this points to the problems with Hillary. But enough about the 2016 election - they both sucked and both are corrupt. But let's just admit that. The Trumps are as crooked as Hillary just differently. Stop apologizing, stop defending, stop justifying. Tell Kellyanne just to admit "Yeah, they are douches. But they won." Let's just call a spade a spade (back to the black and white concept). So the Trumps are corrupt, just as the Clintons are. As a teacher, how do I encourage kids to "do right"? Don't bully. Don't lie. Don't steal ideas and call them your own. Don't touch people who don't want to be touched. Don't make fun of those less fortunate. Don't use your position (with wealth, with social status, with opportunity) to hurt or limit others. Yeah, all of that is bullsh** now. (Pardon the language - but even that doesn't matter anymore.) Get what you can. Steal what you can. Lie what you can. Hurt who you can. That is politics now, and it is society too. This is what makes me sad. Nothing really matters anymore. Not right, only might. May I suggest that we all watch Richard Harris in the musical "Camelot"? We have become a modernized middle ages where the nobility run over the peasants and the peasants bow and scrape. What really matters anymore? Obviously, most of us hold our family dear and that takes most of our attention. We have jobs. We have bills. We have kids, grandkids, or furry animals that depend of us. The temptation to retreat into that is strong especially in the national environment of anything goes. Except it doesn't. Right is right, not might, not wealth. Yes, Democrats AND Republicans are responsible. Ethics has been obscured by legalities. Jesus came to cast aside the law. We can safely hold to "what is right" not what is legal. I don't care if you believe in small government or big. If you believe in regulation or free market. The anathema that faces us right now matters, matters as much as the existence of our country. You and I may differ on policy specifics, but we can both agree what happens now matters. It matters a lot. Take a stand. Draw a line. Raise your voice. Put your Senators and Representatives on your cell phone, local and national offices. (Ted Cruz's office is a joke FYI.) Stand up for what is right.

Healthcare or Wealthcare? Oh, and Cruz's plan.....

It has been a few months since I blogged - you know, life. But the healthcare debate raging in the country and Congress is an issue close to my heart. Since I was old enough to understand insurance and politics I have believed in "socialized" medicine and single payer. I even wrote my high school research paper on it - in 1989. Since that time, my family benefited from the Medicaid expansion know as CHIP - Children's Health Insurance Program - from 2000 to 2004. It made all the difference for my family by providing my kids with the well check ups and medical and dental care my ex-husband's insurance didn't provide.(It was catastrophic only coverage.) Now you know my bias. My biggest issue with the Senate Plan (Better Care Reconciliation Act, BCRA) and the House Plan (Affordable Health Care Act, AHCA) is that they rewind us back to health insurance of the 20th century. Let's think about how much has changed since 1975, 1985: cell phones, cars, globalization, job markets, education costs, housing costs, you get the picture. So why are we going backwards on healthcare? I get it - the ACA has problems. (I would argue that is due to Republicans refusing to care about their constituents and Republican led states refusing the Medicaid expansion.) However, it at least acknowledged realities of the 21st century. Insurance Portability: How many times will people change jobs? A Google Search of "on average how many times does a person change jobs in their lifetime" will show you numbers from 4 in your first 12 years of career employment to 10-12 in a lifetime, from multiple types of sources. Basically, the 21st job market means change. In addition, the demand economy (Airbnb, Lyft, Uber) means that many people hold a series of part time gigs to cobble together full time income. The problem with the BCRA and AHCA is that they assume you have insurance through your job and yet those plans don't acknowledge the new economy at all. A Medicaid/Medicare for all plan would allow healthy people to buy into the nationalized health plan and have consistent coverage. This means healthy workers. It also means that small start-ups, you know the entrepreneurs that American individualism idolizes,would be able to start businesses without the burden of healthcare. A healthy labor force is a productive labor force. In addition, this supports innovation and small businesses. Does it mean higher taxes? For the wealthiest and corporations, yes. But there are ways to massage that. Large companies with generous health plans can get a bit of a tax break. More generous 504 plans. And maybe, just maybe, a value added tax. Cost of living: The cost of renting or buying a place to live has skyrocketed. And that doesn't include car prices, cell phones (a necessity regardless of what Jason Chaffetz says), or student loan debt. The tendency of kids to move back in with their parents is why the ACA extended coverage to children to the age of 26. In addition, automation and the internet are putting some job fields at risk. See JC Penney, or coal mining. If there is a penalty for going without health insurance then one has to use COBRA except that is very expensive. Or if you are paying 1/3 of you income in student loan payments, you can't really afford health insurance. It makes sense to keep these workers healthy and keep money in their pockets. Negotiating power: One of the biggest issues with the cost of healthcare is the fact that their are different costs for different states, even cities, even insurers. That is ridiculous. There is no transparency in the health industry. If there is a Medicaid for all plan, then the government will have the power to negotiate prices. Will that have a dampening on medical innovation? Not if we encourage researchers and university hospitals to be on the cutting edge. I am sure there is a way to massage this so as not to weaken the medical research field. As of now, the profit motive means there is more attention paid to impotency than to birth control. This might be a way to direct research away from profits. At the very least, make costs transparent. Plus, single payer options have fewer administrative costs so that will help in negotiations as well. And it might prevent the snafu we had with opiods, where companies targeted doctors directly. For more on single payer, read this New York Times article: On to Ted Cruz's plan. His plan would create a secondary ACA compliant pool for the sickest or riskiest people. Let's remember that the Republicans were worried about Death Panels. What better way to identify sick people than to put them all on the same health plan! And, it would make the market unstable because of the segmentation. It is bad policy and bad economics. It is tea with arsenic in it, make no mistake. It is political wrangling that is just as heartless as before. It would price the middle class out of the market so essentially you would have a worse system of healthcare for the very rich and the very poor but nothing for the middle. It is just lame. And stupid. For more, read this New York Times article on his plan: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/upshot/ted-cruz-has-an-idea-for-how-to-cover-high-risk-patients.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20170707&nl=upshot&nl_art=4&nlid=71241221&ref=headline&te=1 The country has been talking about healthcare for 70 years. It is about time we just do something that takes care of all American.

The Fungus of a Failure to Think

I am putting this in a blog because it is all opinion. So leave now if you don't want to hear it. And based on my news posts on Facebook, you can probably guess the tone. But I will ask you to consider your principles. Read on at your own risk.

Principles. Those pesky things that guide us when all else fails. For some, they are intertwined with religious values. For others, less so to varying degrees. I ask you to consider your principles. What makes you believe in this country, the US of A, in democracy, in We the People. What makes you go vote, or not. What makes you get up on a Sunday to go to church. What makes you volunteer. What makes you do your job each day. Do you have those in mind?

How does the current government administration mesh with those values? Wait, don't confuse policy with principles. Policy is about how we practically enforce principles and it can look many different ways. I am not asking about affirmative action in college admissions, or "welfare" reform, or immigration policy. I am asking do your core principles mesh with the core principles of the actions - Executive Order, or House Bills, or Senate Investigations - of the current administration in power.

My answer is no. I live in hybrid world. My spouse, one of my children (maybe two), and my work environment scream "Trump! Make America Great Again!" But my gut, my historical knowledge, my concern for the future cry, "No!!!!" Not just no, but hell to the F*****G NO!  This A**HOLE doesn't know WTF he is talking about. (Pardon the crudity.)

Granted, I am a Universal Coverage fan. I admit this upfront. Not necessarily Single Payer, Medicare for all though. The ACA is flawed, and states like Texas that didn't expand Medicaid are part of the problem and the promises of a panacea were ridiculous. That bias claimed, AHCA or TrumpCare, is not even a health plan. It is a tax cut disguised as as a health plan.  It is mind boggling at best and malicious at worst. It will hurt the most vulnerable among us - the elderly, the disabled, the young. Maternity care will be pre-existing. But the rich will have more money.

Granted, I am not a Trump fan. I want America to succeed so in that sense I want him to succeed but otherwise, I would be okay if a random heart attack hit him after a steak dinner (with ketchup). But then Pence would be President, and have you seen Handmaid's Tale? Did 45 really fire Comey in the midst of an investigation that may involve his campaign? Really??!! I am no Comey fan, so I don't know that I mind but I do wish he had done it 3 months ago - back when Trump thought Comey was doing a good job.

Granted, I am a "progressive" whatever that means these days. The Trump tax "plan" and it's support of the wealthy and corporations makes my stomach churn. They are blowing up the lessons our society learned from the Gilded Age and the Great Depression and for what? So Trump Co. and Kushner can create a kleptocracy? It is disgusting on so many levels.

What is your answer? Are you pro-life? Then how do you support an administration that would cut the sick and elderly out of healthcare? Are you pro-America? Then how can you disregard our Founding Fathers, the Constitution?  Are you pro-"little guy"? Then how can you support the tax "plan" Trump proposed?

I honestly don't understand. I know good, hard working people whom I suspect supported Trump. How do they sleep at night knowing they unleashed this fungus into our system. It will be pervasive like a fungus, like any good pharma ad will show you. And some just don't seem to think - or want to think. They claim those of us who are upset are socialists or hysterical as they argue policy about which most don't understand. When do you sound the alarm? I worry that my progressive echo chamber drowns you out but I honestly don't see what there is to support or why you are screaming from the rooftops.

Now is the time act. Contact your representatives. I think they have all lost their minds in some sort of Tea Party Haze. Again, this isn't about policy. We can argue later about the merits of tax cuts, of the 10th Amendment later. Those are valid concerns. This is about the FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY at stake.  Maybe that is hyperbolic. But that is from the heart.

And that, dear friends and those who have read this far, is why I wrote this.

Mea Culpa

A lot has happened lately in the realm of policy and politics. I have yielded to the easy temptation of "Share" when reading the news - mea culpa. I've been busy: STAAR prep, working on a second Masters, life. I am trying to respect those who don't like politics, which was the intent of my blog, but old habits die hard. I don't know that it is so much I use Facebook differently, but rather that I hold my personal life much more closely. So I am less likely to share personal items and more likely to share ideas. I am kind of nerdy after all.

Now that the disclaimer is issued, here are some questions after 3+ weeks of reading the news:
1. Where is our government policy going?
Clearly, anti-government people are running the show. I have theories about how this came to be but nothing terribly original and none of it answers the questions about what will replace it. This is the 21st century, and it is built upon internationalism and globalization. The genie doesn't go back in the bottle. If you gut the infrastructure (not just roads and bridges infrastructure), we risk not have resources and responses in place to face challenges and changes. People have a love/hate relationship with government - they love it when it works for them, and hate it when it doesn't. Nothing will change that. Just remember that the intent of the Constitution in 1787 was to create something that operated off of a big picture not a local one. Politics begins locally, but national politics needs vision and that has been consistently gutted since about 1981.
2. Where is our foreign policy going?
I don't know if Trump's foreign policy is the Art of the Deal writ large, or the spontaneous eruptions of a spoiled brat. In some ways, I admire it because for years the U.S. has played by rules other countries did not. How do you like us now? However, what is the end game? Is there one?
3. Where is Congress? 
They are MIA. I dislike President Trump and voted against him. (Not that I was a Hillary fan - more of a reluctant Bernie fan.) But Trump alone can be checked if there is will from Congress. Congress needs to respond to real problems with the stagnation of the middle class and with healthcare. If they don't, all the tax policy and government destruction in the world won't fix things. And they need to have a heart and soul, which clearly the Republican party prayed away in their pursuit of fundamentalist legislative purity. (True religion is widows and orphans, healing the sick, and caring for the poor - but too often those people have the wrong religion, ethnicity, or made bad choices so they don't count. The unborn matter, but once you are born you are on your own - it is called individualism.) Democrats are equally bereft of a compass, taking money from corporations and kissing the same rear end that poops on the middle class, the working class, the sick, and the environment. Dems especially deserve blame for ushering in the age obstruction with the nuclear option and executive orders rather than actually governing. After all Congress is only about the people in DC - sarcasm off. Now, the Repubs seem to hope they can tame the wind to their own purposes while the Dems are busy staring at their hands like they did nothing wrong.
4. Where is the oversight of the people?
Corruption in government has been bad for some time, but the Trump era is taking it to a new level. The movie Idiocracy or Wall-E will become prophecy if we don't wake up soon. Talk to people with different views. Think about your biases and opinions. You can hold a bias as long as you recognize when it causes you to dismiss an idea that might be productive or when it causes you to believe a lie. That knife cuts both ways, right and left. (See Berkely or Middlebury, or Ted Cruz, or every ridiculous meme that circulates.)

In the meantime, life goes on. As my father-in-law said, there will be a before Trump and an after Trump. I am indeed living history, yet history doesn't go on hold for STAAR, or course work, or a household. So forgive me if I "Share" too many political stories.

What the.....???

NYT Interview with Trump, partial transcript. Huh? The dude is nuts. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/us/politics/donald-trump-interview-new-york-times-transcript.html?emc=edit_nn_20170406&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=71241221&te=1&_r=0

Gorsuch Filibuster

WaPo breaks down some interesting connections. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gorsuch-filibuster-is-about-far-more-than-payback/2017/04/05/1281201c-1a32-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html?utm_term=.8e05eed28bdf&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Bannon and Ivanka: Who are they?

WaPo reveals that Bannon, for all he wants to destroy the administrative state, has gotten rich with the globalized system. What a hypocrite.
And WaPo has a good podcast on the role of Ivanka, and who she is.

Trump and Russia - Connections

WaPo has a good opinion piece on the role of Devin Nunes and how he derailed the House investigation into the Russia question as well as the threat from Russia. The best by WaPo is an interactive graphic that explains the Trump and Russian connections.  I encourage you to look at it.

Sanders and Pinocchios

WaPo gives Sanders 3 Pinocchios for saying that the Dem insistance on 60 votes for Gorsuch is not a fillibuster. It also corrects the idea that Dems have much choice. Sanders has a habit of generalizing and overstating. Just saying.

Resistance School

Interested in changing the direction of the country, or opposing Trump agenda, or promoting progressiveness? Resistance School provides 4 one hour sessions that you can live stream, or watch afterwards. I will probably check it out to see what it has to say.

Nunes and the no good meeting

NYT broke that Nunes met with 2 WH staffers to get the incidental wiretap info and the WaPo provides a good analysis of the situation. Oh what a tangled web we weave......

Isolation of Tillerson

WaPo reports that Sec of State Tillerson is isolated, and frankly, the dude sounds weird. And it is killing off the reputation of the U.S. These people want to destroy the country. Seriously.

Kushner an innovator? Not hardly.

WaPo has a perspective piece by the former editor of the NY Observer who worked for Kushner (who owned the Observer), Essentially, Kushner's role in the Dept. of American Innovation or whatever it is called is a joke. He mismanaged the Observer, is into "vanity" projects, and his main experience is in family businesses. It must be nice to have money.

Nunes and Kushner - What the heck?

DMN reports that Nunes is compromised and that Kushner is getting called before a Senate investigative committee and this after Kushner gets a WH gig???

Tillerson didn't want the job

Great. The Guardian reports that Rex Tillerson did not want the job of Sec of State and that his wife told him it was God's will.  I am bothered by the fact he didn't want the job and that now he thinks he was ordained to do this. I am all about doing God's will but as Sec of State it concerns me.

Working hard or hardly working?

WaPo reports that for every 1 of 3 days, Trump has visited a Trump property. Yeah, that is working hard for America. Also an update from 3/27 that shows Fox News lied about Trump being at the WH. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-weekend-working-golf_us_58d87282e4b02a2eaab520a7?

Lost Privacy

Everything is for sale in Trump World: NYT Congress moves to remove privacy rules

Filibuster of Gorsuch nomination

NYTs shows that Dems are going to fillibuster Gorsuch which I like because the Russian collusion issue makes the Trump agenda questionable.

Resurgence of Hate

This story of the Baltimore man who killed a black man out of racism breaks my heart.

London Terrorist was British

NYT Times reports that the attacker was British and a convert to Islam. The threat with ISIS is not immigration but rather social media and the failure of liberalism. We also have a type of populism emerging whether it is religious or class based or national.

The Future of the Trump Agenda

I am going to start with my take on the Trump Agenda and what the healthcare failure means. First, the Freedom Caucus is about obstruction and anarchy, not governing. Second, Ryan doesn't have real support for his small government measures and the Trump populism shows you that. Trump voters need the government programs so the question is not cutting but how to better implement them. The Republican party is divided and falling apart and has been, that is how we ended up with Trump. Trump is shutting out Democrats (and why, I don't know because the populist Dems could be all over some of his nationalist ideas). What does this mean for the Trump agenda? Probably DOA, unless the learning curve improves significantly. And Trumps use of Fox to attack Ryan and for Fox to be his mouthpiece is disturbing on many levels. Below are relevant articles.
Reuters: Priebus says Trump may bypass hardliners to get his agenda passed
WaPo: Trumps path forward gets harder
WaPo: Who's to blame?
WaPo: Fox host calls on removal of Ryan after Trump tweets about her show
WaPo: A New Dynamic in the house
NYT Trump vs Congress
NYT GOP Civil War

North Korea and Kim - Crazy like a fox

WaPo covers a new angle that Kim is perfectly sane and knows what he is doing, which might be scarier than crazy.

Charlie Rose and Michael Morrell

This is a great analysis of the investigation into Trump Charlie Rose and Michael Morrell and this piece from NBC News (boy I am glad NBC dropped the Apprentice so I could start watching it again) about the vice chair of the Intel committee

The Despair of the Middle Class

WaPo reports on the disease of despair that is causing drugs uses, drinking, and suicide to increase among the working middle class.  I blogged about this yesterday but since then I have had and interesting thought. Perhaps the decline of the middle class is a systematic failure of our government to prepare people for the seismic shift of technology? If you look at the 70s (and the end of the Nixon presidency) as the height of working middle class, factor in the ineptitude (domestically) of Jimmy Carter with the Reaganomics of Ronald Reagan what you have is cutting programs that provided retraining and a safety net. What is needed is another New Deal, and the political causation is abandoning that mindset. This is just a random thought but it might be intriguing.

Healthcare: Trumpcare DOA

WaPo has two articles, one that provides an overview of why the GOP pulled the AHCA at the last minute and one that recounts an interview with Trump himself over the issue. I think the healthcare issue was toxic to most because of the support and a galvanized "silent" majority from the last 6 years. The Trump interview shows Trump positioning himself to blame Democrats and increase the partisan divide. It sounds like 19th century Dems blaming abolitionists for not solving slavery.

Manafort volunteers to testify? Why?

WaPo reports that Manafort volunteered to testify to the House Intelligence Committee.  David Nunes is shouting this from the rooftops but this doesn't make Nunes look any less compromised as head of the committee. My big question is why Manafort would volunteer. Trying to control the spin?? We need an independent counsel to investigate, if there is truly nothing to hide.

Global Issues: French Election, Russian Assassination

Brookings has a great article that breaks down the candidates for the French president, and given the concerns about the EU and populism it is worth a glance. And a former Russian lawmaker was assassinated in Kiev according to WaPo.  It is worth noting since there are strange connections with Trump and Russia. Or maybe we shouldn't, since we do bad stuff too. *eye roll*

Crazy Trump Interview with Time

Time interviewed Pres. Trump on numerous issues. PoliticaFact studied the interview and fact checked it.  He doubles down on his lies All of them. Yeah, he's our president.

Filibuster of Gorsuch

WaPo reports that Schumer will lead a filibuster of Gorsuch's confirmation. I am not a fan of the filibuster but given the scandals around Trump and Russia, it is valid to stop a confirmation by a president that might be corrupted and illegitimate.

Eminent Domain vs Liberty

DMN reports that the Trump Administration is going to use eminent domain (5th amendment) to pursue the border wall (at taxpayer expense). 1) Immigration reform is a top priority. We must address this. (See this story from Maryland about immigrants detained at the Mexican border who raped a teen.) 2) Where is the TeaParty at?? Talk about big gvoernment. 3) When it comes to Trump, he doesn't care about liberty or government or who pays. We need to abandon the wall plan and come up with a better way to control immigration from Latin America and improve the citizenship process.

Graphics reveals deep divisions in consumer confidence

Bloomberg has a great graphic that shows the divisions in consumer confidence between rich and poor. What does this mean? A strong economy is when the middle and working class feel like it is safe to spend. They do not. Rising interest rates check the speculation of the rich. The Trump economy will devastate us. The signs are there.

Improve physicians access to medicine information

This National Bureau of Economic Research explains that expanding physicians access to drug and pharmaceutical information lowers costs and makes drug treatment more effective.  So one easy, common sense way to improve healthcare and health costs. Instead of letting pharma companies make the decisions, let them focus on R & D and let the doctors figure out what to do with the drugs. Doctors have a lot of education with which to make decisions. It is like letting teachers decide how to teach, not dictate the latest gadget or trend.

Despair among the white working class

WaPo reports the research that identifies a sea of despair among the white, middle aged, working class. What we learn from this is the seismic shift in the economy due to technology and that the small government approach has not prepared the working class for the shirt (1972-today). Also, allowing drug companies to push their products has created an opiod epidemic. Lastly, democrats better wake up. Cue Warren and Sanders please! Brookings has a story on it as well.

Secret Service asks for $60 million to protect Trump

WaPo reports that the Secret Service requested $60 million to protect Trump and family. Um, this taxpayer says no. I want my tax dollars to go somewhere else. Oh, wait, that is not how this works. We should be appalled by this! Deficits, healthcare, cutting lunches for kids - all so he can have trips to Florida and his sons can conduct business???

Trump Organization is not forgoing foreign business and this includes Dallas

NYT reports that the Trump brand Scion that is eyeing a property in Dallas has deep ties to Russian and Turkish oligarchs . So the Trump business is not stopping foreign business and is continuing to to deepen its ties internationally. Why is this a problem? Because no decision Trump makes can be seen as not tainted.

Nunes really claimed incidentally gathering of info??

WaPo reports that David Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, claimed there was incidental info due to other wiretaps. Now, this bothers me because he went to visit the White House (um, if you are looking into the president you shouldn't be visiting with him) plus clearly the FBI denies this.  (NBCNews) Here is the thing: if they were wiretapping Trump Tower, then isn't that enough to raise some questions??? The Russia thing is a problem!

Koch Brothers against Trump?

Politico reports that the Koch Brothers promise to help fund Republicans who vote against AHCA. What does this mean exactly? I don't know.

Terror Attack in Britain

Several issues here. the WaPo reports that the man responsible was Brih born, although Muslim and influenced by terrorism (along with a criminal record). And of course Donald Trump Jr. attacked the mayor of London by taking his statement about preparedness out of context (WaPo). What this tells me is that nativism will not protect us; terrorism is more and more likely to be homegrown. And also, what if Londoners had guns? Would it have been worse (because he would have a gun) or better because others would have guns?

Brown Center Report on American Education from Brookings. Key findings:

• The U.S. continues to register mediocre scores on the Program for International Student Assessment, as it has done since the test began in 2000. U.S. performance in all three subjects—math, reading, and science—was no different statistically in 2015 than it was when each subject was first administered. 
• International students still think U.S. schools are much less challenging than schools in their home countries. In 2001, 55.9 percent of foreign exchange students surveyed said their classes in America were “much easier” than back home; in 2016, that increased to 66.4 percent.
• Analyzing data from California schools, Loveless finds that African-American students continue to be suspended at a higher rate than other ethnic groups. In 2013, the suspension rate for African-American students was 0.235, meaning 235 out of every 1,000 black students received a suspension; in 2015, it fell to 0.178. This is still dramatically higher than the 2015 rates of Hispanic students (0.052), white students (0.044) and Asian-Americans (0.012).

Republican Healthcare modifications

Three articles: WaPo reports Trump stumped on Capitol Hill for the plan, threatening to "come after" Repubs who oppose the bill . Wow. Just wow. Can you imaging any of the previous presidents doing that? I get it; people wanted different. But don't you think this is a little threatening and authoritarian? Wa Po also reports on some of the budgetary adjustments that are supposed to help Medicaid and older people . This is far from a finished piece of legislation, and it doesn't do all that it is supposed to. I am still just shaking my head about it because it falls far short of the changes that need to be made to go either in a true free market direction or in a single payer direction. NYT has a great graphic on how the Repubs will vote in the HOuse and a NYT Upshot that explains the changes that were made and an article that explains the role of upstate NY in these changes . These changes definitely turn control over to states. Whether that is good or not, ??? Probably not, I don't think.

Ivanka gets an office??

According to CNN, Ivanka is getting an office and security clearance and the UK Independent report Robert Reich likens it to a coup . I wouldn't go so far as to say it is a coup, and truthfully she seems relatively sane even if shallow and corrupt. My biggest issue is where are the conservative voices that yelled to heaven when Hillary advised on healthcare without being elected? This is far worse in my opinion. Such hypocrisy!

Tillerson skipping NATO

And further proof of the Russia connection and the attempt by Trump and the Repubs to turn the U.S. into an oligarchy along the lines of China and Russia, Reuters reported yesterday late that Tillerson is skipping a NATO conference to visit with the China President on a visit to DC followed by a trip to Russia later in April. Coincidence? I think not. Wake up Americans! Gee whiz!

And the Russian connection get thicker

WaPo reports that Manafort, Trump's campaign chairman, laundered money from Russia & Ukraine.  So when are we going to do something about this?? Oh that's right, the Republican Congress doesn't give a crap about Russian interference as long as they get their way. The Republican are despicable anarchists (with the exception of a couple) that need to be voted out of office. Seriously, they make me ill.

Further proof society has lost the ability to handle cell phones

when the President can't stop tweeting and Congress USES IT IN A HEARING!! (according to WaPo and just about every other news outlet) I mean, really dudes, put up the freaking phones.

What the Trump Budget misses

Brookings analyzes how Trump's budget misses key support for cities and states that are the real drivers of prosperity . Trump is cutting funding in ways local budgets can't make up and making it harder for localities to attract business. He needs to learn from Hoover's experience of not helping cities and states and from Nixon's example of turning over local control. Except that would mean reading and studying and not tweeting. Am I the only one who think the White House and Congress need to put up their cell phones?

Ignoring Blue States

WaPo reports that Trump is heavily visiting states where he won and Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that it was basic math, ignoring the popular vote. The most disturbing thing is that Trump is clearly ignoring other sides. He is not representing America - he represents himself and his vision of America.

9/11 Families file lawsuit against Saudi Arabia

the Skimm directed me to an NBC channel that covered the filing of the first 9/11 lawsuite against Saudi Arabia . I have to say I agree with this and was not thrilled that Obama vetoed the legislation. The Saudis need to be held accountable in one way or another.

Election 2020 - Cash me ousside how bow dah?

From my often funny husband:
"Someone I follow on Twitter commented today that watching Trump dodder through his post POTUS years would be fascinating and wodnered who his Dave Frost would be. I responded to that by pointing out that the 'cash me ousside how bow dah' girl would need a job. Allow your imagination run wild [on the responses].
My offering was 'The 16 election, how you rig dat hoe?"

ROFLMAO! That is greatness I can't post on FB because of conservative snowflakes.

So much for free speech and an exchange of ideas

I am no fan of Tomi Laren but CNN's story that her show was not in production this week after she expressed her honest opinion about abortion should appall anyone who believes in free speech.

Russia connections and the what the hearing tells us

Several links here that all cover a more combative angle on the Trump Russia hearings. First CNN Christine Amanpour video analyzing the hearing and the extent Russia is going to in order to weaken democracy . PolitiFact covered the false tweets by POTUS Trump . Mother Jones (a liberally biased magazing btw) critiques David Nunes for focusing on leak rather than Russian connections and for not knowing Carter Page and Roger Stone. This does ask some good questions, but it is important to note the bias. NBC News reports a Timeline of Trump Associates and their connections with Russia .

The CNN Amanpour video is what you MUST watch!

White House has "eyes and ears" in key Cabinets

WaPo reports that the White House has put political aides into positions in various cabinet agencies to spy on the agency and watch for "leaks".  Am I the only one who thinks this is awful? I guess all presidents do this to some extent, and maybe I am being Chicken Little, but this spooks me. I know, I know, don't be hysterical. And to be fair, I look for a swastika everywhere with Trump. Still, it is worth being aware of.

Highlights from the Gorsuch hearing

NYT has a great article that covers the Gorsuch hearings in solid and unbaised detail, in case you wondered.

So what's up with the the Congressional hearing on Trump & Russia?

WaPo has 3 articles, the first is really good: Six Big Takeaways . This is an analysis piece that distills all the news into the big ideas. Essentially the wiretapping has no evidence, FBI is carefully investigating ties to Russia, Dems think there is collusion, Repubs are towing the party line and looking for intelligence leaks. For more details  read WaPo's article on Comey's testimony and on the White House Repsonse.

Solution to Medicaid?

WaPo ran an opinion piece by Robert Samuelson states that Medicaid is out of control, but there is a way to respond.  This is a compelling argument to streamlining costs and putting the right government agencies in charge of the right spending. Disabled and elderly long term care would got to Medicare and the federal government while impoverished aid and medical coverage would go to states to respond to their poverty needs. It would control some of the oversight issues and make the system more responsive. Government doesn't need to be cut, but rather changed.

US keeps falling in happiness ratings

This is a bit of a silly article but it does point out at the end that Trump's policies will make things worse. WaPo reports the World Happiness Ratings are out (yes, there really is such a thing) and Norway is first, with the US  being 14th (we've been falling every year). What is notable is the impact of government policies on happiness because the government influences many aspects to our lives. We have no idea to what extent the government shapes our existence and a return to the Gilded Age won't help. (I can make a historical argument where the American people have rejected the Trump policies - in other forms - twice in modern history and three times since mid 19th century.

Remember the Healthcare Promises Trump Made? Yeah, He Lied.

Huff Po reports Mulvaney stating clearly that this healthcare plan will not cover everyone.  They are claiming they want a free market but the insurance companies thwart the free market.

Mulvaney, however, was more direct Sunday, just admitting that “insurance for everybody” is impossible, since Republicans refuse to put in place a mandate to buy insurance. (And they’re not interested in a single-payer system, which would also offer universal insurance access.)

Two different views on the Trump-Russia Connection

The New Republic talks about the concerns and connections of the Trump Campaign with Russia while The Intercept warns there is not a Russia Smoking Gun . I am concerned about the Russia connection but I agree that big issues are getting pushed off. We need to worry about the overall impact to American democracy from many directions.

The real story of the Merkel Trump meeting

Wa Po analyzed the meeting with Merkel and there are interesting take aways. First, Trump is embarrassing the U.S. And he doesn't understand how any of this works. Are there things to talk about with NATO - yes. But first you have to understand the thing. AAARRGGHHH. It is so frustrating.

“Trump’s comments misrepresent the way NATO functions,” Daalder told us. “The President keeps saying that we need to be paid by the Europeans for the fact that we have troops in Europe or provide defense there. But that’s not how it works.”

Founding Fathers and preventing a corrupted Presidency

WaPo covered why the Founding Fathers wanted the President to have a salary and it highlights that they did NOT want the President to have business ties. Since Trump has promised to donate his salary (which he has not done yet) and has not divested himself of business (really, really - his sons running the company??) we should be very concerned. So much for loving the country and the Founding Fathers. Trump is not wrapping himself in an American flag - he is wrapping himself in a for sale sign.

Wikileaks is more about privatization rather than deep state

WaPo has a fascinating story on where Wikileaks gets its info . It tells you that the push to find intel for security has caused us to be less picky about who is hired and that is leading to the leaks. I still have issues with Assange though. He's a putz, albeit a smart one.

A Divided White House

WaPo reports that the staff inside the WH is divided among NY elites and populists (so much for the Kushners running the show) and that the foreign policy is equally divided . All I can say is that this type of internal competition is chaotic. FDR and Hitler both used chaotic administration techniques. As did Andrew Jackson. I think it is a bad thing.

Eminent Domain for the Wall

The Daily Beast reports that people have started to receive notices.  So much for small government.

Kellyanne's husband gets a Justice Dept job

Read the WaPo story for yourself. Of course he got a job. Cronyism at its best.

So much for Student Loan Reform

WaPo reports (as did the NYT) that the Trump Administration Dept of Ed rolled back protections for people in default on student loan debt . Good lord. They really don't care. Pete Session today gave some drivel about the problem with student loans is not enough jobs. Eye roll.

Mercers: The Puppet Masters

WaPo has a story about How the Mercer Family partnered with Bannon to tear down our systems and give rise to the divisive populist climate. First, blame Citizens United. Second, be informed. The corruption is writ large and the Mercers are 21st century party bosses and all the negative that entails. They don't care about the middle class or the poor - they care about themselves.

Is there a deep state?

NYT poses the question about What happens when you fight a deep state that doesn't exist.  The issue to me is that Trump and Bannon are trying to destroy the government and create an oligarchy. So they attack agencies and facts and then act surprised when people stand up to them. The so called "deep state" is really opposition and resistance but authoritarian regimes see that as "deep state".

Still more budget information.....

Several links here: Brookings has two articles, one that looks at the negative effects of Trump's budget and the other on the damage to the Rust Belt area. And WaPo reports that his budget will do NOTHING for the deficit.  This budget is bad news. I know that the House will work on it as well but this is a terrible place to start. Let me channel Chicken Little: the sky is falling.

Pending Trade War??

WaPo reports that the G20 summit resulted in Mnuchin rejecting the statement and endorsing Trump's protectionist agenda . So what I wonder is how long until trade wars start? Don't we remember the impact of isolation and protection in the 1920s? Or tariffs in the 19th century? Sigh.

China urges a cool head to the U.S.

WaPo reports that China urges Tillerson and the US to keep their cool with N. Korea.  China. Urges. the U.S. to keep its cool. This is the world we now live in. The U.S. is now a joke and not a leader - except that we have more nuclear weapons. Yay us. :p

Cost of Trump goes beyond budget cuts

WaPo covered just how much Trump's travel and living arrangements cost.  I think their words say it all:

If Melania and Barron never move to Washington and if Trump heads to Mar-a-Lago for four out of every nine weekends, our estimates put the total cost at something like $526 million over the course of Trump’s presidency. Melania Trump is apparently planning to join her husband in Washington at the end of the school year, though, and Trump calls Mar-a-Lago the “winter White House,” implying that he won’t be there in the summer. In which case the overall spending plummets further.

To only, say, $130 million or so. Only enough to fund the homelessness agency until 10-year-old Barron Trump is 42.

Work requirement for Medicaid

WaPo reports major changes to Medicaid with the work requirement, not that I am surprised by that. It is worth being informed.

Trump & Co Supposed donations to Charity

WaPo reported that the Trump camp made at least 3 big promises about charitable donations that have not come to pass. Should we be surprised??

Alert on Healthcare

The last thing I want is the GOP Healthcare bill to gain support from anywhere . Contact your representative by phone and register your disapproval if you are so inclined.

German elections

From Brookings about Martin Schultz, the Social Democrat running against Merkel. 

AI promoting massive communication?

Al Jazeera shared this op ed Artificial Intelligence will delete nationalism . I don't know what I think about this, if I agree or not, but it is thought provoking. 

Healthcare Pinocchios

WaPo Fact-checked the White House Spin on Healthcare provides a good analysis on the CBO and how the spin is generating.

The American Dream in Paradise Lost

The Atlantic's Edward Simon writes about The Enduring Relevance of Milton's Paradise Lost . Great, smart piece about Milton and the nature of evil, or rather its banality. We must constantly be aware of how selfishness makes us evil and how we contort justifications to excuse it.

Budget Implications - Again

I know - I have already posted about the budget but this is a big deal to me because it represents an America I don't recognize. All of these articles come from WaPo. First the White House endorses removing 30,000 FAA workers . Yes, 30k. How is that for increasing unemployment. Not to mention flying safety. I guess we can privatize and make air safety a for profit thing. Next is a real analysis of the Meals on Wheels program that makes the Mulvaney comments ludicrous. And lastely is a great satirical piece by Alexandra Petri on how Trump's Budget Makes Perfect Sense . I know that budgets are always about negotiating and much of this is typical Republican cut the spending but haven't we already been here? The Gilded Age and the 1920s (both of which seem to be periods Trump wants to emulate) were rejected by Americans because as a nation we valued people. I am not saying Social Security and the Great Society Programs don't have unintended consequences that need to be addressed, just that throwing out the baby with the bathwater is not a good idea.

Trump's Taxes - The 2005 release leaves us wanting more

Brookings analyzed what the Rachel Maddow 2005 Tax Return version of Al Capone's vault in What Trump's tax return tells us . Non partisan, but it does point out that we should be asking more questions, like "Why don't you want to pay your taxes Donald? Why do you want to get ride of the AMT?" His presidency is a con job to enrich himself and make the US play by rules he sets. Just saying.

The Orwellian Spicer Press Room on Wiretapping annotated

I love, love, love when WaPo Annotates stuff, in this case Spicer's press meeting over the wiretapping claim . Seriously - if this topic bothers you then you should read this. Not only do you get a better picture of the real story, but you also get an insight into how the Trump Administration deals with the free press.

It is getting real folks (N. Korea I mean)

Three articles here that address the same issue of Sec of State Tillerson rejecting talks with N. Korea and adopting a new tactic. WaPo Tillerson says all options are on the table , BBC News US Speaks of N. Korea military option, and NYT Rex Tillerson Rejects Talks . What does this mean? He** if I know. On one hand, Tillerson could be using tough talk to drive China into a more aggressive action against N. Korea. The issue there is that China has not done enough to control the Kims, probably to maintain a sphere of influence and keep Japan in check. In addition, we have been "talking" to N. Korea for 20+ years with no sustained cooperation and Kim has simply increased their nuclear capabilities. On the other hand, is Tillerson venturing into a delicate diplomatic situation with Trumpian and Exxon bravado that will pull us to the verge, or into war in Asia? (And let us remember the history of fighting in Asia.....WWII, Korea, Vietnam..... our last big success was Commodore Perry's sailing into Yedo Bay and then the Teddy Roosevelt Great White Fleet.) You decide.

Congress Balks at Trump Budget and What is next for the Budget

Brookings nicely outlined Four Key Points regarding Trump's budget and the struggle is explained in WaPo Explaining how Republicans and Congress are not on board . And in case you forgot who is really hurt by the Trump Budget, read WaPo's analysis on the impact for the poor . I also saw on Twitter where the White House budget guy Mulvaney explained that Meals on Wheels and after school programs are not producing results and should be cut. It is sickening in my opinion. Immoral.

The Wiretap lie

Politifact reviewed Trump's claim with Carlson Tucker that the NYT initially reported the wiretap of Trump Tower and found it false (see previous post about Trump's truth rating). HuffPo reported that the Senate Intelligence Committee found no evidence although apparently Spicer and the White House doubled down on the lie. Can we impeach him yet? I am not crazy about Pence but Trump is nuts and surrounds himself with nuts.

Texas Public Utilities Commission isn't so concerned about the public

DMN Watchdog reports that the PUC ignored public requests to make it clearer when shopping for electricity providers . Are we really surprised? Texas has been a corporate bedfellow while claiming small government for some time. Be wary when shopping for electricity - there is no truth in advertising.

Texas Senate and Anti Abortion Bills

DMN reports that the Texas Senate approved two anti abortion bills . My issue is that it is politicians interfering between a woman and her doctor. I don't like abortion but this is a violation of privacy.

Congress is getting unhappy over Trump claims

NYT reports that members of Congress are stridently rejecting the wiretapping claims  and WaPo reports that they are demanding more cooperation on the Trump Russian connection . It is about time.

Easing Fuel Restrictions - Tin Foil Hat Warning

NYT Times reported that Trump plans to ease fuel emission restrictions to encourage auto jobs . Ready for the tin foil? Trump is friendly with the Saudis who are trying to improve their economy following increasing American oil independence, and the Saudis (despite their terror connections) just had a meeting with Trump. The budget allows for destroying the EPA, opening up reserves for exploitation. I get the feeling this is a plan to increase our dependence on oil for the Saudis and to turn the United States into a for real oligarchy along the lines of Saudi Arabia. I think I am starting to get paranoid.

As Trumpcare advances through the House, Brookings released a stinging rebuke

So WaPo reported that the House Budget Committee advanced Trumpcare to the House Floor even though the Freedom Caucus (Tea Partiers) voted against it. Brookings published a story from Fortune on the Pure Fantasy of Trumpcare by Henry Aaron, economist. What this tells us is that we as a country must have a real conversation about our expectations for health care.

More on the Trump Budget Implications

There are several relevant stories here.  If you are short on time go straight to the graphic. The first several come from WaPo: The Trump Budget will cut the arts, science, and assistance to the poor , and the Graphic Illustrates the Budget  . Basically the money will go to the military and homeland security (and part of that is the wall that Mexico is supposed to pay for) with some increases for Veterans Affairs (the only part of this I like), while pretty much every other department is cut. WaPo compares this Trump "Blueprint" to Reagan's re-organization and has two stories the analyze the impact to the arts and the impact to science and research. DMN addresses the Wall Price Tag in the Budget and the NYT echoes the concerns of WaPo on Trump Budget that will hurt his supporters (although there is more marginally more money to treat opiod addiction) and Elminating the National Endowment for the Humanities and Growing the Pentagon at the expense of the EPA .

I don't know about you, but this turns the country back 100 years in my opinion. He is creating a budget for himself and what he and his rich friends want. Gone will be national parks, historical sites, art programs, money for education. It is blowing up government as we know it.

The Federal System will prevent tyranny

WaPo reported that a Federal Judge froze the new travel & immigration ban on behalf of the state of Hawaii , and the NYT reported the challenge by 2 judges and this is a great lesson in the role of the branches of government and states. The irony is that the Repubs want to push everything back to the states but here is a state pushing back against the federal government's action. On one hand, it is good to see the federal system at work. On the other, I have real concerns about the confederation concept that appears to be emerging. It will frustrate the administration to be sure. And the travel ban will not solve terrorism and of course doesn't affect countries where Trump does business, like Saudi Arabia.