Category: US Politics

Can you dispute any of these ten points as basic human rights?

~ jlpagano

1. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE FREE.
2. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HEALTHY.
3. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE BRILLIANT.
4. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SAFE.
5. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE LOVED.
6. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE COURAGEOUS.
7. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ALIVE.
8. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE TRUSTED.
9. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE EDUCATED.
10. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.

What is your reaction to those ten points?

  1. Is it something like  – “Yes, they all make sense.”
  2. Or is it something like – “No, that’s bullshit.”
  3. Or is it something like – “Hmmm….tell me what the source is first?”

If it is the second one, fine.  Off you go.  You’re welcome to this site, but you probably won’t find anything you want here.

If it’s the third one, fine – here’s the source.

Now you know the source, is your answer 1 or 2?

Just a thought for the day.  Hat-tip to The Edge of Sports podcast.

Sorry we haven’t been posting much lately.  We hope to get back to it soon.  JLP

#IANWAE

Marches planned across the US pressuring Trump to release his tax returns #TaxMarch

~ jlpagano

April 15 is traditionally income tax filing day in the US.  When it falls on a Saturday, you actully have until the following Monday, but Americans across the country are using the weekend date to voice their concerns over the President’s failure to release his returns.

Throughout the campaign he switched between promising he would release his returns and stating he couldn’t because they were “under audit”.  Well this new filing can’t be audited yet so he surely has an opportunity to prove all the doubters wrong by simply showing us what he has been hiding all this time.

When we didn’t see Obama’s birth certificate, he took that to mean that he was born outside the US.  When we didn’t see Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails, he took that to mean she was engaged in criminal activity.  So using his own logic, what are we to take from his refusal to do what every presidential candiate has done for the last 40 years?

Here’s what the organisers of the “Tax March” have to say :

The Tax March is a movement gaining momentum around the country to demand transparency and fairness from our Commander-in-Chief. Throughout his campaign, Donald Trump told the American people he would release his tax returns. Despite intense public pressure, President Trump has not yet done so – breaking with 40 years of precedent in the process. His administration’s excuse? “People don’t care.”

We do care. Without seeing his tax returns, we have no idea what he’s hiding – shady business deals? Financial ties to foreign countries? Conflicts of interest? – or who his policies are really benefitting.

On April 15, we’re marching on Washington and in communities across the country to send a clear message to Donald Trump: You work for us, and we demand answers.

It will be interesting to see how the marches are covered by the mainstream media, if at all.

#IANWAE

Mainstream media and “deranged” liberals square off over Trump’s Syrian attacks

~ jlpagano

The bible on which Donald Trump was sworn in as President was still warm from his touch as Sean Spicer launched the administration’s first attack on the mainstream media.  We later learned they were considered “the enemy of the people” and purveyors of “fake news”.

But all that changed once the attacks were being launched in a more conventional military fashion.  Then all the insults were miraculously forgotten.

Among the most notable admirers of Trump’s unique foreign policy style, which involves informing fellow super powers of your actions over chocolate cake apparently, was CNN’s Fareed Zakaria who claimed that he was “finally being presidential”.

Look – of course he’s entitled to his opinion, nobody is disputing that.  But this article of his in the Washington Post appears to be a sign of him being unable to cope with the backlash he received from the “Left”, as he goes the route of cherry picking the most abusive comments and constructs an absurdly straw man view from the “liberal” standpoint.

From the response on the left, you would have thought I had just endorsed Trump for pope. Otherwise thoughtful columnists described my views as “nonsense” and a sign that the media has “bent over backward” to support Trump. (Really?) One journalist declared on television, “If that guy could have sex with this cruise missile attack, I think he would do it.” A gaggle of former Obama speechwriters discussed how my comments were perhaps “the stupidest” of any given on the subject.

So basically when your opponents use hyperbole it means they’re “deranged” yet it’s ok for you to suggest you had endorsed Trump for the papacy?

A lot of people disagree with you, Fareed.  Get over it.

Meanwhile here’s Lee “Geeky Jesus” Camp with his take on the whole affair, which would be much closer to our view here at FPP.  Yes, we know his show is backed by Russia Today.  But while we don’t always agree with his show’s viewpoint, it often makes a lot of sense.

For another example of the gap in opinion here’s The Young Turks appraising Fox News’ “This is what freedom looks like” narrative…

#IANWAE

Is what should be a “Trump Bump” at the polls already more like a “Trump Slump”?

~ jlpagano

On Tuesday, the Amercian people had their first chance to tell Donald Trump in a meaningful way what they thought of his overall performance so far.

He had appointed as director of the CIA Mike Pompeo, who had been a Republican member of the House of Repreasentives from the 4th district of the state of Kansas, and thus there needed to be a special election to fill his seat.

I’ll let the Kansas City Star tell you more…

Pompeo, a Republican who won by 31 percentage points in November, gave up his seat in the 4th Congressional District in January to serve as Trump’s director of the CIA.

GOP strategists warned in recent days that Democrat James Thompson, a civil rights attorney, was in striking distance against Estes, Kansas state treasurer from Wichita…

Trump made a personal push for Estes on his Twitter account Tuesday morning.

“Ron Estes is running TODAY for Congress in the Great State of Kansas,” Trump tweeted. “A wonderful guy, I need his help on Healthcare & Tax Cuts (Reform).”

In the end, Estes prevailed with 53 percent to Thompson’s 45 percent.

The fact that Trump got involved so late in the race (Pence did too…between them they did some “robo-calling“) shows how worried the GOP was.  And for a district that is so strongly Republican (Brits would call it a “safe seat”) to see a majority drop from 31 points to just 8 in the space of 5 months shows the fears were justified.

Many people ask me if there’s any point in bringing attention to all the crazy things that have happened in this administration…will there actually be any consequences?

Well if we’re hoping for impeachment then it’s only results like this that will help bring it about.  The Republicans currently control both the House and the Senate – the chances of either one flipping to the Democrats before the mid-terms in November 2018 are very slim.

BUT if enough results like this one in Kansas keep happening, there’s every chance a group of Republicans fearful of losing their own seats will see the benefit of speaking out against the sitting president.  And next week, there’s another special election which the Democrats might just win.

Tom Price was promoted from representing Georgia’s 6th district to being Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services despite numerous allegations of using his congressional office to personally profit from changes in legislation.  You may remember Price for standing beside the President as the Democrats were being blamed for the failure of Trumpcare.  Now his seat needs filling and the Democrats are confident they can overturn a 23-point deficit from last November.

Believe it or not, I’m not 100% excited by the prospect of the Democrats doing well right now.  Sure, anything that hurts Trump & the GOP is overall a good thing, but despite their having this much power, the Dems have done precious little to address their own failures in recent times.

It remains to be seen what changes will be made by new party chair Tom Perez but if more of these early special elections go his party’s way, he could be tempted to “sit tight” and do nothing, hoping the Repubicans implode so he won’t have to go the more “radical” (a word the MSM would probably use, I’d use “sensible”) route of giving more seats at the top table to the ever-growing Progressive wing.

We will still be following the events from “Georgia 6th” next week with much interest though.

#IANWAE

 

Trump probably won’t call media coverage of his Syrian air strikes “fake news”

~ jlpagano

As always, FAIR.org are on the ball to point out pro-establishment sentiment in the mainstream media.

The headline of the piece by Adam Johnson pretty much says it all – “Five Top Papers Run 18 Opinion Pieces Praising Syria Strikes–Zero Are Critical“…

No need to debate the morality or utility of the strikes, because the scene played out per usual: Dictator commits an alleged human rights violation, the media calls on those in power to “do something” and the ticking time bomb compels immediate action, lest we look “weak” on the “global stage.” Anything that deviates from this narrative is given token attention at best.

One thing the “failing” New York Times does point out, however, is the evolution of President Trump’s opinion on how to deal with Syria since 2013…

Of course the use of chemical weapons was disgusting.

But the failure to note the profound lack of sincerity in the president’s verbal response (which included him clearly forgetting the name of “Sarin” gas) demonstrates that when it comes to military matters at least, very little has changed in mainstream opinion , even with this administration.

Since the airstrike people seem a lot more interested in fawning over their knowledge of the hardware used to carry out the attack than they do remembering exactly what it was supposedly being done for.

It was bombs being dropped on children.  Children.  Never mind the gas for a moment.  Bombs being dropped on children.  If anything appears to be an afterthought in the media, it’s that. JLP

#IANWAE

A Week Of President Trump : Mar 18-24, 2017

~ jlpagano

Week 9

We really don’t need to summarize this week in Trump as Bill Maher has done it for us…

One of the amazing things about this Presidency is the amount of things he has on the go at one time.  Right now on Friday we’re all talking about Trumpcare yet just last Monday it was announced that Trump’s campaign is officially under investigation for collusion with the Russians, and is doing his best to deflect attention any way he can..

President Trump isn’t just lying to the American people; he’s saying, almost openly, that the truth just doesn’t matter either way.

…but here at FPP our attention was most drawn to the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and in particular the questioning of Senator Al Franken –

“It makes me question your judgment.”

…I’m pretty sure that’s the whole point of the proceedings in the first place, and in the case of that “frozen trucker” I most certainly agree with Senator Franken.  Gorsuch tried to defend himself by saying he has “ruled in favour of the little guy” in the past, but for me that’s like a robber offering a plea of “Why are you only judging me on this armed robbery – what about all the other times I went into a store and DIDN’T hold a gun to the cashier’s head?”

Then there’s Ivanka working in the White House.  That’s just plain weird on many levels.  Imagine Fox News if Chelsea Clinton did the same thing had Hillary won?

…ethics advocates express “deep concern about the highly unusual and inappropriate arrangement that is being proposed for Ivanka Trump, the President’s daughter, to play a formalized role in the White House without being required to comply with the ethics and disclosure requirements that apply to White House employees,”

Finally this week we’re going to let Rachel Maddow have something of a victory lap after the grotesque failure of Trumpcare.  The battle is far from over but she’s had a rough ride and it’s good to see her so happy.

While the President has the cojones to blame the Democrats…

“We were very close … and had no Democratic support. They weren’t going to give us a single vote”

…Maddow has a slightly more realistic take.  JLP

#IANWAE

Click here for last week’s post.

A Week Of President Trump : Mar 11-17, 2017

~ jlpagano

awopt-logo

Week 8

In real political terms, the biggest news this week in Trump revolves around his first budget proposal.  It is disgusting for anyone who isn’t uber rich, if not all that surprising.

President Donald Trump’s first budget outline, calling for a security-heavy realignment of federal spending, drew resistance on Thursday from his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress as many balked at proposed deep cuts to diplomatic and foreign aid programs.

There is no way his proposals will be fully implemented…the President’s first drafts never are.  They must be approved by Congress so there is much haggling to do.  Still, it’s pretty clear where his priorities lie (cough! military industrial complex).

Meanwhile…Trumpcare.  The thing is being passed around like a hot potato.  Is it Paul Ryan’s bill?  Is it the GOP in general?  Well whatever anyone says, it’s always Trumpcare to me.  You said Obamacare was a disaster, so you take ownership of the replacement.  Once you can get one that actually can be implemented, of course.

In an interview with Fox News, the president tried to make it look like he has the general public in mind…

“We will take care of our people, or I’m not signing it,” Trump added. “If we’re not going to take care of the people, I’m not signing anything.”

But the question is…who does he see as “our people”?

Then there’s his “Muslim Ban 2.0”.  Also a shambles…

A federal judge in Hawaii has put President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban on hold, issuing an emergency halt to the order just hours before it was set to go into effect.

The President was not happy as he addressed an adoring throng in Nashville…

“The order blocked was a watered-down version of the first order. This ruling makes us look weak, which we no longer are.”

Next we have Trump’s mystical tax returns – Rachel Maddow was ridiculed for making too much of having just two pages “mysteriously” leaked to her show – we thought that was harsh on her, though she did a much better job making her case herself on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show…

Then there’s the wiretapping, as Trump doubles and triples down on his allegations via his mouthpiece…

In a remarkably combative exchange with reporters at his daily news briefing, Spicer was asked whether Trump still believes Obama ordered the alleged surveillance effort.

“He stands by it,” Spicer said, going on to assail journalists for the way they have reported on the controversy.

Finally, Enda.  I’m no fan of his.  But he had to go visit Trump. He had to be diplomatic. And he had to invite him here.  I’m not saying I’m happy about it, but that’s part of what statesmanship is all about.  It’s all too easy to cry foul from the left and more often than not it’s justified, just not here in my humble opinion.

Mr Kenny also congratulated Mr Trump on his electoral victory. “You beat them all, whatever they say,” he said, noting that he had contested 20 general elections himself.

I want to see the Irish Left keeping the issues that matter front and centre here.  Leave the Trump bashing to unelected bloggers like me.  😉

And that was the latest week of President Trump.  JLP

#IANWAE

Click here for last week’s edition

 

Latest @BestOfTheLeft podcast is called “Living In An Empire Of Lies” – should we trust it?

~ jlpagano

Twice a week, the Best of the Left podcast from Jay! Tomlinson (yes he has an exclamation point in his name…deal with it) takes the best clips on a common theme from a range of mostly-Progressive sources and puts them together with apt choices of musical interludes separating them along the way.

The latesr midweek edition is titled “Living In An Empire Of Lies” and deals with propaganda and the use of distorted truth to control the masses.

Sure, you can presume it’s all about Trump.  But before we in Ireland throw stones, what do we think our own house is made of in this area?  Just yesterday we featured RTÉ’s “coverage” of the Mary Boyle case, and mainstream media’s coverage (or often lack thereof) is one of the principal functions of this site.

Anyway…here are a few quotes from the podcast…

Having trouble tracking down the name for this first quote but it was in an interview on the This Is Hell podcast…

“…unless we’re going to hold states to some sort of universal code of morality and try to transcend our particular locality or arbitrary nationality, we end up with just bias and ignorance which facilitates the worst war crimes that can be imagined.”

Next we have an interview with former US Supreme Count judge David Souter, and I can have absolutely no argument with this sentiment – the same applies to Ireland…too many people know too little about the Oireachtas and how it works.

“I don’t believe there is any problem of American politics in American public life which is more significant today than the pervasive civic ignorance of the Consitution of the United States’ structure of government.”

Last but certainly not least we have the Reverend Roger Ray.  O that all religious sermons could be like his.

“Martin Luther King, Jr. insisted that education was failing on two fronts: we were failing to teach students to think critically, and we were failing to teach character. A shocking number of people fall for fake news and it is changing our government and our society. King’s complaint is very relevant to our present crisis, as we now appear to live in an Empire of Lies in which speaking the truth appears to be treason.”

#IANWAE

Media should put professional jealousy aside and listen to Rachel Maddow on Trump’s tax returns

~ jlpagano

Last night Rachel Maddow posted an attention-grabbing tweet ahead of her weeknightly 9pm slot on MSNBC.

She then proceeded to make her entire show about the issue.  Here’s a snippet.

Given how we had previously seen nothing of his tax returns up to this point, you’d think the media would be buzzing about this news?  Wrong.

Rachel Maddow Lands a Scoop, Then Makes Viewers Wait – said the New York Times

Rachel Maddow Just Trolled Us All For Ratings – said Mediaite

Rachel Maddow Turned a Scoop on Donald Trump’s Taxes Into a Cynical, Self-Defeating Spectacle – said Slate.com

And that’s just the so-called “left-wing” media….the likes of Drudge, Fox News & Breitbart also had a field day with it, but you can check those links yourself if you want.

I have already pointed out that I’m not wild about Rachel Maddow’s overall style of presentation…but I will say this – it’s a definitive style from which she does not deviate.  And if you put your prejudice aside and listen to what is being said, you will find she is making a relevant point way more often than not.

Were we meant to think that in having these tax returns she had a smoking gun that was guaranteed to bring down the President?  Well all I can say is that if we did, then we’ve only ourselves to blame.  Modern media is about grabbing your attention – I saw nothing in her original tweet that I haven’t seen in countless others from every outlet.

She had two pages of Trump’s returns from 2005, and she used here entire hour to explain in detail…

  1. what was in it,
  2. what WASN’T in it,
  3. why it’s important to speculate as to who leaked it,
  4. most crucially, why we should be concerned with the man’s tax returns in the first place.

On first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking we want to see his returns because we want to know if he paid his taxes.  And funnily enough, on this particular year 2005, he seems to have done so.  This is why I personally believe he leaked them himself.

But what Maddow does in her show is point out that there are many other important bits of information to be gleaned, and this can only be done by accessing ALL of his records, dating back as far as is humanly possible.

Does he owe anyone money who might be benefitting from his Presidency?

Does he really give as much money to charity as he claimed throughout the campaign?

How much does he stand to make personally if his proposed new tax plan takes effect?

The media should put petty jealousies aside and instead join Rachel in reminding the public as to the importance of asking such questions.   Otherwise, when she does other good reporting, like she did last Friday suggesting Mike Pence has been lying about what he knows about Michael Flynn, she will be ignored.

Actor Wil Wheaton put it best on twitter…

 

Hey – if we can listen to a reality-TV billion-heir, why not also listen to Wesley Crusher, right?  JLP

#IANWAE

And so #Trumpcare is born…let’s be sure and call it that

~ jlpagano

“Nobody knew healthcare could be so complicated”

Of course the President was referring to the “royal nobody” when he made that incredible statement!

What say we at least agree with him, since we all know it to be true.  My knowledge of a healthcare system is even more limited than his.

However, that does not mean I can’t have an opinion on the general aims of a health service.  And mine is that it our government should do all it can to ensure that it is accessible to all citizens.

When it comes to the nitty gritty of the new plan, I’m happy to let sources like Time magazine break  it down for me, like in this article titled “5 Things to Know Now About the GOP’s Obamacare Replacement Plan” :

The bill drastically cuts tax credits for the oldest and poorest Americans, while giving the upper class a major tax break. It also rolls back the Medicaid expansion and nixes the individual mandate, which requires everyone to buy health insurance. Crucially, it has not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, so overall impacts are tough to gauge at this early point.

But even before we delve too deeply into all of that, can we make sure one thing happens.  We need to stop referring to this as an “Obamacare replacement”.

Both Donald Trump personally and the Republicans generally have done nothing but attack The Affordable Care Act since its inception.  In fact, they were responsible for some of the tweaks to the original legislation that brought about it’s current flaws.

Now, after six years of whinging and moaning and calling it a ‘disaster’, they have to be given ownership of this new plan.  And I don’t even think the GOP Congressfolk will have too many problems with my suggestion of a new name : #Trumpcare.

(note – I’m not saying I’m the first to think of it, I’m merely suggesting we all start using it!)

Let me be clear…I WANT it to work!!!  The only thing is…my definition of “work” doesn’t mean sustained or increased profits for insurance and pharmaceutical companies, rather it means, like I said previously, affordable care for as many citizens as possible.

But as we assess whether or not it will work, let us at least be sure to call it something that signifies who now owns it.