Points For and Against the Current Oval Office Occupier

For---
1.  He kept us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  I've covered the disastrous downside of that Trade Pact elsewhere on this venue, so won't go into it again in this piece.  Talks related to joining the TPP were started under Dubya Bush, and accelerated under Obama.  Trump killed it his first day in office.

If interested in why the TPP is the worst Trade Treaty in history, use this blog's Search function to locate my assessment of it.  Or even better, Google/Bing/etc. :  Lori Wallach and the TPP.

2.  There is no number 2.  I was tempted to list his meetings with North Korea, but decided against it because he's the one who provoked that country with virtually insane threats of nuclear annihilation.  The person really responsible for averting (for now, at least) catastrophe is the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.

Against---
1.  He's a serial liar; he, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  In terms of frequency of lying, Trump beats out both Dubya Bush and Obama... which I didn't think was possible by anyone.

2.  He's mentally unstable, and thus emotionally unfit to be in any political office, much less the Presidency.  He, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  Now admittedly, I've had only a couple university pysch courses; however, you don't have to be a master carpenter to recognize a shack.  😊  Plus, there's a long list of psychologists and psychiatrists who have stated that he needs to be professionally examined.

3.  Based on his words and actions, he doesn't have a broad understanding of anything that a President should know.  His understanding of key issues, world affairs, diplomacy, statesmanship, war, the economy, the environment, fiscal and monetary matters, cultural matters, science, genuine capitalism, the Law, health matters, etc. is so limited as to be nothing short of comical.

4.  He promotes divisiveness in our country and in the world.  Plus, such promotion is not inadvertent.  He does it on purpose.

5.  While in office (never mind previous to that), he has violated Laws of the Land.  Here's only one example---
https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2017/07/trumps-violation-of-nepa-sepa-laws-rules.html
Read it carefully.  The acronyms and other abbreviations used are not as confusing as they first appear.

6.  He doesn't have even a rudimentary understanding of the United States Constitution.  Many times, he has violated his Oath of Office by failing to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution.  For example, he (like many other Presidents) has violated the War Clause of Article I, Section 8.  Another example--- the Executive Branch (of which he's in charge) violates the Fourth Amendment on an almost daily basis.  Another example--- it's crystal clear that Trump is violating the Emoluments portion of Article I, Section 9 (the Nobility Clause).

7.  As President, his conflicts of interest truly are beyond the pale.

8.  Similar to numbers 1 & 2 above, Trump is the King of Public Gaslighters.  Nothing he says can be trusted.

9.  He cares not at all for the common people of this country.  He's merely manipulating & using some of us in order to further enrich himself.  This is so obvious that it's painful.  Some of his supporters finally have realized it.

10.  He is both an embarrassment and a danger to this country.  I've detailed all that in previous posts, so enough said.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  For any new readers, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.  Ironically, neither is The Don.

Impeach the Fake President

Below is a copy of the bulk of an email I sent to my New Mexico Congressman, Representative Lujan.

...........................................

Whenever possible & appropriate, I hope you will share the following with your colleagues.

1.  I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, but I've been keenly observing American politics since 1956 (1956 is not a typo)... for about 15 years now as an Independent.

2.  Trump has violated the Constitution at least twice... emoluments, and bombing without approval from Congress... not only the Syrian airfield, but elsewhere as well.  [The fact that other Presidents have taken similar actions does not mean that Trump's actions are legal.  The War Powers Act does not supercede the Constitution.]

3.  He has violated NEPA (Nat'l Environmental Policy Act) at least once.  [Environmental regulatory compliance is one of my areas of expertise.] The DAPL Project requires an EIS (Environmental Impact Statement); there's no question at all about that.  Immediately prior to Trump taking office, the Army had filed an NOI (Notice of Intent) to complete the EIS ; in February, they cancelled that NOI, and later, Trump bragged about closing his eyes & just signing it (the authorization for DAPL).  He did so without a NEPA-required EIS in place.  In short, he violated the Law.

4.  He has made us a laughingstock throughout the world.

5.  His conflicts of interest are beyond belief.

6.  Republicans in Congress are starting to desert him.

7.  It's time to get serious about the Articles of Impeachment that already have been introduced.

...................................................

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Why Most American Presidents Should be Considered Puppets

Below is my response to an email from a family member.  The bulk of his email was a reprint of an article about Obama in the final issue of Newsweek.  [Apparently the magazine is ceasing publication.]  The article lambasted Obama with a variety of assertions.
_____________________________

I agree with most of this, but take issue with the following.

1.  Obama's first job after college was not as a "community organizer", but instead was with Business International, a mega business consulting firm and a known CIA front.

2.  His Marxism was "warmed over" because it was an act.  He's a Corporatist, not a Marxist.  He became a multi-millionaire while in office.  He failed to prosecute fraudulent Mega Bankers, even when the fraud was admitted... and the evidence supporting that admission was clear.  He received more campaign $ from Big Biz than did McCain.  In his first term, he kept all the Wall St. Bush economic people in his Admin.  Anyone who believes Obama was on the so-called "Left" is the victim of unmitigated Propaganda... & that Propaganda worked.

3.  He did have a record in the Senate:  he supported the Afghan & Iraq wars, the Death Penalty, voted for the PATRIOT Act, voted against Universal Health Care, and supported anything that favored the highest 1% on the economic ladder.  [None of that record is in the slightest a "Marxist" record.]

Obama certainly was/is unqualified, but he's definitely NOT any kind of Socialist.  The Newsweek author simply is reinforcing the Propaganda that most Americans bought into.

.......................

Let's see if Trump, who is facing an imploding economy, blames Obama for economic woes the way O blamed Bush.  I'd say there's a very good chance that he will.  Funny thing is, they both have a good case... that's because the Cabinet members & other economic advisors aren't really "Conservative" OR "Liberal"... instead, they're Corporatists who promote Boom & Bust cycles that benefit the Super-Rich.  They bamboozle ANY President into thinking they're on the right track with that policy (of course, they don't use Boom-Bust terminology).  As I look at Trump's Cabinet & Advisors on economic policy, it's easy to predict that's exactly what will happen to the President-Elect.  Just watch.

Happy Trails

p.s.  Thanks for the piece.  It reinforces my belief that the Corporate Media (including Newsweek) are way beyond those old, worn-out labels of "Conservative" and "Liberal".  Every one of them is Corporatist... and their main objective is to benefit the 1%.

_________________________

On a similar note---

Don't know how I missed this piece, but just a bit ago I finished watching a documentary (on Netflix) narrated by Matt Damon, titled Inside Job.  It's from the year 2010, and is an analysis of the 2008 Crash.  Although I was familiar with most of the facts explained, the film blew me away.

Long story short, the piece showed how the Administrations of Reagan, Poppy Bush, Clinton, Dubya Bush, & Obama, plus Oligarchs in the Financial Sector, plus Presidential advisors from academic economics---all essentially more or less in collusion--- were responsible for the last Crash.  The devastating role of bizarre financial derivatives was laid bare, as well as the utter failure of governmental regulation, and how millionaire economic advisors shape Executive policy.

Bottom line--- American Presidents (with very few exceptions) have been molded economically by BIG Business reps and academic millionaire economists to the point where the Presidents are mere puppets...at least, when it comes to issues such as finance, the economy, jobs, & the like.  Those issues are the most important ones to almost all of us.  If you can't make a decent living, all the other issues don't matter.  The only possible exception to that statement is the issue of Freedom.

Finally, as pointed out in the film, those "academic" economic advisors became millionaires by giving speeches to mega corporations at $100,000 or more a pop.  After advising the President, many/most of these economists then move on to high corporate positions at an annual salary of $300,000 or so.  A question should arise as to conflict of interest, eh?

Don't miss Inside Job.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well