Trump's Carrier Nonsense

Ha!  It probably had to happen this way but DJT has just stepped on himself... Big Time!  

Carrier, a United Technologies owned company, has 2100 employees at a plant in Indiana.  It had decided to send those jobs to Mexico.  Trump had said he would prevent that by installing a tariff on the goods coming back into the country from Mexico.  When he went to make a "deal" with Carrier to stop the loss of jobs in the U.S. what did he do?

Most logical people would say he only got 40% of the jobs saved.  That is, that he failed.  Not Mr. Trump.  He says he won because his "deal" kept 800 jobs in the U.S.  By what stretch of the imagination is that a win?  How did he pull off this miracle "deal"?  

Since Mike Pence, his running mate and Vice President elect, is still the Governor of Indiana he offered to fleece the citizens of Indiana for $7 million.  DJT needed Pence to still be Governor to pull this off.  In exchange he got no guarantee of a time frame for how long this "deal" is good for.  He "saved" 800 jobs at the expense of the people of Indiana AND at the expense of the remaining 800 employees.  This travesty is just what we have come to expect from DJT lying repeatedly and telling his minions that he is great.  It might be he wants to say, He is great.  Dictator much?  He, DJT, still lost 1300 jobs in the net AND we have no idea how long the "deal" is good for.

Now imagine board rooms all over the country, especially in states with Republican Governors, saying, "Look, I know how to get more value out of our Company...  we'll threaten to move the company to Mexico (actually insert the country of choice)."  It will be a gold rush like you have not seen in your lifetime to rape the citizenry.

Meanwhile, south of the border here is the feeling about the King with no clothes.

Less politely, if that's possible, is this one:

Yeah, that's the thing, DJT is touting his awesomeness while the rest of the world laughs its collective butt off.

Swamp or Not

Clearly the DJT continuation of infesting the swamp has gone on unabated for the entire time after the election.  Even though DJT lost the popular vote (again in most place it is simply called the "vote") he insists that he has a mandate.  He has no such thing but that does not deter him.

He makes poor choice after poor choice on his Cabinet members.  Each one of those chosen are antithetical to good governance.  Putting the fox in charge of the hen house does not begin to describe what is happening.  DJT is coming at us from every direction.  In the Congress there is discussion of cratering Social Security, Medicare and the ACA (ObamaCare).  From the picks for the Cabinet there is discussion to voucherize (privatize) the educational system.  The economy will be overseen by those who exacerbated the recent economic melt down.  Commerce and Transportation will be overseen by those with clear conflicts of interest.  On and on it goes.  In Ronald Reagan's time his administration was rife with people who during and after his term in office were convicted of all manner of felonious conduct.  It has been put on steroids under DJT tutelage.  

A bumpy ride is turning into a hurricane of consequence at this point.

Perhaps a Ponder

We find ourselves in an increasingly disintegrating government due, in large measure, to the seeming absence of the Fourth Estate.  That, in turn, is due to the media now being in the effectively complete control of corporate interests.  If you have not noticed that ABC news, for example, cannot go a full broadcast without referencing a Disney product then you just are not paying attention.  If you think the spin put on nearly ever story by Fox News comes days or even weeks after an events airing by other networks then you are not paying attention.  It takes them awhile to think up creative lies that can be disseminated by the misrepresentations they promote.  If you have not noticed that many events have no coverage at all then you are not paying attention.  It can be cited that minimal attention was paid to the TPP, Keystone XL pipeline, DAPL protests or, unless it suited an anti-protest line due to this bias.  You may never have heard the phrase, “Net Neutrality” for the same set of reasons.

The press is slowly being denied access to the stories by Trump’s minions even before he takes office.  There is twitter storm every time Trump does not LIKE something.  It is a counter offensive that knocks the press out of reporting actual news.  We are dependent upon having a real and concerned press.  Trump has said that he wants to collar the press.  His minions (Steve Bannon comes to mind) are all for a dark out of the media.  They have already moved to silence the press and protest.  Freedom of speech encompasses both ideas in the First Amendment to the Constitution.  The press is essential to a democracy.  There is no easy way to turn back from the criminal direction the Trump election is pushing us.  Let us be truly clear here.  Trump himself is just part of the symptom.  He is not even the head of the snake.  He has only a monetary worth of 10% or less of the Koch brothers (if he has any worth at all).  Ponder that for a moment.  Trump said after Mitt Romney was defeated that Romney (purported net worth of around $200 million) just did not have the juice to win… in part because he did not have the net worth of Trump.  Trump then started to dig in for a run at the Presidency.  The real damage has been created by the octopus that is the Koch network of creative lying but even THAT is not the head of the snake.  We have a corporate domination that wants all the rules to disappear. 

Ponder some more and you will eventually come to see that real freedom is in as much danger as it has ever been.

What've You Been Smokin'?

Gads, this past week has been an intense rumble through political insanity.  On all sides people are urging “everyone” to chillax and give Trump an open mind.  Yet every single he moves to see that we all lose rights.  Every day his team does one more outrageous thing.  The folks that voted for him are saying we “all” need to give him a chance. 

He has been telling us what he will do.  Deport 3 to 4 million people by creating a deportation squad.  He is green lighting climate deniers to gut environmental safety net.  He is nodding when Paul Ryan says he will gut Medicare.  They will steal Social Security.  They will repeal (and perhaps some day replace) the Affordable Care Act knocking 20 million citizens off of medical coverage.  Yes, the list continues ad infinitum. 

Jobs?  That’s sidelined.  The TPP?  That’s a go ahead even though the campaign said it was a no go.  Net Neutrality?  Not a chance.  Barrow and run up the national debt to create infrastructure.  If a Dem is ever elected again the GOP will scream bloody murder that the debt is too large but will remain absolutely silent while they create it.  Jobs will continue to flee overseas.  Minimum wage increase… again it will disappear. 

What have we gained from this election?

Nothing but the whirlwind is gained.  If you think otherwise send me a sample of what you’ve been smoking.

We Are Sooo Screwed

So, post election we find ourselves in a very different world.  We find ourselves with a President Elect who resembles in almost every way the AntiChrist.  There were mass protests in major cities the day after with, apparently, some were wounded near a protest site in Seattle.  All of the deplorable behavior Trump displayed during an election season unlike anything I have ever seen is now seemingly normalized.

The ride will get very from here.  Unions will be under attack.  Protest will be ignored and further suppressed.  The Supreme Court is now going to be a battle ground.  The ACA is going to disappear.  The wall will go up between the U.S. and Mexico.  The list is nearly endless.  Every Progressive right now is concerned for everything won against the fascist’s agenda that is to come.  Trump with nuclear codes is a nightmare I cannot even begin to fathom.  There is likely nowhere to hide.

Slacking a Bit

In watching developments the past few weeks there have been memes galore!  Ohmy, but they just keep getting better.

That sort of sums it up for today.  Yet there is so much more going on.  The Bundy's, the death of A. Scalia, the local issues, the gun violence and so forth.  It's a great time to be getting ready to vote or caucus in the primaries.