Happy Birthday Mr. President
Wouldn't it be great if the White House would begin to figure out that outright lying would eventually catch up to them; yet the president and his staff continue to not only spew more lies, but also to flout Ethics Laws.
(See: www. gobbledygook.com/news/kellyanne-conway-federal-ethics-rule-buy-ivanka-clothing/).
More importantly, I am finding more and more otherwise intelligent people becoming so acclimated by the lies coming from the Trump White House that they have given up caring. WARNING - this is EXACTLY what Trump and his advisors hope to accomplish - a normalization of lying to the point where no one cares. What's worse? Those same disengaged citizens have begun to ignore the media - and may actually begin to sympathize with Trump and discount them altogether. So what gives? Have some become so "shell-shocked" by the Trump "phenomenon" that they no longer care to be engaged at all? Who will defend Freedom of Speech, Expression, Thought and the Press if citizens disengage and become uninterested in protecting democracy?
I ran into someone recently that used to be well engaged in current political matters. She told me she is much happier these days because she is no longer paying attention to what is going on in the world. Although I can appreciate why this may be comforting, I cannot help but think that such a reaction is what the Trump folks want to establish (a brow beaten electorate more interested in leaving the protection of our democracy to others). This is dangerous. Perhaps as dangerous as having the top national security advisor to the president lie about pre-inaugural conversations with Russian officials and then having the Vice-President go onto national television and lie about it as well. Gee, see any similarities between being told one thing, standing up for it in public only to learn what you were told was not the truth? Didn't we have countless Congressional investigations into something similar to this (Benghazi?). (See: (See: www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?postshare=7221486693835937&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.164a69c3fa1c). Where is the outrage that the Trump Administration is still not coming clean on its relationship with Vladimir Putin and Russia? Does this not bother you? Not only are we cited false statistics (again even today), false terrorist incidents, but we have been directly lied to about the national security of our nation? How can anyone defend this?
Where is the outrage over the president spending two of his first three weekends golfing instead of being in the White House? I know, Trump was having high level meetings with the Japanese Prime Minister who also enjoys playing golf. But if they were strictly working while playing golf, why was Ernie Els a member of their golfing group? (See: www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/trump-plays-golf-els-japanese-prime-minister-abe/). Perhaps I am wrong, but if any "business" was discussed on the links, can anyone tell me what expertise Mr. Els could have provided to the "conversation", unless they were including South Africa in their "agenda."
Then we have the narrative that the Courts can never second guess the Commander-In-Chief when it comes to national security. Just today, Stephen Miller, a Senior Advisor to the Trump Administration declared on Meet The Press that "there's no such thing as judicial supremacy. What the judges did, both at the 9th and at the district level was to take power for themselves that belongs squarely in the hands of the president of the United States." (See: www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/trump-adviser-stephen-miller-district-judge-can-t-make-immigration-n719911). Since when doesn't the judiciary have a role in checking either the Legislative or Executive Branch? And when someone says the "law grants the president unchecked powers" the Court STILL has the authority to overturn the Legislation if it violates the Constitution. (Please note - Under Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch may limit Federal Court jurisdiction, but NOT the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in Constitutional controversies such as these). Sound like a lot of lawyerly gibberish? Perhaps, but it IS the way it works, whether high level folks in the government or partisan puppets say so or not.
Although there is plenty for me to comment on, I will leave you with this one thing. President Trump tweeted today the following; "First there was the Declaration of Independence, then there was the Constitution. Now there is #TimeToGetTough. Available today." twitter.com/RubinsRants/status/830871273400053766
Any former student of mine would be able to point out the mistake Trump just tweeted. If our President can't tweet American history properly, perhaps we should ALL get re-engaged and start to pay even closer attention to what is coming out of our White House. (The Articles of Confederation came AFTER the Declaration of Independence and BEFORE the Constitution).
In commemoration of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I will leave you with this quote: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." So re-engage, double down on your concentration and never forget, an active electorate is the best defense against those that pursue to strip us of our liberties. Have a great week!
(See: www. gobbledygook.com/news/kellyanne-conway-federal-ethics-rule-buy-ivanka-clothing/).
More importantly, I am finding more and more otherwise intelligent people becoming so acclimated by the lies coming from the Trump White House that they have given up caring. WARNING - this is EXACTLY what Trump and his advisors hope to accomplish - a normalization of lying to the point where no one cares. What's worse? Those same disengaged citizens have begun to ignore the media - and may actually begin to sympathize with Trump and discount them altogether. So what gives? Have some become so "shell-shocked" by the Trump "phenomenon" that they no longer care to be engaged at all? Who will defend Freedom of Speech, Expression, Thought and the Press if citizens disengage and become uninterested in protecting democracy?
I ran into someone recently that used to be well engaged in current political matters. She told me she is much happier these days because she is no longer paying attention to what is going on in the world. Although I can appreciate why this may be comforting, I cannot help but think that such a reaction is what the Trump folks want to establish (a brow beaten electorate more interested in leaving the protection of our democracy to others). This is dangerous. Perhaps as dangerous as having the top national security advisor to the president lie about pre-inaugural conversations with Russian officials and then having the Vice-President go onto national television and lie about it as well. Gee, see any similarities between being told one thing, standing up for it in public only to learn what you were told was not the truth? Didn't we have countless Congressional investigations into something similar to this (Benghazi?). (See: (See: www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/national-security-adviser-flynn-discussed-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say/2017/02/09/f85b29d6-ee11-11e6-b4ff-ac2cf509efe5_story.html?postshare=7221486693835937&tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.164a69c3fa1c). Where is the outrage that the Trump Administration is still not coming clean on its relationship with Vladimir Putin and Russia? Does this not bother you? Not only are we cited false statistics (again even today), false terrorist incidents, but we have been directly lied to about the national security of our nation? How can anyone defend this?
Where is the outrage over the president spending two of his first three weekends golfing instead of being in the White House? I know, Trump was having high level meetings with the Japanese Prime Minister who also enjoys playing golf. But if they were strictly working while playing golf, why was Ernie Els a member of their golfing group? (See: www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/trump-plays-golf-els-japanese-prime-minister-abe/). Perhaps I am wrong, but if any "business" was discussed on the links, can anyone tell me what expertise Mr. Els could have provided to the "conversation", unless they were including South Africa in their "agenda."
Then we have the narrative that the Courts can never second guess the Commander-In-Chief when it comes to national security. Just today, Stephen Miller, a Senior Advisor to the Trump Administration declared on Meet The Press that "there's no such thing as judicial supremacy. What the judges did, both at the 9th and at the district level was to take power for themselves that belongs squarely in the hands of the president of the United States." (See: www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/trump-adviser-stephen-miller-district-judge-can-t-make-immigration-n719911). Since when doesn't the judiciary have a role in checking either the Legislative or Executive Branch? And when someone says the "law grants the president unchecked powers" the Court STILL has the authority to overturn the Legislation if it violates the Constitution. (Please note - Under Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch may limit Federal Court jurisdiction, but NOT the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in Constitutional controversies such as these). Sound like a lot of lawyerly gibberish? Perhaps, but it IS the way it works, whether high level folks in the government or partisan puppets say so or not.
Although there is plenty for me to comment on, I will leave you with this one thing. President Trump tweeted today the following; "First there was the Declaration of Independence, then there was the Constitution. Now there is #TimeToGetTough. Available today." twitter.com/RubinsRants/status/830871273400053766
Any former student of mine would be able to point out the mistake Trump just tweeted. If our President can't tweet American history properly, perhaps we should ALL get re-engaged and start to pay even closer attention to what is coming out of our White House. (The Articles of Confederation came AFTER the Declaration of Independence and BEFORE the Constitution).
In commemoration of President Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I will leave you with this quote: "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties." So re-engage, double down on your concentration and never forget, an active electorate is the best defense against those that pursue to strip us of our liberties. Have a great week!
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