Only a few months ago Democrats were issuing slurs and insults about the confusion and disarray of Republicans. Now, since the election results in November and the inauguration on January 20th , the table has turned and they are acting like spoiled children and over-paid athletes.
Democrats and their sympathizers have been holding “women’s parades,” processions of chanters carrying signs that say “Trump is not my president,” burning cars and reinforcing the falsehood that the President is not legitimate. Restaurants have been closed and private property destroyed to show that immigrants do matter. An editor of some fetid left-wing magazine suggested that this new administration is brain dead. In a press conference, the President countered that, to the contrary, the White House and his administration “are working like a fine-tuned machine.”
On August 20th, 2012 then President Obama drew a red line in Syria regarding use of chemical weapons by President Assad on his people. Reports indicate that Assad has killed about 500,000 of his own people and 11 to 13 million Syrians have become refugees; a tremendous burden to the world, excluding Russia, China and North Korea who don’t take refugees. Why wasn’t Assad pulled out of Syria by his armpits and put on trial at the International Tribunal in The Hague for crimes against humanity?
Answer? Feckless American leadership whose unwillingness to act bordered on collusion in many people’s minds. One thing is for certain – the Russians knew just want to do in such a “vacuous vacuum.”
The NAFTA trade agreement took effect on January 1, 1994 and the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) was signed in Auckland, New Zealand on February 4th 2016 after years of discussion and negotiation. However, on January 23, 2017, the United States indicated that we would withdraw from the provisions of the TPPA agreement and President Trump has indicated that similar revisions will be made to NAFTA and other trade agreements. These changes, the President says, are being made in order to bring jobs back to the USA.
Recently North Korea leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half brother and sometime critic of his half brother died on the way to a Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia hospital. Half brother Kim Jong Nam may have been sprayed with a fast-acting poison causing death. A North Korean man and woman are being held by Malaysian authorities.
Mr. Kara-Murza, 35, is a Russian journalist formerly stationed in the U.S. by a Russian TV station who lies near death in a Russian hospital. He was apparently too close with Boris Nemtsov, a Russian politician who was assassinated on February 15, 2015, and noted for being critical of Putin policies. These are examples of the way oppressive governments deal with critics. It might be appropriate if we lowered our rhetoric of comparing our politicians with tyrants like Hitler and Vladimir Putin.
Acting on a fantasy dream of moderation by Iran, the United States along with Germany, France, the UK, Russia, China and the EU signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in July 2015, aka, The Iran Nuclear Deal. Since then, Iran has expanded their military, continued to develop and fire ballistic missiles and continues funding the Assad Syrian Military, the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In January of 2015, two U.S. Navy boats were captured by Iran and the crews were subjected to denigration and ridicule. While the JCPOA was intended to keep Iran from developing nuclear warfare capabilities for 10 years, Trump has told the world that he is going to take steps to keep Iran from ever becoming a nuclear power.
The trade deficit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau has increased from $503.6 billion in 2009 to $734.3 billion in 2016 an increase of $231 billion. The U.S population has increased from 281.4 million in 2000 to 324 million in 2016; the workforce in 2000 was 155,363,412 and today is just 152,161,373, there are five million fewer manufacturing jobs than in 2000; there are 15 million more workers NOT in the workforce.
Incomes have increased 4% since 2000 but the cost of new homes has increased about 52%. Over the past six years, murders have increased nationally from 14,900 to 15,696. Since 2007, the number of diabetics has increased from 23.6 million to 29.1 million; 9% of our population.
Unless we unite by gender, race, political party and whatever else divides us to solve our domestic and international challenges, the world could become a vast wasteland of squandered opportunities.
Dick Baynton
