Tag: political blog

Keep Smiling Sucker

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Keep Smiling Sucker

D. S. Mitchell

I started writing the Calamity Politics blog to present the urgent political news of the day. I take pride in presenting current and meaningful issues in the hope of connecting with people that have similar political leanings. There is also a bit of silliness, now and then.

I want to be a supportive voice of the “Resistance”. I, like so many others this political season have become unbelievably energized by the election of Donald Trump. He defines everything I don’t want in a man; much less a president. I have never previously been ashamed of a U.S. president, but knowing that Donald Trump is the “face of America,” truly sickens me.

I am sure we can defeat this megalomaniac and his science rejecting policies and his Fossil Fuel Agenda. None of us can do it alone. We need to bind together. It is together that we can keep the heat on these thugs and hoodlums; by our sheer numbers. Whether by impeachment, implementation of Amendment 25, or some other means Donald J. Trump will be removed from office before the end of his term. That conviction keeps me writing, talking and networking every day. I hope all my readers make that their mission also.

Donald Trump is one of the biggest phonies in U.S. history and he is now President of the United States and I’m worried that he will make as big a mess out of the United States government as he did his own personal finances.

Donald Trump began working for his father’s real estate company in 1972 after graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in Economics. From the beginning Donald was better at self-promoting than actually making any money. It is estimated that when Fred Trump, Sr died in 1999 Donald Trump inherited something in the neighborhood of 100-200 million dollars.

According to the Associated Press, if Donald Trump had done nothing more than place his inheritance into index funds his net worth today would exceed 13 Billion dollars. Estimates project his current net worth is far from that dazzling amount. So, after all the ballyhoo and boasting he is rich because he was born rich. He could have been stratospherically wealthy if he had done nothing. Funny, in a peculiar way.

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RUMBLINGS AND GRUMBLINGS

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Rumblings And Grumblings

D. S. Mitchell

FOREIGN POLICY

The dog has been walked. My Dinner is the remainder of my Cobb Salad, from lunch. I’m waiting for The Rachel Maddow Show to end. Dan Rather is giving an interesting interview, or I would just turn it off.

I worked on a long Calamity Politics blog post earlier today. The article focused primarily on the similarities between Donald Trump and Jared Kushner. What I want to do now, is drink an Irish Coffee, and get into the hot tub, and zone out.

But, I spend 23 hours a day wound up, thinking about the wild, turbulent, U.S. political daily may lay, and have trouble unwinding. Like right now, I cannot forget that 59 Tomahawk missiles were launched at a Syrian airbase on April 7th, 2017 by United States naval forces, for a yet, undefined purpose. Each one of those Tomahawk missiles cost a million dollars.

Less than a week later, the American military dropped the “mother of all bombs,” or, a MOAB, on a set of ISIS tunnels and linked caves, in Afghanistan. So, back to the previous question. What is the purpose? Is there a thought out strategy? We killed 36 terrorists. How much did that bomb cost? I think I read that bitch cost 314 million dollars. That is about $85 million dollars per ISIS fighter.

On top of that, the Carl Vinson and its Pacific Command strike force are headed toward the Korean Peninsula. Where apparently, the 30 year old dictator of North Korea, is having a party to celebrate his Grand dad’s birthday, and possibly detonate a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. Vice President, Mike Pence, is headed to South Korea as the first stop on his Asian tour. Is that reassuring, or not? I mean, Pence being there. If there is going to be a conflagration, wouldn’t he want to stay away? Or, maybe they know that no one is going to push the button and start a war, so it’s okay for him to go, right?

What am I gonna do? I can’t just ignore this stuff. It’s my job to report on the political news. I think I’ll have that Irish Coffee, to start with. Good night.

Join the Resistance

Dar

14.5 BILLION LEAVES U.S. IN ONE WEEK

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14.5 Billion Leaves U. S. In One Week

D. S. Mitchell

Hair Pulling

I’ve taken a couple of days off from adding to The Calamity Politics blog because there has been an avalanche of news, coming literally hourly, and there is only me, and Jane, sometimes. I haven’t been sure which of the events I should be pulling my hair out over. As if, I had any hair left, to pull out. Hundreds of deaths, American air strikes, White House intrigue, and North Korean saber-rattling has been mind bending. For those of us interested in what’s happening with our financial portfolios it has been an unsettling week.

Hammered

U.S. stock funds were hammered by the largest weekly withdrawal and transfer of wealth since 2015. In the 2015 case, money ran briefly to Europe over fears of a downturn in economic growth in both the U.S. and China. During the week of April 5th, 2017, investors sucked 14.5 Billion dollars from U.S. stock portfolios, as investors rotated into European equities. Experts explain that investor’s realization that Trump’s promises will take a bit of time to materialize, if at all, sent many investors to look for alternatives to U.S. equities.

Doubts Over Trump Foreign Policy

The growing shift toward Europe accelerated amid doubts over Trump’s policy agenda. The increased pressure accelerated after some big failures from the White House, including, ongoing Russian investigations, the failed Health Care Reform, and a perception of an administration in chaos and scandal.

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Morning Wonderful

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Morning Wonderful

D. S. Mitchell

I’ve commented on Calamity Politics, over the last week how fed up I am with the wind and rain.  Not today.  I woke up to crisp air and bright sunshine. Stopping to post a journal entry is not on my current ‘to do list’ this morning. Like a Snickers starved child I run toward my muse, the illusive sun.

Lily is in charge this morning. She has convinced me that we need to take a walk, a long beach walk.  I can see the surf from my front window, but the beach is two blocks away. Lily found her leash and dropped it at my feet. Together, we headed to the dune.

I took a shortcut across the back field and disturbed a deer family, causing Lily to jerk so hard on her leash she nearly toppled me over.  The pleasures of dog ownership are often close to the pleasures of non-dog ownership.

I live in an area that is blessed with miles of unspoiled dunes and beaches.  Coming over the dune top, I saw what looked like three small kids lined up with their backs to the surf.  Weird, kids never hold still that long.  I strained and held Lily tight.  It wasn’t three tots, it was three American Bald Eagles.  OMG, just standing there, less than a foot between them.

I’ve seen single specimens stand like that at the water’s edge but never three together, just hanging out.  Lily seemed to recognize the moment as a special one, and for once was quiet. Together we turned back and walked further down the dune to reach the beach.  I looked back and they were still there. One of the most amazing and beautiful sights I have ever seen.

We currently have a government more deferential to the wealthy than ever before in my lifetime. Capitalism needs restraints, at this time more than ever. It is time to demand a more empathetic government.

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Pulling the Scab Off

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Pulling The Scab Off

D. S. Mitchell

Morning Coffee

I’m ready this morning to have a cup of coffee, eat an apple and reflect on why the American people would pick a man like Donald Trump to lead this country?  Calamity News and Politics is a progressive political blog, written from my home office at Surf Pines, Oregon. My intent is to point out bits and pieces of the ever evolving political scene to curious readers. From the last several days I’ve scratched these juicy, gossipy, tidbits on Trump from several sources.

The Habit Of Corruption

Trump is no stranger to corruption. He has been embedded in it for many  years. As President, he’s just taken it to a new level. The Trump administration is without a doubt the most corrupt presidency in American history. No wonder he keeps screaming “fake news”.  DJT has so much to hide.  If the public believed even a small amount of the truth that the press publishes every day  the White House would be surrounded with torches and pitchforks. Truth matters, and Trump couldn’t find truth with both hands. Just to refresh the reader on Trump’s history:

1.) Donald and his father blatantly participated in housing discrimination against people of color and they were sued by the Justice Department.
2.) The Mafia and Donald worked together through the construction trades in N.Y.C.
3.) He hired undocumented Polish workers to rehab the Trump Tower and then refused to pay them.
4.) Trump was fined $750,000 for anti-trust violations during his attempt to take over a rival casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

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Trump Sucker Punches His Voters

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Trump Sucker Punches His Voters

D. S. Mitchell

It’s freaking Cold

It seems to have been a colder than usual winter. I’m not talking about climate change at the moment, more a comment on how a string of seventy days of freaking’ cold days, ran both my electric, and my gas bills to unimaginable heights. Natural gas prices are low, but my consumption went through the roof. I wore sweaters and sweats continuously and haven’t gone to bed in the buff, since last December. So, I’m out of bed, fireplace is going and the chill is slowly being driven off. I’m about to check out the morning political shows and plan on getting to Calamity News and Politics after I brew a cup of coffee.

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A WHITE HOUSE MOST FOUL

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A White House Most Foul

By D. S. Mitchell

As you most know, I started the Calamity Politics political blog to vent my frustrations and keep from losing my frigging liberal mind. I try to focus on news and facts and also try to support my statements with at least two sources. With this post, I’ve thrown all those established behaviors to the wind.

1.)  Images of the newly emboldened and empowered ICE agents, handcuffing and loading people into vans, without access to legal representation, reminds me of the Nazi’s rounding up the Jews seventy five years ago in Germany.  Obviously, hate lives on.

2.)  I had a husband once.  He believed, “if you repeat a lie,  enough times, most people believe it.”  I am more of the,  “You can fool all the people some of the time.  You can fool some of the people, part of the time,  but you can never fool all the people, all of the time.”  I believe we are about to find out which theory holds water.  I’ve got my fingers crossed.  There’s a lot at stake here, 240 years of our constitutional democracy.

3.)  There is a stench rising out of  Washington, D.C. that is so foul it has reached me here on the West Coast.  I have never smelled anything so disgusting, except the odor that hovers over a rendering plant in mid-August.  The possibility that a presidential candidate would co-operate with a foreign power, one that our country has sanctions against, is truly sickening.  That despicable cloud of corruption now hangs over the entire United States,  extending from coast to coast.  Republican investigating chairmen (Nunes and Burr), admitted yesterday, that they had, at White House urging, attempted to divert media attention from the Russian investigation.

Right here, right now, I want the world to know, that I personally believe the appointment of an Independent Prosecutor is essential.

4.)  The unrelenting attacks and insults against the media, by President Trump, are inexcusable and dangerous.  A little contention is good, but what is going on is unprecedented.  Since when does the top liar in the country have the right to accuse anyone of being “fake.”  The fabricated accusations by Trump are disgusting and unnecessary.  Trump’s assault against the fourth estate must stop. I’m not a great fan of George W, but let me tell you, I was so damned glad to hear him discuss this issue on the Today show yesterday, you would have thought he was a Democrat.   I was nearly cheering.  Fuck, yeah!  “The press in an indispensable part of our democracy”.  Go George, go.  Thank you, 43.** As an aside, Mr. Bush,  I had no idea you were such a talented artist.  The several paintings I’ve seen recently are amazing.  Beautiful work.

5.) “Who knew, health care was so complicated?” President Trump expressed Monday, February 27, 2017.    OMG.  Well, at least now, he admits, not everything can be solved with a tweet.  We are number 42 on the world health care service effectiveness list.  That’s a pathetic placement.  “42”?  That means 41  other countries in the world are doing it better than we are.  Seriously, 41 other countries provide both  better and cheaper health care for their citizens than we do here in the United States.  Has anyone thought to go to the  number 1 country, or number  2 country; and see how they do it?  Boy, that’s where I’d start, if I really wanted the best for the American people.  Let’s find out how to do it right.  We can still learn.

6.)  In 1973, Richard Nixon declared, “there can be no whitewash at the White House.”

After, protests and investigations, Nixon finally resigned, before impeachment.  I wonder if President Trump will resign, or whether he will order military defense of his position.  Don’t laugh.  Just because it hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it can’t, or won’t.  Thank you Founding Fathers, for the Second Amendment.

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Dar

Defending Civil Liberties in the Digital World Against Trump Threats

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My friend, and super techno-geek, Jane, brought a magazine to the house and showed me an ad that had caught her attention. I thought it was interesting enough to comment on it here, at Calamity Politics. So, remember it is an advertisement, but the questions it brings up are noteworthy and in need of deeper political investigation and discussion. I will not be doing any research on the matter, and will assign that research task to my readers if they are interested. If a reader learns something interesting be sure to pass it on to us curious bystanders. To tell you the truth, I am so busy trying to keep up on the political news each day I barely have time to walk the dog.

This post was taken from an ad page by Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org/defend-users):  Although an ad, I thought the issue was serious enough to bring it to the attention of my friends and readers.

“Incoming President Donald Trump made campaign promises that, if carried out, threaten the free web and the rights of millions of people.  He has praised attempts to undermine digital security, supported mass surveillance, and threatened net neutrality.  He (Trump) promised to identify and deport millions of your friends and neighbors, track people based on their religious beliefs, and suppress freedom of the press.  And he (Trump) wants to use your servers (the technology community) to do it.”

EFF is “calling on the technology community to unite with EFF in securing our networks against this threat.

ENCRYPT:  Use HTTPS and end-to-end encryption for every user transaction, communication and activity by default.  DELETE:  Scrub your logs.  You cannot be made to surrender data you do not have.  REVEAL:  If you get a government request to monitor users or censor speech, tell the world.  RESIST:  Fight for user rights in court, on Capital Hill, and beyond. **(When you stand with users, EFF will stand with you).  EFF has fought for the rights of technology creators and users for 26 years, through four different presidential administrations.  As a nonpartisan nonprofit, we combine litigation, activism, and software development to defend civil liberties in the digital world.”

“Finally,  The future of our democracy depends on the Internet that is free from censorship and government surveillance.  Together we can ensure that technology created to connect and uplift people worldwide is not conscripted into a tool of oppression.”

Join the Resistance

Dar

25 Things To Make You Smile

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25 Things To Make You Smile

By D.S. Mitchell

I am back at the computer making my second post to my Calamity Politics blog, today.  Before I started this blog, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough to scream about, but I’m finding that I could probably do half a dozen posts a day related to the Trump Administration, and its basket of corruption.  But I thought, before I start my rant on the collapse of the progressive agenda. I should deliver something positive and uplifting.

So, here are twenty-five things to make you smile:

1.) Touching toes in the sand
2.) Sunsets over water
3.) Wraparound sunglasses
4.) The Science channel
5.) Kite flying contests
6.) The Muppets
7.) Astronauts

8.) Blowing the wrapper off the straw
9.) Winning at Monopoly
10.) A dog’s cold nose on your hand
11.) Barhopping
12.)  Old jeans that fit just right
13.) Your lover’s voice
14.) The clatter of skis being loaded
15.) The rumble of a train as it passes
16.) Walking in the rain
17.) The imagination of a six year old
18.) Margaritas at midnight

19.) Finishing the Sunday crossword without cheating
20.) Volunteer
21.) The smell of a new car
22.) Roller skating
23.) First grade teacher
24.) A good book
25.) Dad’s wisdom

I know this Sunday distraction did little to take your mind off the continuing chaos in the Trump White House, but if it gave you a couple minutes respite, that’s a good thing. Have a gem of a day.

Join the Resistance

Dar