Category: Government

2018 Midterms A Democratic Blow Out

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2018 Midterms A Democratic Blow Out

Trevor K. McNeil

 

No pressure. The clamor before the election was that the 2018 Midterm elections could be the most important Midterm vote in history. A lot of hype, that may end up being spot on. This, like most things these days, was all the president’s fault. Trump being correct, shocking I know, when he characterized the elections as, effectively, a referendum on him and his administration. He kept telling us that, over and over.

Accepting the challenge. We as a people accepted that challenge, registered a record number of new voters and fielded a strong team of candidates nationwide . We were ready and willing to tell Trump exactly what we think of him and his cabinet of swamp creatures. We were ready for, in fact anxious for, a return to divided government. The ballot box our chosen platform, the 2018 Midterms the first election in which we could flex our muscles.

Taking back the House. The 2018 Midterms elections have given the Democrats control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010. Stacking the house against Trump is now the best, legal, way to limit his powers. The people of the country made it clear that is what they expect. And the messy process of hobbling his actions has begun.

Big turn outs across the nation. The 2018 Midterm election turnout is estimated at 113,000,000. That would mean 48% of eligible voters participated. Staggering numbers for a Midterm election, nearly 85,000,000 more than in the 2014 Midterm. People tend to  vote because they are mad. Like I said Trump wanted it to be all about him and that’s exactly what happened.

You can breath again. To call the 2018 Midterms a “roller-coaster” ride is an understatement. Kind of like saying Benedict Arnold had slightly confused loyalties. We will likely be getting results every day for the next couple days, to possibly weeks. California final results may not be available for at least a month.

The courts are the end litigator. Lawsuits have begun in most of the contested states. Why would anyone, Rick Scott and Brian Kemp to mention two Republicans who are determined to sue their way to office want to stop counting ballots. Why would we vote, if they only intend to count some of the votes? Totally absurd. Nelson vs Scott in Florida, Sinema vs McSally in Arizona, Gillum vs DeSantis  in Florida and finally the most riveting, Abrams vs Kemp in Georgia. All nail biters. Some already moving to recount.

A blue dribble vs a blue wave. There is the bad news that the Republicans have held the senate. As 2018 Midterm vote count dribbles in to the history books we have gone from thinking the Republicans would see a big gain of up to 6 seats in the Senate; but now, nearly a week post Midterms, it looks like nothing more than an overall one seat Republican gain..

Gender and diversity the takeaways. The brightest news of the 2018 Midterm election is that a total of 100 women were elected, more than any other election in U.S. history. Notably, the first Native American openly gay woman, Sharice Davids, has been elected to Congress. This upcoming congress will be the most gender, ethnically and racially diverse group in Congressional history. Way to go voters. It is about time that our elected leaders are a reflection of what our society looks like, not a reflection of a dying power center; that of old, mostly, white men.

It takes awhile to get there. The 2018 Midterm election also saw the election of Jared Polis an openly LGBTQ person to represent Colorado in the House of Representatives. Finally making good on the path bravely carved out by Harvey Milk. Harvey Milk who was the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected to public office in 1970’s San Francisco, and he was killed for his efforts.

Percentages can be deceiving. The best news, of course, is that the Democrats took the House, and not by a small amount. The percentages might look close but percentage points count for a lot in elections, each one representing thousands of individual votes. What began looking like a mediocre “trickle” has over the last couple days ballooned into a possible gain of 38-40 seats. In addition to the House successes, the Democrats flipped multiple governor mansions and a staggering number of state legislatures. A mandate many would call it.

A big headache. The Democrats now with great 2018 Midterm success have the power to give the Trump administration a mind bending migraine. The power of the subpoena should make Trump and associates nervous. The American people have thrown up their hands and said, loudly no matter how dirty it gets, they are telling the Dems to clean up the Trump/GOP mess.

Sharpening pencils and registering voters. The 2018 Midterms are only the beginning. Many of the Resistors and the Indivisible folks are sharpening their pencils and are ready to continue their registration drive right up until the 2020 elections. The Senate and the Executive Branch are the targets of the Democrats next flip. If Trump thinks this is going to be a small bump in his presidency, I think he better buckle the proverbial seat belt because it looks like things are gonna get rough.

Looking ahead. We should, of course, celebrate this major victory. Hopefully the Dems can hobble the roaring beast of Trumpism. But, now we stumble into two months of lame duck politics. Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as temporary Attorney General of the United States is just a warning shot by Trump. What he does over the next couple months in this pre-Dem time is open to speculation. He could shoot that guy on Fifth Avenue by the time the new House is seated and what will they do about it?

Some unfortunate facts.Trump is still the president (damn and blast it). The great 2018 Midterm Democratic wins in the state houses around the country will help protect the 2020 election against voter suppression and gerrymandering. But this record-setting election is only the first step in a long journey to the next election. Two years are a long time in politics.  From now until 2020 we need to keep the pressure on this rogue and reckless president.

Why I Vote

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Why I Vote

D. S. Mitchell

I grew up in Portland, Oregon. I graduated from Lincoln High School in 1964. I am a white female. I grew up in poverty. Both my mother and father were union members. They divorced when I was a teen.

But I was blessed. Everybody said I was smart. So when I graduated from high school I headed to college. I, like many others of my generation, was the first person in my family to graduate from college.

With the help of several great scholarships, I received my BS in Social Science/Political Science in 1972 from Portland State University. Not a particularly useful degree, in itself. My original intent had been to continue to law school, but my full-time job, parenting, and physical exhaustion, halted my education at that time. Ten years later, in 1982, I returned to Clark Community College and obtained an Associate Degree in Nursing. After graduation with my ADA, I worked for the next 33 years as a Registered Nurse in hospitals in Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada. I still keep up my RN license, and do volunteer work.

I have never missed voting in an election since I came of voting age. My mother called herself a “Roosevelt Democrat”. I am a passionate progressive in the vein of Bernie Sanders. I believe in political activism. If you have a political agenda, which we all do, it is necessary to speak up.

It amazes me to hear people say they, “hate government intervention in their lives.”

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The Trump-Russian Collusion Timeline

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The Trump-Russian Collusion Timeline

D. S. Mitchell

centers on 12 dates. The Sept-Oct 2018 issue of Mother Jones magazine draws a painful conclusion; the Russian Investigation Is NO hoax.  So, if you have clung to the belief that a president of the United States would never betray his country to win an election,  you better check out the timeline Mother Jones has drawn of the Trump campaign activities & Trump speeches and collusion, is the only conclusion.

June 15/2016: As reports surfaced of the Democratic National Committee hacks, Trump & Team issued the following: “We believe it was the DNC that did the “hacking” as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate.”

June/16/2018: Donald Trump, Jr and three Trump campaign officials, including Paul Manafort, meet with a Russian attorney with known ties to the Kremlin to discuss, offered “dirt” on Hillary.

7/27/2016: Trump makes his now famous plea to Putin, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.” A recent disclosure in a Mueller indictment, reveals that Russian Intelligence first targeted a key Hillary Clinton email provider, “on  or about” the same date.

9/7 & 8/2016: Obama officials alleged publicly that the Russians were likely behind the DNC hack. The Trump response came on Kremlin backed RT no less, during an interview, “I think maybe the Democrats are putting that out. Who knows, but I think it’s pretty unlikely.”

9/26/2016: During the first presidential debate, candidate Trump said, “I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia…it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay?”

10/9/2016: During the second debate when Clinton accuses Trump of benefiting from Russian interference his response was to deflect, “She doesn’t know if it’s the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking.”

12/9/2016: Trump’s transition team attacks CIA’s published conclusion that Russia had interfered in the 2016 elections to help Trump.  According to Trump, “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”

12/31/2016: Trump announces, “I also know things that other people don’t know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation.”

1/13/2017: Trump posts  to Twitter, “Russia says nothing exists.”

9/22/2017:  Facebook’s announcement that Russian operatives had purchased ads on their platform, drew the following response, a “hoax”.

11/12/2017:  After a private meeting with Putin, Trump says, “He said he absolutely did not meddle in our elections. He did not do what they are saying. I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it.”

7/16/2018: In Helsinki, Putin & Trump take the stage together and Trump sides with Putin over US Intel agencies. “They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

“As emails stolen from the DNC and HRC were disseminated by WikiLeaks and Russian intelligence,” something soon became clear, “These actors weren’t just snooping; they were weaponizing what they found, using a noxious brew of fake news, astroturfed social-media posts, and bots.”

For the entire article, written by Pema Levy and AJ Vicens pick up a copy of Mother Jones at the news stand or subscribe for home delivery. I get mine delivered.

Please, support THE BLUE WAVE PROJECT, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley’s action group raising money for progressive candidates nationwide.

 

Sexual Assault Is On Everyone’s Mind

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Sexual Assault Is On Everyone’s Mind

D. S. Mitchell

How do we explain the last half of 2017? It is as if a huge segment of America’s women stood up in unison and screamed, “enough,” drawing a line in the sand. Sexual harassment will no longer be endured silently. No longer will abusers operate unrestrained.

There seems to be a recent rejection of men dominating the decision making centers of business and government. Have we come to a time and place in our history where the accuser’s story will be believed and the accuser will not be re-victimized by people who pick through their lives like hyena’s in search of red meat.

In the United States the accused remains innocent until proven guilty. With that in mind, the onus seems to be shifting to those who have been accused of heinous acts, by people with nothing to gain but to bring some sense of personal retribution and public justice.

The court of public opinion has been convened. Beware of moral flattening, where years of predatory behavior requires the same punishment as a poor choice of words, or a thoroughly vetted news article is given the same weight as a Twitter comment.

The hand of public opinion is severing the heads of many people we admire for their art, athletic prowess, government policy, and leadership. But recent events are showing that rich and famous people can no longer hide their bad behavior. They are going to be made accountable.

The toppling of Harvey Weinstein has become a watershed moment in this movement toward equality. Harvey’s fall brought out a tsunami of charges against a series of powerful men including, Kevin Spacey, John Conyers, Al Franken, Louis CK, Charlie Rose, Mark Halerin, former presidents George H.W.Bush and Bill Clinton. And just this morning, Matt Lauer was fired after sexual harassment charges made against him were made public.

Politics does seem to be at work, as we have all arrived simultaneously at the crossroads in our evolution as a society. Trump’s victory, despite his deeply problematic relationships with women, and the released ‘Access Hollywood’ tapes where the future president of the United States brags about sexual assault seems to have fed a slow burning fire. Charlotte Alter writing for Time magazine described the Trump victory this way, “the 2016 election was a referendum on what women could achieve and what men could get away with.”

But before Trump’s election, for the last couple years, beginning in the television and movie industry there has emerged a trend toward demanding recourse from powerful men. The first big show business name that comes to my mind is Bill Cosby, who’s criminal behavior began coming to light in 2014. Following Cosby came Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly, both at Fox News. Fox News is currently under federal investigation for encouraging a “culture” of sexual harassment.

A majority of Americans will no longer stand by the results of that national election, and want immediate action to remedy the situation. On January 21, 2017 2.6 million concerned citizens took to the streets with the Women’s March. A new pressure, a mounting pushback seemed to be coalescing around Trump’s election.

The movement isn’t just about sexual harassment and assault. It is about a fair society in which all viewpoints are weighed and considered, and women are not held down when they resist sexual advances by bosses and clients of power.

Our houses of congress are obvious bastions of male dominance. That truth is witnessed every night on our television screens as the old white men trudge into focus. There is little semblance of equality. Women are organizing, speaking up and demanding that sexual harassment come to a halt, now.

It is important that women seize this moment and demand access to the seats of power. Women must run for office. The gender break down of the current US congress is 19% women 81% men. This poor representation in Washington, DC comes at a great cost, policy wise. Women if they want equality, must take a larger role in government. Women’s issues will not be seriously addressed until women take their rightful and equal place in our government. Women should represent their gender needs in government at the same proportion as on Main Street.

Run baby, run.

Let’s make 2018 the Year of Women. Vote Blue. Stand up for your mom, your sister, your niece, your wife, your friend. Women know women’s issues. Let’s stop the abuse, let’s make our voices heard.

Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line political news magazine bringing the action of our government into your living room. Join the Resistance.

Dar

GOP Writes A Tax Cut Bill That Hurts Millions

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GOP Writes A Tax Cut Bill That Hurts Millions

D. S. Mitchell

The GOP #TaxScam will add nearly $2 trillion to the federal debt in just 10 years. The proposed tax cuts will not pay for themselves as the GOP leadership argues that it will. Lies, just blatant lies. In fact, the debt created by the bill will be left for the next several generations to pay off.

Just like Paul Krugman concluded in his great New York Times article last week, this bill will transfer money from FUTURE middle class and poor Americans to giant international corporations and the wealthiest 1% of individuals. In addition, these bills (House/Senate) will create new incentives for businesses to move production offshore and increase the trade deficit. Why on earth, would we want to benefit foreign countries and harm the blue collar workers that President Trump says he is working for?

Trump is claiming there will be an incredible 10% growth over the next decade. This claim is countered by studies from Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and Penn-Wharton Budget Model, both of which indicate that the Senate Bill’s impact would be from 0.3 to 0.8 per cent. Expert consensus have discredited House Speaker, Paul Ryan’s claim that the legislation would energize the economy and make it more competitive globally. In fact, some experts are claiming the tax bill will slow the economy.

At the core of these bills is a cut in the corporate tax rate to 20%, from 35% (before adjustments), that the administration and congressional leaders argue will encourage businesses to invest in expansion, hire more people, and give workers raises. These claims have been largely debunked.

Past cuts to the corporate tax rate in the U.S. & Britain did not ignite economic booms or produce higher incomes. In fact, many business leaders advise that a big tax cut would not propel them to re-invest or give employee’s raises. With the economy at near full employment and corporations swimming in money, it is hard to see a tax cut doing much to stimulate business development.

Experts are sounding warnings. The bills will lower tax rates for foreign earnings. The bills actually encourage businesses to move more of their operations overseas. Yes, that’s what the bills seem to do. The bills exempt some of those foreign profits from United States taxes entirely.  Companies would be able to claim taxes paid in high tax rate countries like Japan, as a credit against profits earned in countries like Bermuda that has no corporate tax. This isn’t keeping the assembly line in Sioux Falls moving. Such blatant and disgusting manipulation of the facts is outrageous.

An article in the New York Times put it this way, “Economists also expect the tax bills to lead to bigger trade deficits because the government would be forced to borrow more to pay its bills, driving up interest rates. Those higher rates would prompt foreigners to buy more United States bonds, driving up the value of the dollar. That would make American exports less attractive to other countries  and imports cheaper to American consumers. American factories and their workers would become less competitive in the the global market, adding new victims to the ‘rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation.’ That last quote was taken directly from Donald trump’s Inaugural Address.

Republicans appear to be hoping that Americans will be so happy to get temporary tax cuts that will kick in next year that they will forget that the 0.2 % of individual Americans will be handed billions of dollars in tax cuts and protection from the dreaded estate tax, and that international corporations will be handed billions of dollars to take overseas.

It will take at least three Republican senators to vote no to stop this GOP created disaster. Many are asking, are there three such Republican lawmakers with the integrity and decency to stop this nightmare. Protestors have appeared on Capitol Hill and demonstrations are beginning to take place around the country in opposition to the GOP #TaxScam. Current public disapproval for the tax bill is running at between 75-83%. With numbers like that, hopefully we can #KillTheBill.

Calamity Politics is an on-line news magazine that confronts the issues of the day with wit and sarcasm. Join me in my Resistance to the Trump dictatorship. Join the Resistance.

Dar

We Can’t Forget Puerto Rico

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We Can’t Forget Puerto Rico

D. S. Mitchell

Two months ago Puerto Rico was hit by a Category Five hurricane. Maria devastated the island.  More than half of the island continues to be without power and hundreds of thousands of residents are fleeing to the American mainland, in what has been described as an “extraordinary exodus.” The early sense of desperation seems to have morphed into resignation.

On October 3, 2017 President Trump visited Puerto Rico and tossed paper towels to a crowd of needy fellow Americans and bragged about how well the administration’s response to the disaster was going. But now two months after the disaster there is little tangible evidence of real progress. Simple things like, running water, and traffic lights remain unavailable to most of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million citizens. Early on, the Pentagon dispensed emergency troops to the island. Those emergency troops are now beginning to pull out, except for those working on the island’s demolished power grid.

Tens of thousands of jobs have been eliminated. Thousands of small businesses remain closed and may never reopen. Two months after Maria, a significant number of Puerto Rican hospitals are still running on emergency generators. FEMA officials report that the conditions on the island are so bad that they are being forced to continue to focus on Phase I, the emergency response phase-providing potable water, roofing tarps, in other words the bare necessities, 60 days after the event.

The storm’s official death toll is 55. Forensic researchers believe that number will increase dramatically, probably into the 100’s when all bodies are recovered. The morale of the islanders has remained low as services remain unavailable and scandal has developed around  the dysfunctional and debt-ridden power authority.

The chief executive of the power authority quit this month as details emerged of a $300 million contract with a small White Fish, Montana company. The contract was canceled when irate islanders learned the power authority had agreed to pay $319 per hour to visiting linemen while comparable contractor’s were being paid as little as $42 per hour.

White Fish Energy has reportedly agreed to resume work in Puerto Rico after the government of Puerto Rico made a partial payment on work done. There is an investigation now underway in the Congress into White Fish Energy and why such a small company was given such a huge contract without a bidding process. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke is from White Fish, Montana and the connection between the Secretary and the CEO of White Fish Energy has come under scrutiny.

It is estimated that 2,ooo Puerto Ricans have left the island each day, headed to the mainland where they will use their American citizenship to resettle with relatives in New York, New Jersey, California and Florida. By the end of 2017 it is expected that over 300,000 immigrants will have entered Florida. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency to handle the wave of immigrants.  The influx already rivals the Cuban immigration during the 1980 Muriel boat lift.

Governor Ricardo Rossello has asked Congress for $94.4 billion in aid to help the island. So far Congress has approved $5 billion. The underlying question is what leadership role the federal government will play in Puerto Rico’s reconstruction. What is obvious is that there needs to be a comprehensive recovery plan from the Trump administration, and so far it seems that the administration has moved on.

President Trump impressed Puerto Ricans with his rudeness and his scornful critique of the Mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz.  His tweets were considered insulting and divisive.  One tweet, “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort” was particularly hurtful. It is agreed that Trump has a sworn duty to support  Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are American citizens trapped in an unprecedented emergency, but Trump does not seem to grasp the enormity of the situation or his responsibility to the people of Puerto Rico.

Calamity Politics is a progressive political on-line news magazine.  Join the Resistance.

Dar

Class Warfare, GOP Style

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Class Warfare, GOP Style

D. S. Mitchell

The NY Times on 11/16/17 published a great opinion piece written by Paul Krugman. If you didn’t see it, I will try to summarize the article as best I can, because the core of the message is worth repeating.

Mitch McConnell & Paul Ryan have been lying when they said the GOP tax plan would not raise taxes on any middle class families.The Congressional score keeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, reported that approximately 38 million middle-class families would see higher taxes under the Senate Republican proposal.

Both Senate and House bill will offer huge tax giveaways to international corporations and the billionaire class. The Republicans have tried to limit the impacts of these tax cuts on the budget deficit by eliminating tax credits and exemptions that mainly benefit the middle class. As such many in the lower and middle class will see their taxes go up.

“But focusing on how many would face tax increases gets at only a small part of what’s going on here,” Krugman said. Continuing, he pointed out, “It is top-down class warfare, coupled with the false claims that they are  cutting taxes on the middle class, which has been standard GOP operating procedure for a long time.”

Krugman points out that the tactics of the current GOP leaders is not just a replay of the Bush playbook from 2001 and 2003, although there are similarities. Similarities between then and now are: 1.) Tax breaks that phase in and out. 2.) Misleading examples and calculations to give the false impression of a tax cut for the middle class 3.) Asserting that the tax cuts come free, blurring the fact that the cuts will be offset by cuts to popular programs such as Medicaid and Medicare 4.) Continuing to pretend eliminating the “death” tax is about helping the small family farm, or business.

Krugman asserts that there is an ugly twist to the latest GOP robbery scam. In the 2017 money grab, the goal seems to be to favor wealth, especially inherited wealth, over labor. In the new tax bill he notes multiple measures that make it harder for the children of the middle class to work up the golden ladder.

The prime example is the GOP plan to eliminate, or sharply reduce taxes on inherited wealth, which currently apply to only a tiny number of huge estates. The inheritance tax has been morphed by the GOP into a multitude of family farms being sold off to pay estate taxes. Definitely not true. Best estimates indicate only about 80–eighty, businesses or farms pay any estate tax each year. “The GOP tax bill is about making wealthy heirs even wealthier,” Krugman asserts.

A new proposed tax loophole would benefit large business owners–but only as long as they don’t have hands control. So that definitely lets out the little guy. The House bill, according to Krugman, “doesn’t just raise taxes on many middle-class families: It selectively raises taxes on families with children. In fact, half–half!–of families with children will see a tax hike once the bill is fully phased in.”

Krugman offered several examples in his piece, including this one: Suppose a child from a working class family decides, despite financial hardship to attend college. To attend university the student will need a loan to help pay tuition, books and housing. Under the proposed tax House bill, the interest on that student loan would no longer be deductible.  In effect, such action would raise the cost of college. It would obviously narrow future opportunity for young people of limited financial means. In some instances an employer will contribute toward an employee’s educational expenses. The House plan would consider that employer contribution taxable income.

Additionally, when a parent works for a university their children are given reduced tuition. That tuition break will become taxable income. Also, tuition breaks for grad students who work as teaching or research assistants will become taxable.

The pattern becomes obvious, this is a means to “close off opportunities for children who weren’t clever enough to choose wealthy parents,” Krugman snaps.

Funding for CHIPS (Children’s Health Insurance Program) which covers more than 8 million children, expired nearly sixty days ago and the Republicans have made no attempt to restore it. Krugman sees it as “the shape of things to come;”  if tax cuts pass, and the deficit explodes which it is expected to do, the GOP will suddenly decide that deficits must be slashed and at that time the GOP will attack the social safety net and will demand cuts in social programs, many of which benefit lower-income children, disabled vets, and nursing home residents.

This attack isn’t just ordinary class warfare. This legislation appears to be aimed at perpetuating inequality into multiple future generations. Taken together, the House and the Senate bills amount to a more or less systematic attempt to provide benefits to the children of extreme wealth, while making it more difficult for less fortunate young people to achieve upward social/economic mobility.

The tax legislation the GOP is forcing through Congress with unimaginable speed, without hearings or time for any kind of serious study, is not just an attempt to reinforce plutocracy, “but to entrench a hereditary plutocracy.”

Trump and the Trump family, and nearly every one in his cabinet members will see big benefits from this fast moving legislation. Please call, email or tweet Republican senators. We must stop this bill. In addition to Krugman’s comments I suggest the near $2 trillion up front cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will devastate programs for disabled vets, critically ill children and vulnerable seniors. This is wrong.

Giving trillions of dollars to international companies is unconscionable. Make these creeps accountable. They are not invulnerable. The 2018 elections are fast approaching. We must create a Blue Tsunami to take back the halls of government for the 99%, #NotOnePenny for the 1%. Vote Democratic. Stop the GOP tax bill.

Calamity Politics is an on-line political news magazine. Calamity Politics supports a Progressive agenda and offers comment and opinion on the events of the Washington political scene. Join the Resistance.

Dar

**Thanks again to the Paul Krugman for his insight**

Trade In The Era Of Trump

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Trade In The Era Of Trump

D. S. Mitchell

As an epic economic and diplomatic tour, empty-handed. His tactics of insult and bullying did not play well.

Here in the United States there is white knuckle fear that NAFTA will once again become central in Trump’s great trade experiment. Of course, there are valid points made by the administration. There is trade imbalance, but most US industries are looking for a few tweaks, not abolishment of a treaty that has produced many benefits for US industry and farmers.

NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, is a 1994 pact between Canada, US and Mexico. I’m from NW Oregon and many Mexican markets were opened to Northwest wheat growers. In fact, exports increased by 400%. At the same time many of these farmers have complaints about Canadian wheat pricing. You can’t make everybody happy, but that does not mean these folks want to tear up the historic treaty.

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Trump Moves Quickly To Reshape Appeals Courts

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Trump Moves Quickly To Reshape Appeals Courts

D. S. Mitchell

Sounds pretty boring, talking about the US judicial system. But here goes, because what Trump is doing could change court decisions in this country for the next two plus generations.

There are 179 judgeships on the US courts of appeals as authorized. The judges are all nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. These positions have lifetime terms.

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Part VII: Behind The Curtain

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Part VII: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

At the end of Part VI it was January 11th and Donald Trump was holding his first press conference since his Electoral College win. Trump stood to one side of the stage, flanked by Donald Jr 39, Ivanka 35, and Eric 33, listening to his tax attorney, Sheri Dillon explain to the audience of reporters and staff, the changes that were being made to the Trump Organization.

The stage with a center podium was decorated with solemn dark blue drapes and a row of American flags with long gold tassels giving the event a sober tone. On a black shrouded table, to the left of where Dillon stood at the podium, were stacks of manila folders. The stacks were impressively high. Pointing to the stacks of folders, Dillon claimed they were filled with 1000’s of documents proving that Trump was re-arranging his empire to satisfy the growing chorus of critics.

Dillon claimed the Trump “business empire” was “massive”. She emphasized massive several times. A couple of times Dillon tried to draw a correlation between Trump and former Vice President, Nelson Rockefeller as she talked about the changes being made at the Trump Organization. Evidently, she did not know that Rockefeller had released his tax returns and later offered to place his sizeable assets in a blind trust. Neither of which Trump has offered to do.

“The plan” was, according to Dillon, to put the Trump Organization into a trust to be managed by his sons and a long time executive. She emphasized that there would be no more foreign deals, an ethics advisor would be chosen and lastly, Donald Trump would have no involvement in the business. It quickly became clear that Trump was not going to sell his business or put those assets in a blind trust, or release his tax returns.

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