Wednesday, January 31, 2018

It is more tampering for political purpose by the Republicans.

January 31, 2018
By Shimon ProkupeczLaura JarrettJim Sciutto and Abby Phillip

FBI Director Christopher Wray (click here) sent a striking signal to the White House Wednesday, issuing a rare public warning that a controversial Republican memo about the FBI's surveillance practices omits key information that could impact its veracity.

The move sets up an ugly clash with the President who wants it released.

"With regard to the House Intelligence Committee's memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it," the agency said in a statement. "As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."...

I appreciate the idea the FBI reviewed the memo, but, it is not worthy of any release. The memo has been tampered with for political purposes. It lacks accuracy.

Quite frankly, Trump asked for such surveillance to occur, because, he placed very controversial figures within his election campaign.

Paul Manafort, who is a nice guy on the surface, is a very worrisome person. Manafort alone would draw attention to any Russian involvement. What are you kidding me? Yanukovych? Give me a break. Trump has been stupid about this entire thing. He knew the kind of work Manafort conducted and then put him in the middle of his campaign. That's nuts. Trump deserves every bit of surveillance and there were and continues to be issues.

It is my best guess Putin suggested Manafort to Trump because of the work he did in Ukraine. It is so very obvious with so many people involved with Russia, Putin was exerting control however he could be accommodated, including the poisoning of the political well on the net. You may as well have had Putin at the podium for the State of the Union address, because, it is so very Un-American. That speech was delusional and simply horrible and lacked a real love of the country. The National Anthem? Those are warning signs about a greater agenda.

The Democratic Response to the State of the Union address was wanting.

It was so wonderful to hear a Kennedy speaking again. They are wonderful people and their involvement with the country is vital for the morality they bring to our vision. "Joe" was great and did a wonderful job, however, there is a chronic problem with Democratic speeches in that they lack specificity. 

I agree with every word he said, however, if he would have just referenced potential legislation that can't get out of committee or onto the US House floor and Senate floor for that matter; it would have brought his speech to life. Democrats fall into the habit of relying on their morality to carry their speech; that isn't enough. It was enough in the day of JFK, Robert and Teddy; but, these days Americans want to know what the picture looks like so they can touch it and feel it and try it on for size.

If I were making a speech as a Democratic candidate I would state what exactly I would propose when elected. I would bring my understanding, especially in the US House, of the district I represented and provide clear paths to healthier lives and problem-solving. The Democrats are great people. Their values are rock solid. It is hard to argue with a path forward when it is painted clearly and with INVOLVEMENT by the voters. The way to involve voters is to present an idea and have them scrutinize it. It would bring people's attention to an issue, help them understand it and provide ways to form their opinion so they know where their vote is going.

The Democrats don't have hate to fall back on to drive voters to the polls, but, a real sense of owning the solutions to the problems will bring about involvement that will make a difference. 

January 30, 2018

Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., (click here) delivered the rebuttal to President Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night. Democratic leaders called Kennedy a "relentless fighter for working Americans" in their announcement of his selection. At 37, Kennedy has served in Congress since 2013.

"It would be easy to dismiss the past year as chaos. Partisanship. Politics," he said. "But it's far bigger than that. This administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us — they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection."

It is wrong to call it a failure of politics, it is far more than that.

It is a matter of competency and priorities set to unite the country. It is far more than simply political divisions.

There is a huge cultural divide the Republicans are trying to instil in the country and to be honest it started with "W" and his "Holy Society." I consider this a very dangerous time for the country and it is very worrisome. I see the gap between the rich and the poor widening and with that comes a "so-called morality" that victimizes the Poor and the Working Poor. It was most readily seen with the reference to the adoption that was supposed to be a humanitarian effort by the cop and his wife.

The politics is hideous. It is carried by a media enterprise that would like to own the world, namely Murdoch and his idea of what is APPROPRIATE for a society. It segments the country into areas that are hideous to the facts we have surrounding us and creates a faux world of information that victimizes people as "good people" and "bad people." In other words, the cop culture.

It is not about religion, it is about the abusive use of religion to form a society outside of it's government.

The speech last night opened with a description of racism I could not believe. It came right out of the Murdoch Hate Speech Book and it was based in complete myth, yet Republicans thought it was spot on. That is propaganda and an unwillingness to act to FIX THE WRONGS OF OUR LAWS when it victimizes citizens. As PROOF is the continued realization that the USA has been incarcerating minorities is far larger numbers than the majority Caucasians. It has been incarcerating them for issues that do not belong in prison, yet alone jail. The USA has been looking seriously at society and the way it impacts individual lives and it is a good path to be on, but, to segregate races of people into lazy and ambitious is not going to get the job done.

Racism is not politics, it is hatred and Trump practices it every day; with the idea of lazy African Americans, pregnant druggies too hopeless to rehab, a border wall that may as well say "Welcome to the United States of Hatred," and religious bigotry toward Muslims. The references are there is different words every day in Tweets that are meant to haunt the conscious of Americans that are entertained by his imagines.

This country is divided in very real ways that is about the lives we live and not about politics. To simply assign the division found in our country to politics is to bury the real problems, the real hatred below the surface. It isn't politics, it is hatred and victimization of the helpless in our society.

Wall Street stroked Trump today with a start that was hundreds of dollars above close and it is notable it didn't stay there. This is the USA where "The American Dream" is dying. It is absolutely dying and it is due to the wealthy and the greedy with Murdoch at the top of the list.

January 31, 2018
By Karen Tumulty, Philip Rucker and Elisa Viebeck

President Trump’s call (click here) for unity met the cacophony of Washington politics Wednesday, as Democrats redoubled criticism of his policies and Republicans acknowledged differences of opinion within their party on immigration.

Trump, in his first State of the Union address Tuesday, called for the two parties to come together — remarks sharply at odds with the combative manner in which Trump has conducted his presidency so far.

The president also outlined an ambitious agenda for his second year in office, from a $1.5 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, to a four-pronged immigration package, to a pledge to reduce prescription drug prices.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) called Trump’s infrastructure spending request “a big number” that he expects to be discussed when Republicans gather for a party retreat Wednesday and Thursday in West Virginia.....                

Vocational Schools can receive Pell Grants.

$5920.00 is the maximum Pell Grant for any student. I suggest those seeking a career or in need of a new career should apply.

Vocational schools can be a bit precarious if it is a private institution. They may take your money, but, will you sincerely have a job at the end of any vocational training. There are also private schools requiring high tuition as well, especially in the areas of Pastry Chef and the like, basically high demand in the marketplace.

Public Community Colleges frequently have vocational programs. It is wise to check local public Community Colleges for programs before diving into a private vocational school.