Lying Politicians

House Democrats Erode Our Democratic System

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House Democrats have seriously damaged our democracy. Their relentless pursuit of dubious charges against the president has created a constitutional crisis. House actions to this point have blurred the lines of power between the three major branches of our government.

The founders created a mechanism to depose a president if he or she oversteps their authority. At the same time they were careful about delineating crimes of a president that might qualify him or her for impeachment. They used words like high crimes and misdemeanors that portray a guilty president as one who is detrimental to our democracy because his crimes were heinous under any circumstances. Visions of treason, sedition and murder are the crimes that come to mind.

The founders certainly didn’t envision presidents being ousted for speculative indiscretions that couldn’t be proven or were based upon hearsay without being processed under the rule of law. Keep in mind almost all of the initial testifiers in the Judiciary Committee’s investigation of Trump had second and third hand information about the president’s actions and conversations. Most of the evidence was hearsay that wouldn’t be admissible in a court of law. When the proceedings move to the Senate, the president will benefit by the usual amenities of a court of law that will include facing accusers (including the whistle-blower), representation by counsel and calling witnesses.

But the real damage by Democratic shenanigans over the past few weeks is that impeachment is now a tool readily available to any opposition-led majority in the House of Representatives. For frivolous and unpopular actions future presidents will be subjected to yet another three-ring circus, as we witnessed in recent weeks. The bar for impeachment is now on the ground as if we were prosecuting a common thief, as opposed to the leader of the free world.

The lesson about “lowering the bar” should have been obvious to liberal lawmakers in the House based upon a similar episode in the Senate a few years ago. For decades the filibuster was used to stymie appointments to federal courts by the minority. Democrats, in frustration, changed the rules of the Senate enabling senators to confirm judges with a simple majority, and not a super majority, for all judges except Supreme Court justices.

Democrats, thinking that they outwitted their rivals, disregarded the reality that they might face if control reverted back to Republicans, which it did. Republicans, upon assuming power changed the rule further to include Supreme Court justices. Democrats objected, but were drowned out by their own stupidity.

The result was confirmation of a series of young conservative justices to the highest court in the land that will affect the law and our society for many years. It was a naïve and tragic miscalculation.

Here we are at the same crossroads. Prospectively, Americans should expect a hair trigger when Republicans regain the House, which could be in 2020 even if Trump loses the presidency. If Warren is elected, perhaps Republicans will impeach her for lying about her background to the electorate and to Harvard University when she applied for a position at the law school.

Democratic Monkey Business

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The impeachment stage is thankfully coming to an end. Articles should be delivered to the House of Representatives soon, and Democrats, with their majority will impeach Donald Trump. The Senate will then convene and acquit making the whole process a colossal waste of time.

There are a number of important takeaways that can be drawn from this horrid experience, none of which are positive things for our country or the people we elected to represent us.

The process to impeach the president has completely disregarded the rule of law. It is defined as “a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated.”

The law has not been fairly applied by Democrats during the impeachment of Trump. They kept the whistleblower’s identity a secret for reasons unknown. How can the person who initiated this process not be questioned? Customarily the accused have the ability to face their accusers.

Defendants are supposed to be able to call witnesses. This was not permitted in the House proceedings. And hearsay is typically not admissible. Democrats have not presented one witness who saw or heard with his or her own eyes or ears the commission of an impeachable offense.

There have been multiple accusations against Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the impeachment brigade. Republicans objected to the aforementioned rule of law violations and the way the congressman has scornfully led the process.

In the future any majority in the House will not hesitate to impeach a future president based upon current events. The problem with impeachment is that it costs millions of dollars of taxpayer money and completely paralyzes Congress. Our lawmakers cannot effectively conduct the business of the country while attempting to destroy a presidency.

But most important thing about impeachment is the animosity it engenders. Republicans and Democrats in a two-party democracy must serve as a check and balance against corruption, obstruction and misuse of taxpayer money by the other party. But the venom existing between the parties will likely change the way that lawmakers negotiate with each other in Congress in a bad way.

Democrats moved forward with impeachment despite the fact that another presidential election is right around the corner. Sixty-something million Americans voted for Trump, and he collected 304 electoral votes in 2016. Why wouldn’t Democrats defer to the electorate, rather than defying the will of the voters with such laughable evidence?

The answer is obvious. Democrats do not have a candidate that moves the country. The only way for Dems to beat Trump is to remove him legislatively from office before the 2020 election. Moreover, Dems think that rapid-fire accusations- Trump is a traitor, he colluded with Russia to win in 2016, he obstructed justice, he bribed Ukraine into helping him in 2020 and so on- will denigrate Trump and enable a liberal to win next November.

Things in Washington have never been worse. Yet, the country is chugging along nicely economically, and most Americans are benefiting by high employment, higher wages, low energy prices, etc. There are major foreign affairs issues that threaten our peace and prosperity, but Trump seems to be doing quite well dealing with them.

It’s amazing that conservative and liberal perspectives about the impeachment are so different. Frankly, I think Democrats have struck out during the proceedings. They are not going to be able to throw Trump out of office with hearsay. They have already struck out twice before trying to prove collusion and obstruction.

I hope that voters punish Democrat lawmakers for damaging our country in 2020.

And, of course, there is Trump, the man that Obama installed into the Oval office. He’s a menace, but he’s going to be leading the country for another five years. So, everybody, get over it.

Impeachment Is Threatening Our Democracy

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The swamp known as Washington, D.C., is becoming more toxic every day, and the impeachment of President Trump is threatening our democracy.

The impetus of the growing peril to our country is, of course, the election of Trump, who strode into office in response to voter dissatisfaction. The Trump experiment has been anything but a smooth ride for our nation.

The Obama administration swung far to the left and disenfranchised the very people Obama promised to help, the black community and young Americans. Ironically these groups did the worst during the Obama years, and yet both groups remained loyal to the president.

The backlash to an incompetent and ineffective president has been over cooked. Voters looked outside of Washington for new leadership. Donald Trump, a man known for his quirky, aggressive and self-promoting disposition defeated several stalwarts of his party in the primaries in a wild and whacky primary contest.

To no one’s surprise Trump attacked opponents personally and brought them to their knees. He denigrated the Republican establishment and proclaimed it was only one notch above Democratic progressivism. Trump decimated his competition. And America chose a shady real estate developer with absolutely no experience to lead the party.

Even more ironic, Democrats chose about the only person in their party who could not defeat Trump. Trump out-campaigned Hillary Clinton whose attitude of entitlement proved to be her downfall. She was not going to be president, and was decisively defeated in the one and only metric that matters- the Electoral College.

Trump was just as surprised as anyone when he eked out a win in Florida, and then Ohio, then Michigan, then Pennsylvania and so on. Voters were sick of the old guard, dynasties and bold-faced liars, and yet they chose a man who has proven that he is a greater liar than any presidents before him.

Now we are on a precipice. Do American voters cast their ballot for a continuation of the bizarre, self-indulgent, idiosyncratic and non-statesman-like leadership of the incumbent? Or do they opt for a socialist and make a complete U-turn politically?

How has the country painted itself into such a corner? Opponents of Trump have moved left to deflect Trump’s right persuasion. Both parties have become far more extreme and the ultimate outcome of the impending election will be another president that cannot bring the country together.

Historically candidates were radical in the primaries and more centrist in the general election. No more. What you see in the impending primaries is what you will get if any of the current crop of candidates are victorious.

But there’s another sinister trend at play in the halls of Congress. Under the pretense that Trump is trying to unconstitutionally increase the influence of the president, Congress is moving forward to usurp the power of the vote from the people. Why would Democrats be so anxious to impeach and possibly oust a president one year away from a new election? Even more important, why would Congress attempt to undo the legitimate election of Trump in 2016?

This perspective is not an endorsement of Trump, the president or the man. But if he did not commit an impeachable crime, Trump should not be distracted from his duties as president to contend with a House that is hell-bent on prosecuting him.

The precedent of such an action would be very dramatic and meaningful. A House that opposes a president at any time will now be less constrained to begin impeachment proceedings with a simple majority, thereby bringing government to a halt. Of course being convicted by the Senate with a super majority will likely result in few if any convictions.

The hatred, venom and unprofessional behavior of Democratic leaders is unmistakable and has been fostered by spinning of information, illegally leaking confidential testimony and denying due process. In America we change leaders by replacing bad performers with replacements that are duly elected, not through proclamations by Congress.

Presidents are not above the law. But if a president is to be impeached it should be done fairly, according to the rule of law and without political interference.

Warren As President- Yikes!

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What would it be like to have Elizabeth Warren in the White House? Most business people, who are capable of adding and subtracting, think a Warren administration would be a total disaster. But, what does the average American think of this candidate? Perhaps they should be worrying whether Warren will be able to deliver any of the items on her long list of crazy campaign promises?

The smart money is betting that Democrats will retain control over the House of Representatives, and Republicans the Senate. Let’s assume Warren wins and Congress does not change materially. It’s likely that none of the large programs proposed by Warren, especially one-payer, universal health care, free college tuition, forgiveness of student debt and massive tax increases for both the wealthy and the middle class, would be enacted.

Keep in mind that even if the Senate went blue, to the Democrats, legislation would still be hampered unless liberals win a super majority. Obama was unable to enact very many programs after the death of Teddy Kennedy, which resulted in Democrats losing a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

How will Warren keep busy in light of overwhelming congressional obstruction? Well, you should expect that every mandate issued by Trump would be reversed by a corresponding Warren mandate. Our country will effectively be legislated by presidential edicts, not by Congress. This would be the third president in a row to experience this phenomenon. And what will the American people hear from Democrats every day- “President Warren is unable to govern effectively because Republicans are obstructionists.”

But America, rest assured, Warren’s most bird-brain proposals will be dead on arrival in Congress.

As far as her administration is concerned, Warren will stuff each position with politically correct, left wing, radical individuals that are of like mind with the new president. But since the inexperienced new president knows nothing about how a White House operates and coordinates with Congress and a thousand other bureaucracies, it will be interesting to see who Warren’s key advisors will be.

Even more frightening will be the individuals selected to advise Warren on foreign affairs. Undoing all of Trump’s accomplishments will be the first priority of this group.

What issues will Warren focus on during her initial weeks and months in the White House?

For sure the obliteration of the wealthy class in America will be the top objective. Exceptionalism, merit promotions and higher compensation will be discouraged, as will accumulation of wealth. Unfortunately for Warren, Congress will not cooperate, and the 1% will live on. The “specter” of capitalism, as seen through the eyes of a socialist, will be impossible to defeat.

Americans should expect to see proposals to redo (yet again) health care, reform immigration (goodbye to Trump’s wall), forgiveness of college debt and rebuilding of our infrastructure. The problem is that Congress will balk because of national deficit concerns along with the well being of our financial system. However, when possible, Warren, like her predecessors will sidestep Congress and issue mandates.

Of course global warming will be high on the agenda. But even Warren will be unable to reverse the damage inflicted on Mother Earth by man over the past 7,000 years in four short years. And besides where will the money come from to execute a “green plan?” Let’s not forget that other nations are not prepared to defer their industrial revolutions to benefit the global environment.

Warren’s relationships with foreign leaders will be interesting to observe. Who will she gravitate towards? It certainly won’t be macho men like Putin, Xi, Netanyahu, MBS (of Saudi Arabia) and Kim J. It makes no difference that problems instigated by this group account for a huge percentage of problems in the world that America must deal with. No Warren will gravitate towards Macron, Trudeau and Merkel (or her replacement), all socialistic leaning leaders.

Warren has not opined to any great extent about the Middle East, the area that gives American presidents more agita than any other place. However Warren will be ready to accept refugees from this part of the world that would fit nicely into her plan to open America’s borders to everybody.

You get the picture. Warren would be a hot mess. Moving from promises to execution will be difficult for a socialistic administration because most Americans support our capitalist system. Warren expected assault on businesses and shareholders will surely piss off most savvy citizens since they are dependent upon healthy employers.

Warren will believe her mandate will be to reverse everything Trump has done, good and bad. The sixty four thousand dollar question is “with what?”

Lying Politicians

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The whole purpose of political campaigns, debates, interviews and rallies is to give voters an opportunity to hear from the candidates. The more data a voter accumulates about the contenders, the more informed the voter will be to elect someone who will represent his or her interests and concerns.

When the contenders lie about their experiences or their true feelings about important issues, the more difficult it becomes to make good decisions in the voting booth. Exasperating the experience is the press when its reporting is biased towards one political party or another.

For sure voters in 2020 will receive more information than ever before in history. There are newspapers, periodicals, magazines, news releases, cable TV, social media and so many other sources from which voters can gather data before they decide.

The problem is the information received may be tainted or inaccurate in an effort to sway voters one way or the other. Trump calls this fake news. Or, the “facts” provided are wrong because the outlet reporting them did not vet its sources and/or what it was told.

So that’s the rub. There’s plenty of information to sink your teeth into, but voters really don’t know who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. The real problems occur, and voters get confused, when two politicians stand up in front of the media with the same set of facts and express entirely different perspectives.

The Ukraine affair is a perfect example. Trump said he legitimately spoke with the Ukraine president about alleged political corruption perpetrated by Joe and Hunter Biden. Trump was so sure that his inquiries didn’t cross the line that he declassified and made public a transcript of the conversation.

Our president said it was in his purview to follow up on possible crimes of corruption by either of the Bidens, or any American for that matter. Was Trump investigating because he believed Biden did something illegal, or because Biden was expected to be his rival in 2020? If it were the latter, it would be fair to say Trump was attempting to interfere in the US election with the help of a foreign government. But how can anyone judge what’s in the heart of another person? In other words, is Trump lying about his motive for attacking the Bidens?

Democrats are dead sure that Trump was trying to rig the election and are preparing impeachment papers at this moment.

The backlash has been that Republicans and Democrats spent nearly a week calling each other liars. Trump says Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is a liar and even suggested that Schiff helped the whistleblower document his accusations against Trump. Schiff says he will prove the president and Rudy Guiliani are guilty of trying to influence the 2020 election in their conversations with the Ukraines. Who is a voter to believe? The opposing forces have the same “facts” and completely different viewpoints. The Democrats are about to upset the stability of our government, so they better be sure they are providing accurate information.

I don’t have an answer to the previous question and would recommend that voters read the documents involved and then consider what each side is proclaiming. Past lies by anyone erodes the confidence of what they are saying presently. The president certainly has a problem in this arena, as does Schiff.

The veracity of all the people involved in the Ukraine affair is in question. At least Trump provided a document that purportedly gives us the essence of what he discussed with the Ukraine leader. Democrats are trying so hard to find an impeachable offense that they are stretching the truth from my vantage point.

Trump And Progressives Are Creating Chaos In Washington

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How did the federal government become so dysfunctional? Who’s responsible for making our leaders completely ineffective? There are two parties that share the blame- Donald Trump and the radical, progressive congressional Democrats.

From the day he was elected, America knew that having Trump as president was going to be challenging. He’s a neophyte who thinks he’s a master dealmaker and a negotiator. These might be true in the real estate business, but governing the most powerful nation in the world is something else.

In any case Trump is not a great politician, and he really needs help navigating through the complexities of Washington, even more than his predecessors. At first Trump seemed enthusiastic about recruiting qualified aides to advise him, but few have lasted. Most found it impossible to work for the man and were either fired or just walked off the job.

Trump concluded that the only people he could trust were his family and some close friends. This is not to say that Ivanka and Jared are not bright young people. Fact is they are equally unqualified for the governmental roles they play, and brought nothing to the political battlefield that suffocates the White House. Frankly to think that Kushner would be able to make peace between Israel and Palestine is laughable.

Never in recent history has a president fought so brutally with his counterparts in Congress. Every minor squabble immediately morphs into a death match that includes threats, name-calling, lies, innuendo, exaggeration and distrust.

Trump wants to be his own man with the press, a terrible idea for too many reasons to delineate in this essay. None of his press secretaries have survived for very long because Trump is uncontrollable, with his tweets and otherwise. He doesn’t listen to sage counsel, and too often mundane issues blow up and become major confrontations that dominate the news cycle. Additionally Trump is unable to allow snide commentary to roll off his back. The most insignificant comments ultimately become childish name-calling contests.

And finally the president needs to be surrounded with a legion of attorneys. He’s always defying tradition and interpretation of everything from the Constitution to existing laws. Using attack dog lawyers to intimidate others has not endeared the president to the people he must work with to effectively govern the country. And since when do presidents “ignore” requests from Congress.

Trump’s lousy disposition only serves to make his opponents despise him even more. He thinks he’s smarter than everybody, but it’s not true. It should be noted that Trump’s aggressiveness has been an asset when dealing with certain foreign leaders. Many despots only understand and respond to one thing, military might along with hardball negotiations.

For years presidents have debated with, fought with, denigrated, cajoled and crucified congress people. In most cases, after the debate is ended, everyone sits down and has an adult beverage. All the harsh rhetoric is forgiven. Not with Trump and the current crop of liberal crazies in the Democratic caucus.

Politicians grow to hate and resent each other for many reasons, but very few have let bad feeling get to the current level of distrust and disrespect.

It’s hard not to attribute an equal amount of blame for the current level of venom to social media and the blinding liberalism in the press today. From the moment Trump was elected, his political enemies and the radical left wing news have attempted to destroy his presidency. Not for one second did Trump‘s detractors give him an opportunity to prove he loves America. Every situation involving Trump was labeled evil, immoral, racist, misogynist, xenophobic, illegal or a lie.

Democrats have been seduced by a destructive bunch of misfits that can’t add one expense to another and are blinded in their efforts to bestow freebies even if they bankrupts the country. It should come as no surprise that these initiatives will be recognized by voters for what they are: socialistic.

Progressives will not be given a mandate to drain the resources of successful people. Nor will they be able to transform our country into a social state that eschews exceptionalism. Every American wants to earn more money and have a better life. Nearly everybody wants a shot at the brass ring. Radical liberals want to take money earned over the years and redistribute it. They constantly blame the most successful among us for the travails of those less fortunate.

But the most irksome liberal crime would be stealing the 2016 election from the victors with political chicanery and sleight of hand. Congress should not attempt to unseat a duly elected president without overwhelming proof of crimes and misdemeanors. For nearly three years radical left wing politicians have been twisting the truth and investigating the investigators. It has been a waste of both time and money

The latest brouhaha over Ukraine relations is a continuation of the Democratic ploy to oust Trump. It will not work because most of America has stipulated two things.

  1. Trump is not a nice guy or a great president, but that does not mean he should be thrown out of office.
  2. Trump has not done anything that rises to an impeachable offense.

 

I hope that all of the politicians that are taking Americans for fools lose their seats in 2020. I wish Trump were not president, but Democrat incompetence is going to give him another four years. I’m not looking forward to continuing investigations and dream of the day that our government once again is motivated to solve problems that afflict the poor, the unhealthy, the aged and our veterans.

Trump Says Baltimore Is “Rat-Infested”

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The name-calling and accusations between the White House and Capitol Hill are escalating every day. The latest involves, who else, the name caller in chief- President Trump, and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

The congressman, who is black, was berating a White House official about the appalling conditions on the border with Mexico. The rant included some very strong statements about abominable conditions that immigrant children are facing at the border. The implication was that Trump and his aides are not concerned with the welfare of innocent children.

Trump responded to the congressman’s tongue-lashing, and as is his style, indicated that Cummings’ district includes the “rat-infested” city of Baltimore. Further, Trump said the congressman has done little over decades to improve the abominable situation in the city.

Trump’s tweet was immediately labeled a racist slur because many of Cummings’ constituencies are black. It was an easy target for Trump-haters.

Many Trump supporters don’t really believe that the president intended to make a racial remark, but who knows what the man is thinking when he goes over the edge on social media in a hissy fit.

Cummings’ was wrong to accuse border guards of treating immigrants inhumanely, as funding has not been sufficient to adequately take care of the thousands who are illegally crossing the border. But Trump was also out of line with his inflammatory statement. It certainly will not be helpful to Trump if he expects to ever have a working relationship with House Democrats. And now this latest chapter of Trump’s bonehead rhetoric will dominate the news for days.

Trump has been in office for nearly three years and he has not changed his nasty and vicious attitude. And there is no expectation that a kinder and gentler person will emerge during the next 18 months through the 2020 election.

But support for Trump is building in spite of his ubiquitous verbal and social media assaults against those that disagree with him. The country is improving and Americans are taking notice.

Economically liberals are hoping for a downturn so Trump will not be able to use the economy in his campaign rhetoric. Liberals want the world economy to also come crashing down as a result of the trade war between China and the US. Liberals want the US’s allies to abandon us and to support the dangerous and existential Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration. Liberals want the situation at the Mexican border to blow up, even as border officials are working under the most adverse conditions while the pols “talk” about it daily.

But, intelligent Americans are able to look beyond Trump’s horrible personality and belligerent perspectives, if his performance warrants them to do so. The economy is not showing any signs of tailing off. Iran is going bankrupt, as Trump has cut off its revenues from oil sales. North Korea will also go belly up if Kim refuses to give up his nukes. China is not looking so strong these days as it faces growing unemployment and credit problems. And most recently, citizens of Hong Kong, who want to elect their own leaders democratically, are challenging Mainland China.

The only thing that has gone haywire in America is Washington D.C. The left and the right are not capable of working together. Democrats are still trying to find a crime by Trump that is impeachable (instead of spending their time improving America and Baltimore). And Democrats have offered the electorate socialists and people who are unable to add and subtract as candidates for president.

The Democrats are going to lose in 2020. Armageddon is not around the corner. The US is still the strongest power in world. Voters will see the light and agree that the only thing worse than Trump in the White House, would be one of the liberal candidates in the Oval Office.

It’s shameful that among 330 million Americans we cannot find one person who is moderate, truthful, empathetic, intelligent and truly patriotic to be our president.

 

Is America Corrupt?

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Is America corrupt? Are our government leaders concerned about the well being of the country over and above their own self-interests? How many citizens cheat in business, and personally? How many taxpayers fudge their returns? Do many people pad their medical insurance reimbursements?

The college application scandal has been a real shocker. Well-to-do parents gamed the system to insure that their undeserving children obtained coveted acceptances from elite colleges. In some situations the children received help taking standardized tests, and bribes were paid to school administrators and sports coaches. The parents are not the type of people you would expect to actually commit felonies, even to benefit their children.

The scandal makes those of us who follow the rules wonder whether we are in the minority. Do most people cheat in everyday life?

Cutting corners starts early in life. If your parents didn’t take the time to tell you to respect others, then you probably don’t care about anyone but yourself. And, if you have opportunities to cheat playing basketball or monopoly as a child to increase the odds of winning, you took them. Even though no money was involved, you needed the self-satisfaction of winning.

And what about those of us who attend church, temple or mosque and pray to God? How many walk out of houses of worship and cheat on their taxes, abuse family members and steal from others? God does not bar anyone from visiting his house even if they are sinners because He has faith that we can behave better. In today’s environment this perspective may not be reality.

Whenever I listen to politicians and world leaders I feel like I’m being treated like a fool. Do these people really believe that I’m so stupid that I can’t recognize lies and twisted logic? Frankly many voters are fools if they rely on political claptrap to make their decisions.

Voters should spend time preparing for Election Day. Don’t vote exclusively on one issue. Consider the totality of a candidate’s principles and beliefs. Depending upon FOX News or the NY Times exclusively is a recipe for disaster. Good citizens learn about both sides of issues before they pull a lever at a polling place.

For so long I relied upon written news for my information. Sure, reporters are biased like anybody else. But newspapers, good newspapers, should ensure that reported news is factual and not tainted by opinions of the authors.

Today both sides of the political spectrum politicize every occurrence. To make matters more complex, those reporting the news offer their perspectives even as we assume they are unbiased. The feelings of the press towards our current president are deeply seeded with hatred and scorn (this is not to say the bad feelings are not justified by our leader’s demeanor). The facts in the newspapers and on TV are peppered with contempt.

If market or public sentiment changes from world events, everyone wants to know if it will impact their lives. Very little empathy is generated by the aftermath of certain events if they do not have an effect on one’s life. Things like famine, disease, war, oppression and abuse are other people’s problems. This perspective is inappropriate because events that do not seem to have any relevance can change how people act towards America.

And then there is our current president, the all-time master of misinformation and self-aggrandizement. To his credit Trump is transparent. He has not hidden facts from us except those that are related to his personal life (like his tax returns and his relationships with women). The man is not concerned about details. Rather, he cares only whether an event will benefit his ego and reputation. All the while his sycophants are telling him he is great every day.

Frankly I don’t believe Trump’s behavior will influence today’s young people. He is not and does not want to be a role model. Trump is so far off the grid that his behavior will be denigrated long after he leaves office. He will be rated as one of the worst presidents ever regardless of his accomplishments because he represents the worst of the way a leader should act.

My concern is whether I can believe anything said by my leaders, candidates for office and the media. Every time they step in front of a camera, it’s an effort to pump up their reputation or sell a political perspective as opposed to giving us germane things to think about. Americans are shielded from bad things like children not old enough to process negativity.

Honesty, integrity, empathy, generosity and courage along with creativity, innovation and risk-taking are what make a person great. When you add in concern for family, friends and country, you have a complete individual.

Why Do Americans Contimue To Elect Candidates Who Lie And Distort The Truth?

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By Sal Bommarito

ISIS has won a major victory in Ramadi, the largest city in the Anbar Province. This should be a rude awakening for President Obama pertaining to his failed strategy in Iraq. For Americans, the action is thousands of miles away and none of our soldiers were killed or injured, so too few are challenging the administration about its misrepresentation of the war.

The U.S. government has continuously fed bad information to the public about the progress of the hostilities. The New York Times reported that Josh Ernest, Obama’s press secretary said, “We have seen a lot of success, but we’ve also seen significant periods of setback” (an understatement). He then asked, “Are we going to light our hair on fire every time that there is a setback in the campaign against ISIL?” The hair of the entire administration should be ablaze based upon the direction of the ISIS war. The only success in recent days was the alleged killing of a top leader of ISIS, who very few people even have heard of.

I began to consider whether all presidents lie and distort exploits for political purposes. Shouldn’t our leaders be honest all the time? Non-transparency is bad enough, but sometimes necessary in diplomacy. But, outright misrepresentation is another thing. Even Congress seems to be in the dark based upon criticisms by its members about the direction of the conflicts in both Iraq and Syria.

If the current U.S. plan in the region is faulty (and many believe it is), why doesn’t the administration change course. The American strategy of minimal intervention and training Iraqi troops to defend their own country are flops. Eschewing ground force employment will make progress difficult as ISIS embeds itself deeper into populated areas. Moreover, Iraqi government forces, once again, ran from the fight. This has resulted in yet another change in direction for Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi who is likely to “re-invite” Shiite militias that are loyal to Iran back into the fray. The U.S. response to this could be cessation of bombing sorties.

In the meantime, ISIS is recruiting more soldiers and culling the favor of Sunni tribesmen who feel disenfranchised by the Iraqi government. The sectarian schism is growing every day to the dismay of Sunnis, who are the principal recipient of ISIS cruelty even though the latter has sworn to kill Shiites and other ethnic minorities. The Times also indicated “ISIS Finances Are Strong.” Extortion, taxation, oil theft, investment in soldiers and cost control serve the insurgents well.

The ISIS imbroglio is only one situation where the flow of information is too often faulty. Although progressives may disagree, many Americans believe that the president’s strategy to solve income inequality is naïve. Even worse, it has stirred class warfare in America.

Obamacare is another example of the administration misleading the public about every aspect of the program (I do think universal health care is a noble objective). Everything from implementation to ultimate costs to the true beneficiaries has been twisted so ordinary Americans throw up their hands. Some benefit, but many have not to the extent advertised.

There are many examples of politicians spewing lies; the practice goes back to the beginning of the Republic. In recent years, Lyndon Johnson secretly bombed Cambodia and Laos. Ronald Reagan covertly provided arms to Nicaraguan “contras.” Politicians live high on the hog with donor support, don’t pay taxes and violate the law while criticizing hard working Americans for being too successful and too wealthy, neither one of which is a crime.

The biggest lies are told during political campaigns. Candidates exaggerate their credentials and make up false stories about their opponents. They make secret deals with wealthy supporters for cash and other favors. Our leaders have actually distorted our Constitution so that political donations are defined as a form of free speech. This effectively makes campaign finance reform impossible. Big money will influence elections for the foreseeable future.

In 2016, Americans need to find a man or a woman to be president who will be honest all the time and transparent. No more lies and distortions. I recommend voters not support those who lie about their opponents, their resumes or their campaign objectives.