Category: Politics and Government

Five Very Different Observations This Week

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No Shortage of Things to Think About, Is There?

The Roll Up of Senior Military Leaders

This mysterious call up of all senior military commanders and their senior enlisted members, all for a mysterious meeting with the Secretary – and now including Trump – is a bad thing in about 9 different directions.

Of course, no one has a clue as to what this is all about. We will, likely, by the time many of you read this posting. Could be to announce firings, to demand loyalty, to call for the reapplication of a bunch of 1950s standards – no one knows except the perpetrator.

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Communications May Be The Key

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On Two Levels, We Are In Deep Water

Communications on Two Levels

On a fundamental level, we think of communication as how we talk to you each other, how we share views and information. People to people information and ideas sharing. That has been around pretty well since our species was born. What is new is the internet and related communications means.

On another level, communication may be thought of as a one way flow – how does government communicate with the population at large and how does government seek to influence how others communicate on a large scale.

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Take A Deep Breath, Take A Short Break

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As I started to prepare the posting for this week, I thought a lot, of course, about all that has happened in recent days, and all that’s coming in the next few days, perhaps including the shut down of our government.

I find myself reminded of some good advice I heard from a number of sources when this administration started. I think it was Michael Beschloss who said it best. This is going be a long fight, with many fronts engaged at the same time. We’re just in the early stages.

We don’t really have an option to give up.

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Hey, New Low Points

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Just When You Think It All Could Not Get Worse or More Embarrassing….

Seven months into this term of Trump, we find new low points in more areas than one could have imagined. If nothing else, we are learning what a potent cocktail one has when mixing arrogance, cruelty, and intellectual laziness, wrapped in a mindset where character simply does not count – heck, character is seen as a flaw by this bunch..

Just look at the last few days….

North Korea Has Nothing On US

The North Korea syndrome has arrived.

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A Mix of International & National Items

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Never a Dull Moment, Is There?

 Alaska Talks

We don’t know what took place or who said what, since Trump, breaking what had been a 100% precedent with all other presidents, talked with Putin with no note takers present and no transcripts published.

The fact that the meeting ran about half the allocated time and that there was no Q & A at the “press conference” at the end, indicates that at least Trump perhaps did not give away everything, but time will tell, especially from the meetings with the president of Ukraine and NATO leaders this week,

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One Thought, One Goal

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There is a Lot Going On. Let’s Focus on Effects and Causes to Frame the Rest

And So It Continues

The chaos, cruelty, and destructiveness of the Trump administration continues. It is being blocked or tripping over its own feet in some areas and is being aggressive in others. As I heard someone say recently, we are in only the first quarter of a four quarter (four year) engagement. Not the time to get tired yet.

Part of the Plan 2025 modality is to overwhelm the opposition and to flood the media and public consciousness every day,

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Reflections on Post-Disaster Community

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Disasters Really Do Bring Out the Best and the Worst in Us

Sometimes We Manage To Leave Politics Behind

Last year the area around which I live was hit hard by Tropical Storm Helene – the recovery is still underway, with over 100 people killed and billions of dollars in damage. In the last few days, a region of Texas suffered similar catastrophic losses (with well over 100 people still missing days after the floods). Similar damages are hitting in New Mexico and in Piedmont North Carolina.

A common thread is evident in all of these widely separated disasters.  

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Well, At Least The Path Forward Is Clear

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The Speed In Which Trump’s Awful Legislation Passed Speaks Volumes

What the Public Thinks About All This

Some really interesting data points on all this. Reliable polls show that people who have any information at all on the legislation hate it, by 2 -1 margin. But it also shows that less than 10% of the population feel they know much about it and over one-third say they know nothing about it.

That is a stunning bit of information and a damning finding on the Democrats at all levels. It is a complete mystery to me why Democrats did not flood local media with very specific numbers as to what this bill meant to each local community and nationally.

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Six Short Topics For Today

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Elections Have Consequences

Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid

The proposed Trump budget essentially guts Medicaid and dumps the resulting deficit of funding onto the states. If you think Social Security and Medicare are not next, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. This is simply the start of gutting our social care networks, which are already less than almost every other developed country model. People will be hurt, people will die, states will be saddled with impossible burdens. A lot of Trump voters are about to find a reconning coming their way, with much more to follow in other budget items.

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Immigration – Not Really All That Complex

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The Question is Who Wants to Not Solve It

Well, OK, There Is Some Complexity

I don’t want to be too flippant on this important topic. There are complications throughout this issue, and uncounted groups and organizations involved. Most of our laws and procedures are out of date by decades. But as will eventually (hopefully) establish here today, it is not complexity that keeps us from solving this. Its bad intent and bad communications that keep us in turmoil.

Three Groups Are Why We Have Not Solved This

We shall discuss momentarily why most people,

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