Monstrous

The Trump adminstration separated children from their parents at the border.
They did this with no real means to reunite them.
They announced that DNA testing will be used to try to search for parents and connect them with their children.
I suppose this is a step in the right direction.

But separating kids from their parents without a plan or means to rejoin them?
This would be less monstrous if

• They had put RFID chips under the kids scalp.
• They had clipped livestock ID tags to the kids ears.
• They had tattooed a number on the inside of the kids forearms.

But no.  They didn't bother to keep track.

They are just brown children of brown people and not worth the effort to track.

The people who took care of the kids after separation seem to have some level of morals.  Most of them, not all.

The demonizing of "others" like immigrants and Muslims is a tool of fascism.  This whole immigration "debate" is nothing but fascist theater.  Immigration isn't a problem in the US.  We need the people, we assimilate immigrants better than any nation in the world. The fears of crime and job loss to immigrants is not based on evidence. 

But the fascists need a target because they've got nothing else.

Angry

I am so fucking angry.
At myself for allowing myself to be swayed by polls in an unconventional election.
At pollsters being so sure of themselves in an unconventional election.
At the third party voters who needed to make a point.
At all who could have voted and didn't.
At Putin or whoever was feeding Assange his bullshit.
At Assange for fucking with our election with bullshit that DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER for his personal gain and ego.
At FBI Director Comey for whatever the fuck he thought he was doing.
At Clinton for being uninspiring to too many in the south, especially Florida where she had to win.
At whites across the country voting out of fear and greed for a rapist, lying, fraud who doesn't give a flying fuck about anybody but himself.
At the GOP who are going to use their power to try to fuck over millions of people on health care, civil rights, and a future of climate change disasters to support greed, fear, and religious bullshit. 

What I expected:

 

Republican Disrespect

History will look back and note that Republicans in Congress treated President Obama with unprecedented disrespect.

President Obama is the first president to be asked to show his birth certificate.

President Obama is the first president to face over 500 filibusters in the Senate.

President Obama is the first President to be denied a hearing on his budget.

President Obama is the first president to be denied a hearing on his Supreme Court nominee.

Barack Obama is a very good man. He deserved better than the unprecedented disrespect Republicans have shown him.

- Harry Reid, US Senator, 29 September 2016  @SenatorReid

 

Choices

It is a hard choice that has thousands of people starving and suffering at your border fence because of the probability that some small fraction of them would turn on you if allowed in and creating more people who will turn on you in the future. It is difficult to determine if this is objectively the correct choice. The US is making this choice. Germany did not. In my opinion Germany made the right choice.

The other choice is to allow in the refugees, build communities with them, develop trust with them. The community will help with security fears.  If they can't be allowed in, help them where they are, real actual help that works, to help them adapt and move on.

I think things are going to get a lot worse with climate change, learning this now will make the future less bleak.

Links for Hillary Clinton

This may shock you: Hillary Clinton is fundamentally honest

I Was One of the Most Ardent Hillary Haters on the Planet…Until I Read Her Emails

It’s time to admit Hillary Clinton is an extraordinarily talented politician

Why I will vote for Hillary Clinton, without qualm

1. The email “scandal” is not an issue. She has admitted the private server was a mistake. The FBI had no indication that she intended to compromise classified information. Intent is 9/10ths of that law. By Presidential decree in 2009, the heads of the State Dept, Defense Dept, and CIA define what is and isn’t classified in their departments. As Secretary of State, by definition, anything she wrote unclassified is by definition unclassified. Conflict with other departments to be adjudicated by the President. Fact. That’s the way classified information works. The FBI’s opinion on the subject stopped at opinion. They had no evidence of a crime. Unintentional negligence is not a crime.

2. She has the experience required to be President acquired as Secretary of State, US Senator, and even as First Lady. She is qualified.

3. Her policies as Secretary of State more closely correspond to my own. Combating terrorism requires thoughtful and coordinated response. Open indiscriminate warfare against terrorism will not end it, it will breed more, as has been demonstrated by decades of Israeli/Palestinian conflict as only one example.

4. She has reversed position on TPP. That means she can listen to dissent, to the other side of argument, make reasoned positions and correct them when necessary.

5. She recognizes that tax cuts for the wealthy and spending cuts that cost jobs do not create jobs. People with money to spend do, particularly a healthy middle class.

6. She is pro-choice.

7. She objects to the Hobby Lobby decision that says religious corporations can avoid paying health care insurance costs.

8. She objects to the decision that removed voting rights protections.

9. She objects to the Citizens United decision that makes unrestrained spending of money on elections free speech.

10. She supports the marriage equality decision and objects to the other “religious freedom” bigotry sweeping through local governments.

11. She recognizes the need for national gun control laws and regulation.

12. She will likely be in position to select three Supreme Court justices. Her selections will better align with my views and the views of the majority of the people of this country.

13. Benghazi is not an issue. There was no “stand down” order. That was established through millions of dollars of Congressional investigation.

14. She has the personality to remain calm, to assess, and to respond intelligently to crisis.

15. People say she is a genuinely nice person one-on-one.

16. She is not running for President for personal glory.

Sure, she isn’t perfect. Her laugh makes me cringe sometimes but this isn’t a personality contest.

Nearly every one of these points is counter to Trump/Pence.

Voting for Hillary is easy for me.

Iraq, Daesh, and Obama

McCain pissed me off blaming ISIS/Daesh/ISIL on Obama.  So wrong in so many ways.  I found this, copied it and lost the link but here it is anyway.  I've said and read this many times in the last few years.

1. John McCain supported the war in Iraq. He was one of the most ardent fans of invading Iraq and every other step taking by the Bush administration.

2. In 2008, before President Obama took office, President Bush signed a Status of Forces agreement with Iraq. It established that U.S. combat forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. combat forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011.

3. The Iraqis wanted the US forces out of Iraq. They viewed us as occupiers. 75% of Americans wanted our troops to come home, too.

4. President Obama tried to renegotiate the withdrawal and leave 10,000 US troops in Iraq. The State Department’s lawyers said troops couldn’t stay in Iraq unless the Iraqi parliament authorized them to do so, including granting them immunity from Iraqi law. The Iraqi parliamentarians would never OK such a decision, with Iraqi popular opinion staunchly against U.S. troops staying.

5. Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki – who was the Bush administrataion’s choice to run Iraq – said this about troop withdrawals: “The incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops are the most dangerous, most complicated and most burdensome legacy we have faced since the time of dictatorship. Iraq should get rid of them to protect its young democratic experiment.”

6. Our troops withdrew in Dec. 2011 before ISIS.

7 Maliki attacked Sunnis across Iraq in the following two years. The sectarian violence was a key part of the rise of ISIS as the Sunni leadership abandoned Maliki.

8. The Sunni-Shiite rift in Iraq and the Middle East has been going on since the 7th century.

9. The Iraqi army deteriorated.

10. The greatest catalyst for the rise of ISIS was the Syrian Civil War.

Finally, let’s remember that the GOP KNOWS all of thise. And that includes John McCain. But, rather than accept the facts and work together to fight the ISIS threat, the GOP blames the President.

This is your objection to Hillary Clinton?

To my friends who object to Hillary Clinton as president.
So, my understanding is this.

Your objection to Clinton is that in the throes of a crisis some emails were written and sent that turned out to be classified in post crisis review.
You want a strong decisive leader but one that is incapable of making a mistake in an area where they are not an expert.

And some of you think Donald Trump is the answer?

Really?

Actually, she is the expert. As Secretary of State, she defined what is classified under the Department of State. If she sends an unclassified email, regardless of the server, it is by definition unclassified from a State Department point of view. If the DoD or CIA comes along later and says "oh, we'd like to keep that info protected"... fine. But that doesn't make the initial email classified. Nor was there a security violation.

Yeah, that's how it works.

We Then Me?

This was posted at work as one of those "voices of..." things meant to be inspirational.  Or team building or something.

like it or not, ***** ****** has been depicted in the past as an arrogant company. It doesn’t matter whether that characterization originated from competitors, the press, our partners or our customers — it’s out there. And if we want to change this perception, we must start with making a change within ourselves, rather than expecting others to change and conform to our standards.

As a coach for the “We Then Me” pilot program for the Quality Assurance organization, I am even more aware of how the “Me” mentality can be disruptive to those around us. To foster change, it must start with each of us as individuals. We have the power to change from a “Me Then We” to “We Then Me” culture. Little by little, if we all have that mindset, we can change the perception those have of us as individuals and as a company.

I was going to comment with: "Many of us have worked with positive impact for our customers for decades.  We've worked "we then me" with dedication to mission success and performance which is I hope why **** **** is where it is today.  The "me" part has been a little lacking with economic purchasing and political power declining.  The "we" part is important but as the Soviet Union showed, not viable by itself."  But I didn't comment.

I'm pretty tired of working for the good of the company and country.  All this effort and the country fails to support it's people, only supporting the welfare of those in power.

Facebook ranting again

• 

  Tom Hail Fuck this. And the fucking arrogance of ignorance in the comments. Holy cow the stupid burns in there!
  

  
  

  

  Yesterday at 10:05pm · Edited · Like
• 

  Lindsay O'Barr Tom--Someone has attained access to your Facebook account. The Tom Hail I have known for 30 years would never resort to a bumper sticker icon in order to display displeasure over an amusing photo. Also, he is far too eloquent to resort to profanity to express his dissatisfaction with the ridicule of the person who apparently is single-handedly destroying this country. Of course, all other presidents have had their umbrellas held for them at times. (It would be burning stupid to think otherwise. ) The difference is they have not held the American people and all we value in contempt. This contempt for the American people and our blessed Constitution inspires a contemptuous response. Again, Tom, find out who this person is and get him (or her) off of your account before he (or she) destroys the reputation you have as a thoughtful, intelligent person. And please, no more profanity--it merely drags the perpetrator down. Please note--this is written with love and concern.

  13 hrs · Like

My reply:

Ok.  I am offended by the stupid picture and am not amused at all.  I do not have a right to not be offended therefore cannot complain about the picture being posted.  Likewise you do not have a right to not be offended by my use of descriptive language of my offense.  However, it is your post and FB gives you the ability (as is your right) to delete my comment.  President Obama (who was elected and re-elected by large and larger margins) is the choice of the people of this country.  That is a value you don't seem to understand or value.  I truly do not see the "contempt" for the American people or Constitution you see.  No attempt has been made to take your 2nd amendment rights, millions more Americans have health care through a GOP designed plan, my (and probably your) property values are raising again, the rich are getting richer by the minute, regulation is the only tool the President has to control business since Congress (namely the GOP) won't do anything that might hurt short term profits.  Where is this contempt?  ACA?  I don't particularly like it myself, it should have been Medicare for everyone and the health insurance industry should die like buggy whip manufacturers.  The coal industry needs to die likewise.  Fracking needs to end as soon as possible.  The fantasy that tax breaks create jobs needs to end.  Energy conservation must become a priority and carbon emissions reduced regardless of what India and China do.  Infrastructure rebuilding needs to begin, bringing with it millions of jobs.  Research and development money needs to be 10x what it is today.   College tuition loans should be interest free, paid for by closing the loopholes business has.  Immigration reform has to happen, the 12 million allowed an immediate path to legal residence and eventually citizenship.  Why? Because the GOP wanted them here before that black atheist muslim anti-christ guy occupied the WH.  What is this contempt you talk about?  He is the elected President of the United States.  He deserves respect and I give it to him.  This is Tom Hail and I approve of this message.

Comment about free speech and campaign financing

Let me try to be clearer. Money to support candidates for election to the legislative and executive branches has become less restrictive due to the two Supreme Court decisions on free speech and campaign financing, especially with respect to corporate funding. Corporations have interest in getting candidates elected that favor their business. Corporations and people with a lot of money provide funds for the candidates and to PACs to support their candidates. The result is that those with money can drive who gets elected, possibly with some quid pro quo expectation. Money (corporations, PACs, wealthy) can say whatever it wants, true or not. That makes the side with less money spend its more limited resources defending, rebutting, correcting and less able to express its case to the voters. The purpose of campaign finance controls is to allow a fair exchange of ideas and positions on issues for voters to decide with. That is an ideal state that I have no expectation of ever achieving. To think that corporations have any right to back a candidate or provide campaign financing for a candidate is in my mind wrong. Government representation is for the people, not corporations. A corporation is not a person, does not act like a person, does not have interests like a person. I don’t think corporations should have any direct influence in the election of government representatives. They have plenty of indirect influence. People with money don’t deserve any more say in who gets elected than from anyone else. Basic nature of a democracy. Examples of issues are socialized medicine and climate change. One is a political/social choice the people should make for themselves. The other is a scientifically determined fact the people need to choose to respond to. Both through their elected representatives. The problem is when the few (wealthy and corporations) use their money steer the choices of representatives and ultimately the choices for the issues to their benefit by overwhelming opposition with lies, misinformation, and distortion. That does happen. The people are not getting clear debate to choose with. They may choose against their best interests (like a plumber voting for a small government tax cutter who eventually cost him his business) or don’t vote because they are confused or ambivalent due to the fighting. What I desire is a level debating field where positions can be laid out clearly for people to make educated decisions. There can be noise all around the field and being a free speech advocate I support that, but within the political campaign debate, it has to be limited so that all sides (liberals, conservatives, greens, libertarians, etc…) can get their points across. That means limiting money and who can donate. I think it also means who can speak within the campaigns. I think there have to be rules of evidence as well. Within the campaign sphere. Right now, there is no such thing. I suspect voting would be more prevalent with the ability of people to go straight to the candidates’ positions without the flak and noise and lies and misinformation the free-for-all we have today gives. That is not government control of any message, that is control of the election process to allow the people to make informed voting decisions.

Twitter thing again.

Mitch Behna @MitchBehna

#ConservatismIn4Words Teach men to fish #LiberalismIn4Words Give me damn fish

DetailsOpen

5h

Tom Hail @fly44d

@MitchBehna makes sense to cut school funding then. #ConservatismIn4Words illogical condescending concern troll

 ViewConversation

5h

Mitch Behna @MitchBehna

@fly44d Yea, I'm the troll for you trolling on my TL. Riiiiiiight.

 ViewConversation

5h

Tom Hail @fly44d

@MitchBehna YOUR TL? Use a # and it isn't yours anymore. Public forum at that point.

 ViewConversation

5h

Mitch Behna @MitchBehna

@fly44d Besides, government has no business being in education curriculum. Just makes it worse

 ViewConversation

4h

Tom Hail @fly44d

@MitchBehna Ha ha ha ha! Evidence for that is... What you are fucking typing on RIGHT NOW? HA HA HA HA!!

 ViewConversation

4h

Mitch Behna @MitchBehna

@fly44d Oh yea, the No Child Left Behind under Bush worked so well. Not #Derp

 ViewConversation

3h

Tom Hail @fly44d

@MitchBehna NCLB was a conservative fuck-up based on fear and control. Space race, internet, medicine... govmt driven education!

 ViewConversation

3h

Mitch Behna @MitchBehna

@fly44d Bush supported it. Bush wasn't a conservative, he was a big government statist

 ViewConversation

Tom Hail@fly44d

Snort! @MitchBehna #ConservatismIn4Words In Bush denial now

12:41pm · 1 Jan 14 · TweetDeck

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