Two McBrien – Allingham families of Leitrim and Donegal

Two McBrien – Allingham families of Leitrim and Donegal

Posted on by Jack

These two McBrien – Allingham families have led to some confusion in evaluation of family relationships. I have written about odd coincidences in genealogy before but this one is much more confusing.

I first encountered the family of John McBrien and Elizabeth Allingham when I expanded my study of the genealogy of the Allingham family of the Glencar area of Killasnet parish in County Leitrim Ireland. The first record we have of my great great grandmother Ruth Allingham is her 1854 marriage in the small Church of Ireland near Glencar Lake . In 1856 Elizabeth Allingham (who is probably her sister) married John McBrien in the same church.
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Not a coup, President Trump

Not a coup, President Trump

Posted on by Jack

This is not a coup, Mr. President. You may not like it President Trump but the 25th amendment is part of our constitution.

So former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe says he and the Assistant Attorney General discussed using the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to legally remove a President from office and President Trump considers it an attempted coup. For the benefit those of his followers who do not understand the word “coup” which after-all is foreign in origin, he added “(overthrow government)”. Here is the tweet, a favorite means of Presidential communication in the last 2 years.
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Wall: an ineffective and stupid idea

Wall: an ineffective and stupid idea

Posted on by Jack

During his presidential campaign and during many rallies during his presidency, Donald Trump promised to build a wall on our southern border that Mexico would pay for. Just to be clear, the US would build it and Mexico would pay for it.

The check from Mexico is not in the mail. Mexico is not paying.

Now that he has broken that promise, President Trump wants money for the Wall from the US taxpayer and the House is not caving to his demands, and President Trump is refusing to re-open the parts of the government that have been showdown.
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Will the Wall protect us? No, stupid idea.

Will the Wall protect us? No, stupid idea.

Posted on by Jack

Will the Wall protect us from invading armies of Mexicans and Central Americans? I don’t think so.

At both ends of the Wall will be open ocean. We might build it from sea to shining sea but those who are motivated will just go around it.

If President Trump was on better terms with French leaders he might ask for a history lesson on the Maginot Line. Or he could read a book or consult his advisers.
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Trying for less than a half-promise kept but the Wall will cost

Trying for less than a half-promise kept but the Wall will cost

Posted on by Jack

Is this a half-promise kept and half promise broken? Candidate Donald Trump and President Trump have repeatedly promised to build a big, beautiful wall on our southern border that Mexico will pay for. Much to his apparent surprise the Mexican government does not agree. But he continued to promise that both part of his promise would be kept.
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Declare victory over ISIS and go home

Declare victory over ISIS and go home

Posted on by Jack

President Trump has declared victory over ISIS and said our troops are leaving. We won according to President Trump. What else can our troops do? This is the type of thing that is usually a punchline in a joke but it seems to be real. The Secretary of Defense and the US special presidential envoy for the defeat of ISIS resigned shortly after the announcement.

Are more resignations to follow our victory over ISIS ? Are our allies in this fight and more refuges to be slaughtered when our troops leave? We’ll just have to see what happens. Do we have a choice?
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Maybe even worse than Watergate

Maybe even worse than Watergate

Posted on by Jack

Is it worse than Watergate ? Those of us as old as the Retired Guy, give or take a decade or so, think of Watergate and Richard Nixon when we think of political scandals that have the potential to severely damage our democracy.

About a month into the Donald Trump presidency, I wondered if the investigations of the Presidential campaign could lead us to something as big or bigger than Watergate.
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A present for Vladimir

A present for Vladimir

Posted on by Jack

I suppose the President of Russian does not get that many Christmas presents. Maybe I’m wrong about that but the present to President Vladimir Putin from President Donald Trump looks like a good one.

I suppose he shares that gift with President Assad of Syria, The Supreme Leader of Iran, and the President of Turkey. It makes you wonder if the generosity of President Donald Trump knows any limits.

Chaos is us

Chaos is us

Posted on by Jack

Chaos seems to be a major feature of the US government now. A lot happening lately. But it all seem to go back to my earlier point that the chaos seems to be meant to distract us from important stuff. Maybe the Mueller investigation or maybe something else. The problem many of us have is we can’t tell which are the distractions in President Trump’s administration and what is important.
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Health Care: Meet the American Dream

Health Care: Meet the American Dream

Posted on by Jack

Health Care: Meet the American Dream by Janis Powers is a great read for anyone with an interest in health care.  Since healthcare is one of the most contentious issues in recent years I hope this book finds a large audience.

The United States has a very complicated system which has the highest costs in the world but relatively poor outcomes. Clearly major changes are needed.
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Reimagining Our Tomorrows

Reimagining Our Tomorrows

Posted on by Jack

The full title is Reimagining Our Tomorrows: Making Sure Your Future Doesn’t SUCK by Joe Tankersley. I thank Netgalley for the privilege of reading an ARC of this book.

None of us knows what the future holds. Will it be good or will it be bad?
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Doctors disagree with the NRA.

Doctors disagree with the NRA.

Posted on by Jack

Doctors disagree with the NRA. They have noticed that bullets from guns may lead to severe medical problems and in many cases, even death.

The National Rifle Association or NRA has told doctors they should ‘stay in their lane’ since many favor gun regulation in the wake of so many mass shootings.
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Now is the time to contact Congress to protect the Mueller investigation

Now is the time to contact Congress to protect the Mueller investigation

Posted on by Jack

President Donald Trump just forced Jeff Sessions to resign. Now is the time to contact Congress. I sent my comments tonight to my Representative and Senators.

Now is the time to pass legislation to protect the Mueller investigation. It should not be shut down or interfered with in any way.

Hawley healthcare hypocrisy in Missouri

Hawley healthcare hypocrisy in Missouri

Posted on by Jack

Today I wish to focus on one especially disturbing case of healthcare hypocrisy by Josh Hawley who is running for a US Senate seat in Missouri. My recent posts have focused on Republican hypocrisy on healthcare, specifically the pre-exiting conditions safeguard built into the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare. In these posts I have described recent Republican dishonest claims of support for this important safeguard while their actions actions attempt to undermine it.

I find Josh Hawley to be a particularly disturbing healthcare hypocrite. He now claims to be in favor of pre-existing condition coverage. I find Hawley’s actions as Missouri Attorney General inconsistent with that claim.
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