Tag: Donald Trump

Deep State to the rescue

Deep State to the rescue

Posted on by Jack

I have a confession. I was a member of the deep state. Yes, I am a retired civil servant, a retired federal employee, and proud to add a former member of the deep state. I was there to do a job and I think I did it well. I worked in the area of public health.

I was never a whistle blower but think federal employees who see something that seems wrong need to bring it to the attention of those who can look into it. It is important to catch problems before they get too big or cause more harm.
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Question on Collusion

Question on Collusion

Posted on by Jack

Another question but this time on collusion. The Mueller report documents several contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians. The report say they found nothing to prove a conspiracy but did not exonerate the President. Collusion is a much less specific term. But I think the lack of proof of conspiracy may just indicate that the obstruction and cover-up might have worked in this case.

Will President Trump’s conversation with the President of Ukraine cause people to re-examine the collision/conspiracy part of the Mueller report?

Letter to Congress on Impeachment Inquiry

Letter to Congress on Impeachment Inquiry

Posted on by Jack

You may want to write your Representative to let him or her know how you stand on opening an Impeachment Inquiry into President Trump. Many have a contact form on their websites. Here is the text of my letter:
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President Trump’s threats

President Trump’s threats

Posted on by Jack

Interesting opinion piece in the NY Times on President Trump’s threats, violent language, and behavior and a potential article of impeachment.

There is a historical precedent for making this type of behavior into an article of impeachment. One of the articles of impeachment for President Johnson in 1868 involved similar behavior. Read it and think about it.

Censure the President now

Censure the President now

Posted on by jack

I’d like to point out an interesting article on why we should censure the President now. I believe President Trump’s behavior in office certainly make him worthy of impeachment. But for several reasons that may not happen as soon as many of us would like.

Karen Tumulty of the The Washington Post suggests censure is something that should be done immediately. It is worth reading and thinking about.

How Democracies Die (and get saved)

How Democracies Die (and get saved)

Posted on by Jack

I have previously written about this book (Reading now: How Democracies Die). Now that I’ve finished, I think it was even better than my earlier opinion.

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Democratic debates on healthcare

Democratic debates on healthcare

Posted on by Jack

So far I have watched all the Democratic party debates for the Presidential nomination for 2020. There a quite a few issues discussed but healthcare is a very common one. I think all the candidates have universal healthcare as a goal but differ on how they think the we can get there.

Some present detailed plans and the candidates disagree on which is best and spend a good bit of time in arguing about why my plan is better than your plan. And the questions from the moderators seem to encourage that type of argument.
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Reading now: How Democracies Die

Reading now: How Democracies Die

Posted on by Jack

I was reading an article that mentioned How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and it sounded like an interesting book and very relevant to my earlier post on The End of Democracy.
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Weatherman-in-chief

Weatherman-in-chief

Posted on by Jack

President Trump holds many titles The Constitution states that the chief executive “shall be Commander in Chief” (Article 2, Section 2). And many would award him with various other titles including liar-in-chief, Commander in Cheat, and probably a few others.

Is Weatherman-in-chief his latest?
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The End of Democracy

The End of Democracy

Posted on by Jack

Lately I’ve been thinking about democracy in general. It is certainly in trouble here in the US but there are similar problems in many counties. I recently read a piece called “The Shocking Paper Predicting the End of Democracy” which suggests a more general problem with people and democratic governance. Professor Shawn W. Rosenberg presented this at International Society of Political Psychologists’ annual meeting. Here is another article on that presentation.

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President Trump wants to weaken fuel economy standards

President Trump wants to weaken fuel economy standards

Posted on by Jack

President Trump defends his weakening of fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks by citing greater safety which will save lives. Cars can be bigger and heavier and therefore safer. They will also be cheaper so

On the other hand, internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year indicate the rule change would increase deaths. But publicly they support President Trump’s claims.
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#MoscowMitch, a deserved nickname or not

#MoscowMitch, a deserved nickname or not

Posted on by Jack

Lately there has been a lot of talk about Moscow Mitch (or #MoscowMitch), a new nickname or perhaps title for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Is this deserved or not?

I tend to think it appropriate but there is opinion on both sides of the issue. Continue reading “#MoscowMitch, a deserved nickname or not”