Author: James Frank

The Upcoming Government Shutdown Vote May be the Showdown to Protect ObamaCare

I was at work at 3AM this morning when the House of Representatives passed H.R.1, the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ and couldn not believe they would approve of such a vote. Where were the Republicans that voted againt ObamaCare repeal who were responsible for the failure of the Republican healthcare insurance law that never got off the ground. Where was Maine Senator Susan Collins and Senator John McCain who helped defeat the Senate’s more comprehensive Obamacare repeal bill this past summer?  Maybe they cut a deal with the Republican majority that would make up the difference in their minds for now repealing the Healthcare individual mandate.

Susan Collins, along with a Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida may now get their bill passed together that would aim to lower insurance premiums on the exchanges by helping insurers cover their costliest patients. Susan Collins most likely will now push the stalled bipartisan Obamacare stabilization bill to offset the repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate, which requires almost ALL Americans to get health insurance or pay a penalty. This bill may be part of the resolution to keep the government running, and if the Republicans do not go for it, then we may have the shutdown. Both Collins and Nelson also want to lower insurance premiums on the exchanges by helping insurers cover their costliest patients. So where do you think they may sneak in that bill? I think it would have to be in effect fairly quickly, and the bill may be included in the upcoming continuing resolution to fund the government. Let’s see if I’m right on this one.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Passes in the U.S Senate

The U.S. Senate passed H.R. 1, as the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ passed in the house 51 votes ‘for’ and 49 votes ‘against’. The voting went ALL Republican and NO Democrats. Obviously, this was not a bi-partisan bill, as the Republicans would have been hard pressed to get any Democratic votes. Still, there was one Republican who voted against the measure, and that was Senator Bob Corker. The Senate approved a $1.4 Trillion tax overhaul at 3AM today along with sneaking into the bill,  the repeal of Obamacare personal mandates. Whatever happens to Obamacare now, may now be called ‘TrumpCare’ as now millions of Americans may loose their medical insurance without the mandates in place. Something else must happen to save people from loosing health insurance. So much for decreasing the national debt. The Republicans are no longer the so debt hawks as they previously professed to be. They will be responsible for increasing the national debt. They are increasing the national debt by over a trillion dollars. President Donald Trump should be very happy that he has given extensive tax cuts to the rich including himself even though he publicly denies it, at the expense to low and average income families, as they will pay more taxes then they did before the passage of this bill. At the same time, he now has to watch his back, as I expect several Senators will now turn against him, as they only needed him to sign off on this bill as soon as they can get it to his desk, which most likely will be sometime before Christmas. The Republicans will not need him anymore. Now they can invoke the 25th Amendment and Vice President Pence can take over the presidency. They would be very happy with a President Pence as they watched this man gavel into law as the head of the Senate their new tax bill that gives them along with their friends, the richest Americans, immediate tax cuts.

There is one thing that President Trump may not know, or that he is just so naive to know. The members of the U.S. Congress, the same Republicans who originally did not want him to be the next President, who voted for another person to become president, now line up with him but why? I don’t believe that they are doing it out of respect even if many of them have questions about his demeanor, his grip on reality and don’t show concern about his mental health at this time. They are ignoring the symptoms that Trump displays every day. I believe  it is happening to him because of his constant threats and pressure he is facing with special council Robert Mueller pushing on with his pursuit of investigating the people surrounding Donald Trump prior to the election and after. More and more people believe that Donald Trump is becoming very mentally unstable. With the admission of guilt just yesterday of Mike Flynn admitting guilt as he lied to the FBI, Trump has never been more threatened than now. General Michael Flynn received a fairly lenient plea deal, most likely for what he told special council about the Trump campaign. But my guess is that Flynn is doing so to save his own hide, so most likely he may have been co-operating with the special council for some time now and there is more dirt to stir up against the Trumps, including Kushner, Donald Trump Jr. and the President himself.

Why does the U.S. Congress support him? It’s not that Trump continues to throw insults against them, not his racist re-tweets, or even his very erratic behavior. Why do they not care that he got into office with the help of a foreign power? Deep in their souls, they all believe that. You might even ask why they support him so much regardless of how he degrades the office he represents, the Presidency of the United States. It became crystal clear when the Senate voted for a bill that raises taxes on working Americans in order to reduce taxes on the rich and with corporations. If President Obama were still president, you would just know that he would refuse to sign such a bill favoring the super rich immediately cutting their taxes, while immediately raising taxes for middle class working Americans and the poor. But again as I see it, the U.S. Congress only needed him to support a bill such as this that he would sign. Now, do you think that they need him any more? Time will tell as special council Robert Mueller’s investigation snow-balls and whether the senators stick with Trump or not, but I truly believe that they will start peeling from him and it will be the beginning of the end for Trump. It may very well,  spell the end for the Senators who voted for the bill. This may be the only way that they may now try and save themselves from their own constituents, which would be to get rid of Donald Trump. The Senators all know that they will be facing stunning defeats in the House and the Senate and that many may loose their jobs.

During the next several months, the fallout of such a vote will be heard nationwide. Town halls will denounce every single Republican that voted for the tax bill. Ironically, the only sitting Republican Senator now that may have a chance to hold his job in Congress is the single Senator, Bob Corker, who does not plan to run for office for another term.

The Democrats, now have so much to run on, and I doubt that any sitting Republican senator now has a chance to keep his own seat. Only time will tell, as the Democrats will rub this vote into their faces for the next year until the mid-term elections. Everyone may have been tired about listening about the Republicans complaining constantly about Hilary Clinton’s emails, but now they will have to hear the constant outcry from not only the Democrats about their disastrous vote on taxes that in every respect also repeals ObamaCare, along with the constant outcry from most Republican voting Americans who most likely will vote against their own party in 2018. The midterms should now represent a windfall for the Democrats, and they should easily reclaim both the Senate and the House with ease.

But wait, this bill is a product of the U.S. Senate. It now has to be ratified by the House of Representatives. As it is written now, the House Republicans may refute the bill as written, and they may have to amend it, thus sending the amended bill back to the Senate. After all of this celebration, the bill may never reach the Presidents desk for signature at least by the end of his first year in office. I say this because House Republicans have to know how signing off on such a bill puts their own jobs in danger.

Personally, I believe that they (the Republicans) will pass it anyway, for the mere fact that if they do not, they will forever own the fact that they never got even a single major legislative decision under their belts the entire 1st year that they totally owned Congress, along with the Executive branch of government. But the effects of the bill which they ratified, will forever haunt them in future elections regardless of whatever good may come out of it, which cannot be much.

Thanksgiving Today, Keep Up HOPE.. Better Days Ahead

Today is Thanksgiving. It is a time to reflect on the year we have just witnessed and to share your hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. In a Washington Post opinion article, written by Dana Milbank, an opinion writer for the Washington Post, an article titled

‘Dear Sara Huckabee Sanders: I’m thankful that Trump has failed’

kind of hits the spot for me.

It can be found at the following link.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/thank-you-george-w-bush-and-sally-yates/2017/11/21/c6ca7504-cf00-11e7-a1a3-0d1e45a6de3d_story.html?utm_term=.8a76f1690c6b

For me and for many Americans, TRUMP HAS FAILED.

What immediately comes to mind is the millions of Americans that he failed in Puerto Rico. Still, after 2 months after the weather disaster that took down their electrical grid, the majority of people living there still are without power, yet Donald Trump is enjoying  his holiday weekend in his Florida luxury resort called Mar-a-Largo. He stated in his campaign as he used to mock everyone, that he would not be golfing as much or if at all, as he was comparing himself to President Obama. Has he kept his promise. The answer is an outright NO. He has already golfed more times that the prior President has done for the entire time of his 2nd term and he’s been in office now for just under a year.

What I’m thankful for, number 1, is my family. Second for my health. Third for the Lord that I worship. Forth, for my job with IBM and soon to retire, Fifth, to be able to profess my ideas and truths within this publication and others that I write, thanks to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It prevents Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, or to petition for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. I’ve never been rich, and never will profess to be. But I am thankful for the life that God has given me. Sure, there has been some ‘ups and downs’, divorces and heartaches. But the saying goes, ‘the third time is the charm’, and I can say without hesitation that being married a third time is ‘a charm’. I feel as if I’m still on my honeymoon.

I don’t think I would ever feel safe until Donald J. Trump is out of office. I pray for our country. Donald J. Trump has taken this country down a road of despair, but now is not the time to give up to oppose everything he does. Mark my words, Donald Trump’s time is coming. I feel sorry for his family, as he is dragging them into the depths of hell with him. I pray for countries like North Korea, as Donald Trump may be responsible for the killing of millions of people if the North Korean leader does react on Donald Trumps threats. I pray for places like Guam, and other places close to North Korea and my wifes home country – the Philippines, with millions of innocent people and of American soldiers who have a good chance of being exterminated if North Korea attacks. Within the boundaries of our own country, I pray for the millions of people who may loose their health insurance because of failed leadership and governance of the 45th President of the United States and the failed U.S. Congress who has yet to pass ANY major legislation to help the people of this country. If Donald Trump does not get his tax bill passed, then he will be forever known as being the first lame duck President after only one year in office. The trouble is that if it is passed the way that it is written now, Obamacare will be pushed into extinction because Senate Republicans have decided to include the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most people have health insurance into the sprawling tax rewrite, merging the fight over health care with the high-stakes effort to cut taxes. Hopefully the Congress will see the light and Bob Mueller of  the ‘special council’ will be able to enlighten the world all about Donald Trump, starting with displaying his taxes so that the American people can witness what he has been up to within the last 20 years or so. Hopefully the tax bill will fail, thus the beginning of the end of Donald J. Trump.

Trump Endorses Roy Moore for Congress – Needs Moore to Support new Republican Tax Plan

On another trip, this time to go to his Thanksgiving holiday at his Mar-a-Largo estate in Palm Beach, Florida, President Trump made statements about accused pedophile Roy Moore, supporting the accused child molester in his responses to questions. He supports him because Roy Moore stands by his denial of the accusations of women and that there is no proof other than statements by women as he claims who have everything to gain by coming forward and lie. He also supports him because the Republicans cannot afford to loose a Senate seat.

So, this is where the world is today. You have a president who has been accused of sexually harassing approximately 18 women, supporting another man who is running for U.S. Senate as a Republican who has been accused of sexual allegations concerning under aged girls decades ago.

The President seems to have no moral standards. Even his own members of Congress, including the leader of the Senate – Mitch McConnell, believe that Roy Moore should never be a U.S. Congressman along with dozens of other Republican members.  Roy Moore is denying all sexual harassment claims against him. He is running the play-book of Donald Trump and expects to get away with it. The White House in news briefings state that it should be up to the Alabama voters who may put him in the Senate in just a few weeks.

Before the 1st of next year, the President may also get a chance to sign the very controversial tax plan. Everyone agrees that the passage of this bill is critical for Don Trump and the Republican party, because if the bill does not pass, then Donald Trump will have no real legislative wins since he was elected.  The Republicans are willing to sell their souls, and go against the will of their constituents in order to pass tax laws that only the very rich want or can benefit by.  You have Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate that fought President Obama at every turn, complaining that what he was doing was not reducing the Federal deficit.  But now it’s OK that the Republicans will now guarantee that the deficit will greatly increase if the tax bill goes through. And if it does, it will pass at the expense of low and middle class earners, only helping the rich.

 

 

 

 

Special Council Bob Mueller – Most Powerful man in D.C.

The fact is that even when Special Council Bob Mueller, the attorney and person in charge of the Federal investigation of Republican party practices with cooperation with Russia in an attempt to defeat Hilary Clinton, is working very hard to hold people accountable with their actions, originally centered around people cooperating with Russia.

To this date, he has indicted prior aides such as Paul Manafort, who surrendered to the F.B.I. and pleaded not guilty to charges that he laundered millions of dollars through overseas shell companies — using the money to buy luxury cars, real estate, antique rugs and expensive clothes. Rick Gates, Mr. Manafort’s longtime associate as well as a campaign adviser, was also indicted , and turned himself in. The bombshell announcement about George Papadopoulos,  came shortly after indictments against former campaign chair Paul Manafort and Manafort associate Rick Gates were unsealed, alleging financial crimes that predated Trump’s candidacy. Papadopoulos, secretly pleaded his guilt for lying to the FBI and is working with Mueller providing evidence against Manafort and Gates. It is still unknown as to what all else he has handed over to Mueller.  Eventually, you might believe that all will eventually lead up the money chain to the ‘main fish’ of the story, Donald J. Trump. It may do just that, but the fact is that you cannot indict a sitting President of the United States. You cannot serve him papers accusing him of a crime and have him arrested.

The accusations of a crime committed by Trump can build up to eventually cause his impeachment from office which would involve the Congress of the United States, but the U.S. Congress doesn’t even have to be involved if the Vice-President of the United States, in this case Mike Pence would carry out the powers of the 25th amendment, whereas he would only need a few key members of Congress to remove the President if he, the Vice President decides to.

The presidents prior to Donald Trump have ALL been thought of as having very high moral standards, except for the 37th President of the United States – Richard Nixon, who left office under his own will in disgrace.

 

Donald Trump Incriminating Past – Caught on Hollywood Tape – Unedited

The following is a unedited transcript by Penn Bullock of The New York Times. Donald Trump making vulgar comments about women to Billy Bush who worked for ‘Access Hollywood’ on the set of “Days of Our Lives”. Trump was making a cameo appearance. These words were spoken by the man we elected as the 45th President of the United States.

DONALD J. TRUMP: You know and ….

UNKNOWN: She used to be great. She’s still very beautiful.

TRUMP: I moved on her, actually. You know, she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her, and I failed. I’ll admit it.

UNKNOWN: Whoa.

TRUMP: I did try and fuck her. She was married.

UNKNOWN: That’s huge news.

TRUMP: No, no, Nancy. No, this was [unintelligible] – and I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping.
She wanted to get some furniture. I said, “I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture.” I took her out furniture —
I moved on her like a bitch. But I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big
phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look.

BILLY BUSH: Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple.

TRUMP: Whoa! whoa!

BUSH: Yes! The Donald has scored. Whoa, my man!

TRUMP: Look at you, you are a pussy.

Trump: All right, you and I will walk out.

[Silence]

TRUMP: Maybe it’s a different one.

BUSH: It better not be the publicist. No, it’s, it’s her, it’s —

TRUMP: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case i start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to
beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss, I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it.
You can do anything.

BUSH: Whatever you want.

TRUMP: Grab’em by the pussy. You can do anything.

BUSH: Uh, yeah, those legs, all I can see is the legs.

TRUMP: Oh, it looks good.

BUSH: Come on shorty.

TRUMP: Ooh, nice lets, huh?

BUSH: Oof, get out of the way, honey. Oh, that’s good legs. Go ahead.

TRUMP: It’s always good if you don’t fall out of the bus. Like Ford, Gerald Ford, remember?

BUSH: Down below, pull the handle.

TRUMP: Hello, how are you? Hi!

ARIANNE ZUCKER: Hi, Mr. Trump. How are you? Pleasure to meet you.

TRUMP: Nice seeing you. Terrific, terrific. You know Bill Bush?

BUSH: Hello, nice to see you. How you doing, Arianne?

ZUCKER: Doing very well, thank you. Are you ready to be a soap star?

BUSH: How about a little hug for the Donald? He just got off the bus.

ZUCKER: Would you like a little hug, darling?

TRUMP: O.K., absolutely. Melania said this was O.K.

BUSH: How about a litle hug for the Bushy? I just got off the bus.

ZUCKER: Bushy, Bushy.

BUSH: Here we go. Excellent. Well, you’ve got a nice co-star here.

ZUCKER: Yes, absolutely.

TRUMP: Good. After you.

[Break in video]

TRUMP: Come on, Billy, don’t be shy.

BUSH: Soon as a beautiful woman shows up, he just, he takes off. This always happens.

TRUMP: Get over here, Billy.

ZUCKER: I’m sorry, come here.

BUSH: Let the little guy in here, come on.

ZUCKER: Yeah, let the little guy in. How you feel now? Beter? I should actually be in the middle.

BUSH: It’s hard to walk next to a guy like this.

ZUCKER: Here, wait, hold on.

BUSH: Yeah, you get in the middle, there we go.

TRUMP: Goood, that’s better.

ZUCKER: This is much better. This is —

TRUMP: That’s better.

ZUCKER: [Sighs]

BUSH: Now, if you had to choose honestly between one of us, Me or the Donald?

TRUMP: I don’t know, that’s tough competition.

ZUCKER: That’s some pressure right there.

BUSH: Seriously, if you had — if you had to take one of us as a date.

ZUCKER: I have to take the Fifth on that one.

BUSH: Really?

ZUCKER: Yup — I’ll take both.

TRUMP: Which way?

ZUCKER: Make a right. Here we go. [inaudible]

BUSH: Here he goes. I’m gonna leave you here.

TRUMP: O.K.

BUSH: Give me my microphone.

TRUMP: O.K. Oh, you’re finished?

BUSH: You’re my man, yeah.

TRUMP: Oh, good.

BUSH: I’m gonna go do our show.

ZUCKER: Oh, you wanna reset? O.K.

Accusers of President Trump

Here you will find a list of 18 women that have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct. They came forward just before the presidential election. President Trump has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual assault and inappropriate advances prior to his election as the 45th President of the United States, which has severely damaged his numbers in the US election, but still did not stop him from winning the presidency. To this date he denies that all accusations by these women. Senator Al Franken, a Democratic senator, has now been accused of harassing or groping 2 women, and he most likely will loose his Senate seat after an investigation takes place by the Senate ethics committee. Should an ethics committee investigate Donald Trump? Should he be removed from office because of his sexual assault and inappropriate advances to women?

THE LIST….

1) Ninni Laaksonen – former titleholder of Miss Finland (2006)

2) Jessica Drake – an American pornographic actress and sex educator

3) Karena Virginia – a New York yoga instructor

4) Melinda McGillivray – photographer assistant at event at the Trump                 Mar-a-Largo resort

5) Summer Zervos – Apprentice contestant

6) Kristen Anderson – groped by Trump at a nightclub

7) Lisa Boyne – a health food business entrepreneur

8) Jessica Leeds – a business woman at a paper company

9) Natasha Stoynoff – PEOPLE writer went to Mar-a-Largo to interview               Donald and Melania Trump

10) Temple Taggart McDowell – Utah Miss USA pageant in Shreveport, LA                recounts an unwanted kiss from Trump

11) Cassandra Searles – Miss Washington 2013 – was invited by Trump to               his hotel room and he groped her

12) Jill Harth – a makeup artist

13) Mariah Billado – former Miss Vermont Teen USA pageant – Trump                    walks  through her dressing room

14) Cathy Heller – at a Mother’s Day brunch at the Mar-a-Largo estate

15) Bridget Sullivan – Former Miss New Hampshire, Trump walked through         her dressing room

16) Tasha Dixon – Former Miss Arizona, Trump walked through her                         dressing room

17) Rachel Crooks – worked in his building and was kissed against her will

18) Jennifer Hawkins – Former Miss Australia, was sexually humiliated in             front of a huge crowd

Has Trump never apologized to anyone, especially any woman who has accused him? Of course not. Instead, on camera he stated that he planned to sue every one of his accusers for lieing. Of course now that statement by him was a lie also, as he never attempted to sue his accusers, but that most likely will not stand in the way of them suing him.
With the accusations swirling around former Alabama judge Roy Moore, and the admittance of Al Franken with an outright apology to his accuser for forcible kissing and groping of LeeAnn Tweeden before he became a Senator on a USO tour, Donald Trump represents the , and even after the allegations, it didn’t keep him from becoming President of the United States.
But with all of these cases now coming out in the open, it looks as if the ethics committees are going to be fairly busy, as more and more women are coming forward to tell their stories. Now that Trump is President, he now feels that he has the right to say the following, even though he has a very incriminating past, and with the following comments about Al Franken, he now sparks a debate. Donald Trump jumped into the sexual harassment debate about 10 p.m. on Thursday. “The Al Frankenstein picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2,3,4,5 & 6 while she sleeps?” So Trump tweets about Al Franken, but says nothing on Twitter about Mr. Moore, who has been abandoned by many Republicans and no longer receives monetary support from the Republican party.

Donald Trump’s Promises

Donald Trump has stated that he will make good on his promises. But the 45th President has made so many promises that he apparently will never be able to keep, you wonder why anyone would support him. One by one, he is distancing himself from his own party, namely the Republicans in the U.S. Congress. As of October 8th, as will be discussed in detail in a future article, the number of people from his own party that is not supporting him now is rapidly growing.

Five of the promises that Donald Trump has made are listed immediately below, but this article highlights many of his promises that he made, some of them kept, but most of them either not kept or still in pending status.

1) Repeal Obamacare

2) Guarantee – New 6-day work week

3) Build a wall, and make Mexico pay for it

4) Suspend immigration from terror-prone places

5) Stop TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership)

The following is the status of these promises and many more…….

Promise #1 : Change the name of Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley

President Obama changed the name of Mt. McKinley to Denali. But President Trump stated that he wanted to change it back. He did not keep his promise as he backed off his promise to change the name.

Promise #2: Balance the federal budget ‘fairly quickly’                                                                       (AN OUTRIGHT LIE!)

As Trump has stated, “It can be done. … It will take place and it will go relatively quickly. … If you have the right people, like, in the agencies and the various people that do the balancing… you can cut the numbers by two pennies and three pennies and balance a budget quickly and have a stronger and better country. ” So what does he do to balance the Federal budget. Absolutely nothing, in matter of fact, Trump cheered the budget plan that wouldn’t balance the budget, that went nowhere in Congress.

Promise #3: Eliminate the Federal debt in 8 years                                                                                  (ANOTHER OUTRIGHT LIE!)                                                                                 Trump supported the House bill that failed the Senate that                                      would only grow the national debt. Besides it is very questionable if Donald Trump could last 2 years, let alone 8 years. There are already talks of impeachment and a possible conviction of collusion.

As Trump has stated, “We’ve got to get rid of the $19 trillion in debt. … Well, I would say over a period of eight years. And I’ll tell you why.” So is he keeping his promise. Obviously not, because he celebrated the Senate budget bill, but it busts his promise to eliminate federal debt.

Promise #4: Suspend immigration from terror-prone places

As Trump has stated, “And if people don’t like it, we’ve got to have a country folks. Got to have a country. Countries in which immigration will be suspended would include places like Syria and Libya. And we are going to stop the tens of thousands of people coming in from Syria.” In response to his promise, a Federal judge blocks all three of his travel bans.

Promise #5: Repeal ObamaCare

As Trump has stated, “Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing the disaster known as Obamacare.” The Congress refused to pass the Republican version of health-care, but then Trump put out a directive ending key subsidy which threatens Obamacare’s viability.

Promise #6: Call for an international conference to defeat ISIS

As Trump has stated, “As president, I will call for an international conference focused on this goal. We will work side-by-side with our friends in the Middle East, including our greatest ally, Israel.”

What is the status of the Asian Conference of November 2017? Trump has visited Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam,  and the Philippines, after his brief stay in Hawaii, but will he talk about defeating ISIS? The news media which Trump calls “fake news” will accurately report their findings on this matter, but during his second foreign trip abroad, I highly doubt if he made headway on anything that involves ISIS. The fact is that it is now well known that Isis is on the run an rapidly shrinking in size in Iraq, and Donald Trump will take full credit for the progress. But noone is talking about the spread of Isis in Africa and in Asia.  Will there be any evidence that Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte talked about Isis advances in the Philippines? All you might see or hear about is the infamous toast he had with the President of the Philippines during his stay in Manila, a man who executes his own citizens that are suspected to hold and distribute drugs, without any due process of the law.

Promise #7: Repeal ObamaCare

As Trump has stated, ” Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing he disaster known as Obamacare.”

The Congress could not get the job done, and was unable to get Obamacare repealed. So President Trump’s executive action could erode the marketplace built under Obamacare. The only way for Donald Trump can get rid of Obamacare is to destroy it, which would also put millions of Americans at risk regarding their health care.

Promise #8: Increase visa fees

As Trump has stated ” Increase fees on all border crossing cards – of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays).”

Trump is all talk and no action… No visa fees have been increased for Mexican nationals. A year has gone by in his presidency and still no action.  (ANOTHER LIE!)

Promise #9: Lower the business tax rate

As Trump has stated “The Trump Plan will lower the business tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent, and eliminate the corporate alternative minimum tax.” There has been a proposed corporate and small business tax rate, but it doesn’t fall to 15 percent. If there is any promise that he will definitely attempt to keep, it would be this one, but as of this date he has had no success in doing so. The tax plan that he will support that will pass the House just like the health care bill previously did, will die in the Senate, which means that Donald Trump will definitely not have any major legislation pass in the Republican controlled U.S. Congress his first year in office.

Promise #10: Move U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

As Trump has stated ” We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem”

Presently President Trump has signaled he would step back from the Israeli embassy plan.

Promise #11: Renegotiate NAFTA

As Trump promised ” A Trump administration will renegotiate NAFTA and if we don’t get the deal we want, we will terminate NAFTA and get a much better deal for our workers and our companies, 100 percent.”

At the moment, there has been four tries to renegotiate NAFTA, without success. Donald Trump has many more fires to address than more controversy with Canada and Mexico.

Promise #12: Replace J-1 Visa with Inner City Resume Bank

As Trump promised : “The J-1 visa jobs program for foreign youth will be terminated and replaced with a resume bank for inner city youth provided to all corporate subscribers to the J-1 visa program.”

After making that promise, he decided not to eliminate the J-1 visa program. He says one thing but does another.

Promise #13: Cut taxes for everyone

As trump has stated ” Everybody is getting a tax cut, especially the middle class.”

Donald Trump mentioned the middle class, but the tax plan appears to favor the wealthiest, not the middle class with no guarantee of cuts for all.  If his plan passes, it will no longer be his plan, as Congress will have to make concessions to get the bill to pass in both Houses, but most likely will never become law anyway.

Promise #14: Eliminate the carried interest loophole

As Trump has stated ” As part of this reform, we will eliminate the carried interest deduction and other special interest loopholes that have been so good for Wall Street investors, and for people like me, but unfair to American workers.” Actually, Trump favors Wall Street investors, and loves to work around big money. He doesn’t really care about the middle class. If I’m wrong, prove it!

Promise #15: Take no salary

“If I’m elected president, I’m accepting no salary.”

Trump stated it, but it is unknown if he is taking any type of salary or not. Because he has a lucrative realistate business, he is making money as being President while maintaining control of his businesses, as he refuses to divest from his companies, influences foreign leaders and visitors to stay at his hotels and most likely is making private deals with foreign governments like Russia. It’s just my opinion, but I believe the President is making more money on the side than he will ever admit to.

Promise #16: Create a private White House hot-line for veterans

As Trump has statued ” “I will create a private White House hot-line – that is answered by a real person 24 hours a day – to make sure that no valid complaint about the VA ever falls through the cracks. I will instruct my staff that if a valid complaint is not acted upon, then the issue be brought directly to me, and I will pick up the phone and fix it myself, if need be.”

Still, there has been no hot-line created to this date.

Promise #17: Enact term limits

As Trump stated “If I’m elected president, I will push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.” With a 35% favorable rating with the American people, do you think that Senators from the House and Senate would ever support term limits on themselves, just because Trump says so.

To date, no constitutional amendment to impose term limits has been made and this amendment would never make it through congress.

Promise #18: Impose death penalty for cop killers

As Trump stated “One of the first things I’d do in terms of executive order, if I win, will be to sign a strong, strong statement that would go out to the country, out to the world, that anybody killing a police man, a police woman, a police officer, anybody killing a police officer, the death penalty is going to happen,”

It’s been almost a year into his presidency, but we have yet to to see an executive order from the president to impose the death penalty for cop killers, although this may be a goal he may eventually keep.

Promise #19: Appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton

As Trump stated “I will ask, to appoint a special prosecutor. We have to investigate Hillary Clinton, and we have to investigate the investigation.”

It is against the law to investigate a competitor of his for president. Trump doesn’t know the law. Still Attorney General Jeff Sessions is debating on whether he will investigate Hillary Clinton regarding the ‘Clinton Foundation.

Promise #20: Enact a temporary ban on new regulations

“We’re going to cancel every needless job-killing regulation and put a moratorium on new regulations until our economy gets back on its feet.”

Trump is killing regulations, but who decides besides him whether the regulation is job-killing? He will not be able to kill all regulations by just administering executive actions, but in many instances, he has ended many regulations with a stroke of his pen new or not.

Promise #21: Make no cuts to Medicare

As Trump stated “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.”

Trump made the statement, but a bill that he supported from the House would drastically cut Medicare and Medicaid. He really didn’t care at the time, as he just wanted to get some legislation passed. The Senate turned down all the cuts, and Obamacare stands with no cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

Promise #22: Invest $550 billion in infrastructure and create an infrastructure fund

As Trump has stated “The Trump Administration seeks to invest $550 billion to ensure we can export our goods and move our people faster and safer.”

No money has been funded by Congress at this time, and may never be.

Promise #23: Make no cuts to Social Security

As Trump has stated “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.”

It still is unknown if he will keep his promise.

Promise #24: Make no cuts to Medicaid

As Trump promised “I’m not going to cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.”

Promise #25: Eliminate Common Core

As Trump promised “We’re cutting Common Core. We’re getting rid of Common Core. We’re bringing education locally.”

Education is still centralized around a common core, and still is not controlled by the states.

Promise #26: Impose a hiring freeze on federal employees

As Trump has stated “A hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health).”

Trump thinks is a great idea to put a freeze on all federal employees, thus to eliminate many jobs in government. The only problem is there is not enough people at the moment to help run the White House, as more federal employees are needed.

Promise #27: Slash federal regulations

As Trump has stated “A requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.”

Wow, finally there is one promise that he has kept. To this point, regulations are being handled as he has stated.

Promise #28: Place lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying for foreign government

As Trump has stated “I’m going to issue a lifetime ban against senior executive branch officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government and I’m going to ask Congress to pass a campaign finance reform that prevents registered foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections and politics.”

Wow, a promise kept.

Promise #29: Place lifetime ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections

As Trump has stated, “A complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.”

There has been no word on this promise. To this date, there is no lifetime ban on foreign lobbyists.

Promise #30: Defund Planned Parenthood

As Trump stated “I would defund it because of the abortion factor, which they say is 3 percent. I don’t know what percentage it is. They say it’s 3 percent. But I would defund it, because I’m pro-life.”

Because the President says he is “pro-life”, should not give him the ability to take away one of the only places people go to for medical help.

Promise #31: Approve the Keystone XL project and reap the profits

As Trump stated, “I want it built, but I want a piece of the profits.

Trump will not take a salary, so he states, but would rather take money for his own profit.

Promise #32: Achieve energy independence

As Trump has stated, “Under my presidency, we will accomplish a complete American energy independence. Complete. Complete.”

Energy independence? We are dependent for imported oil to make fossil fuels, There still are no regulations regarding imports of oil, so the price of gasoline goes up and down, and the United States has no control over it. Total energy independence will never happen under this president.                    (This is a TOTAL lie!)

Promise #33: Nominate someone from is list of justices to replace Antonin Scalia

As Trump has stated, “I am looking to appoint judges very much in the mold of Justice Scalia. I’m looking for judges — and I’ve actually picked 20 of them so that people would see.”

Wow, another win for Trump, as he has appointed his first Federal Judge and did it with the help of Vice President Pence with his tie-breaking vote that put him on the bench.

Promise #34: Expand mental health programs

As Trump has stated, “We need to reform our mental health programs and institutions in this country.”

To date, nothing has been done.

President Trump has yet to get any major legislation passed. Presently, the Congress is graveling with proposed tax legislation, which will completely overhaul the tax code as we see it today. But like his other failures, I see no success with this venture, unless the Republicans come together with the help of Democrats to get things done.

The Congress consists of a Republican majority in both the House and Senate. The President is considered a Republican even though for the most part of his adult life, he was a Democrat. All major branches of the Federal government are under Republican control, yet not a single bill of any substance has been passed. Most likely, Donald Trump will have no major legislation passed during his first year in office.

The Decisions and Promises of President #45 is a joke. Not many people have trust in this President, as his job approval rating has hit a new low, under 35%. When do you think that the Republican Congress will wake up and get rid of the cancer in Washington, namely their own President. Vice President Pence can become president under the 25th amendment, as Trump would have to be relieved of office. Will it ever happen? There are calls for impeachment of President Trump, but with the Republican controlled House and Senate, it will never happen unless these lawmakers start thinking about the needs of the country instead of the needs of themselves. They may have a better chance to get legislation passed under Pence than Trump. Unless the Republicans do something soon, they stand the chance of loosing big time in the mid term elections next year.

It’s Time to Visit the 25th Amendment

President Trump seems to have enemies at every turn. He was supposed to build relationships with Congressmen from both the House and Senate which would definitely help him pass his agenda in the governing bodies. But throughout his 274 days in office so far he has criticized and openly spat with members of both the House and Senate. So guess what? There hasn’t been one single piece of legislation passed of any major importance since he has become President, even though his political party owns both Houses of Congress.

But then there are the Twitter statements. Donald Trump continues to make comments on Twitter that takes the air out of what the Congress is trying to do, and that is to pass legislation. Trump seems to want center stage all the time, and he is sacrificing his own party in his desire to continue with his ridicules reteric on Twitter.

For example, Yesterday, Oct 19, at exactly 12:32PM EST, Donald Trump tweeted the following…

” Workers of firm involved with the discredited and Fake dossier take the 5th. Who paid for it Russia, the FBI or the Dems (or all)?”

He has insulted the FBI and the Democrats with that statement. How can he expect to win over any Democrat to get his legislation passed? The answer is that he cannot and will not, especially if he guts Obamacare as he is openly trying to do. 

Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush had an answer for the President. In his own Twitter response he tweeted the following…

“Conspiracy between Russia, the FBI and Democrats? The response to this is clear: Amendment 25.”

President Trump has control of all the nuclear weapons of this country and is the undisputed “most powerful man of the World” but yet does not show any sympathy or concern for world civilization. We may be going to another war, this time with a country that DOES have nuclear weapons – North Korea, and Trump will ultimately be responsible for the millions of citizens of multiple countries that may die in a possible World War III, just because of his mental incapacity.  The dictator of North Korea may start the conflict, but President Trump will end it, but at the cost of millions of peoples lives.

To further explain what is meant by invoking the 25th Amendment, an article on NBC News titled ” the 25th Amendment proves why Trump’s mental health matters” as is stated by Richard Painter’s article..

“Though remote, we cannot rule out the possibility that a president in a downward mental health spiral could destroy important global partnerships, alter centuries-old alliances and leave the United States vulnerable to terror attacks or war.” Painter then asks..”Is America today in need of such an unprecedented intervention?”

The 25th Amendment was adopted on February 10, 1967.

As it stands as we know it today, Donald Trump is not physically incapacitated and there is no way to know if he is mentally incapacitated because no psychiatrist has treated him.

On MSNBC’s nightly show called “ALL IN”, Painter states on how concerned he was for months now. Donald Trump exerts extreme Narcissism, or self-centeredness. The only land properties that he visits are the ones with his name on them. He is extremely focused on himself and the election he won only by electoral vote and not by popular vote. He campaigns as President as if he were still running for the office at various events. More people voted to have Clinton in office as the 45th President of the United States than Trump, as she claimed 3,000,000 more votes nationally that Trump on election day, November 8th. He appoints family members to the White House staff. He also displays extreme anti-social tendencies. He doesn’t seem to show that he has the ability to see how other people feel. A prime example would be that of his dealings with families of fallen soldiers. The same symptoms appeared last summer after Charlottesville. At that time, there were racists running up and down the streets chanting “Down with the Jews” along with swastikas and Confederate flags. The President refuses to apologize for anything, states that he is right, even if there is mounds of proof that he is not. Trump is considered the ‘ultimate liar’ and is the epitome of what he calls “Fake News”. Most people never heard of such a thing until Trump started the claim in his political career over a year ago, and continues to do so to this day.

So why the 25th Amendment. The 25th amendment allows for the Vice President to become president in the event of death, resignation, removal from office or impairment that prevents the current president from fulfilling his or her duties.

I mentioned the 25th Amendment to my fellow workers almost 3 months ago, and now members of both political parties, Republican and Democrat are talking about this same possibility.

It’s just a matter of time that Vice-President Pence will become acting President. If Pence becomes the 46th President, there will be no election for Vice-President. If for any reason that President Pence is incapacitated for any reason and he is evicted from the White House for any reason, including Amendment 25, the Speaker of the House – Paul Ryan will become the 47th President. Then to follow him would be the Speaker of the Senate – Mitch McConnell who is in line to be the 48th President of the United States. Very scary stuff !!!

Yes, it’s going to be a long 4 years until the election of a newly appointed President by the people. But the fact is that in 2020, there will be another person elected, and he could become the 46, 47, or 48 President depending on what happens before the general election in 2020.

 

Puerto Rico, Trump’s Katrina

It has been a month since the island of Puerto Rico has lost power do to a category 5 storm named Jose and another named Maria. The second storm, doomed the island,  completely darkening the island of some 3.4 million US citizens. Still to this day, the majority of the people are short of food and without clean drinking water. 74% still do not have electricity.  The island remains almost virtually dark at night as the entire power grid was destroyed.

In retrospect, Donald J. Trump believes that he as done an excellent job with Puerto Rico  disaster aid as reported by Anderson Cooper of CNN.  In a scale of 1 to 10, he gives himself a 10. In his eyes, he can do nothing wrong. To me, his statements mean  that he could have done nothing better, and that everything is great. Actually what it does mean is that he is incapable of comprehending what it will take to get Puerto Rico on its feet again. Of course, the entire world knows that this is the farthest from the truth. It’s just another falsehood strewed out by this disaster of a president. The infrastructure has been totally destroyed, leaving towns, roads and bridges in total destruction. Only 28 percent of the total population of the island have clean drinking water, while the rest of the population is getting water from wherever they can find it, including from water that is known to be contaminated.  People wait in line for hours upon hours to buy gasoline for their cars and for the gasoline generators that are the only source of electricity many people have. Puerto Rico has turned out to be Trump’s Katrina, but the sad thing this is that he doesn’t even know it yet. His thinking is so far out from reality that many people are now questioning his ability to lead as president.

On the record in a meeting in the oval office with the governor of Puerto Rico, the president asked if the United States did a great job militarily, with first responders and FEMA. He asked the governor the question as Trump expects to receive compliments from just about everyone he deals with. The governor responded that the President was on the phone with him every day since the disaster and he appreciates and praises the Federal government response. So what does that mean? Right out of the gate, everyone knows that it was impossible immediately after the storm passed that the governor could speak to anyone off the the island with a telephone, and with anyone from the island for that matter. The entire phone grid was knocked out.  It was reported that it took days before any kind of telephone service was available to anyone, including the governor.

On the other hand, let’s acknowledge that Puerto Rico is making headway, but what is wrong about this whole thing is that the president is already taking credit for the wonderful job he is doing. For the most part, the people are helping themselves. I would love to hear what the suffering people of Puerto Rico have to say about the President.  It may be a good thing that Puerto Rico does not participate in the general election, because it is a territory and not a state. Puerto Rico’s residents may not vote in federal elections, except for a nonvoting delegate who has an office on Capitol Hill. There are five non-incorporated territories that send delegates to the United States House of Representatives that participate in the presidential primaries but the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico cannot vote for members of Congress or of President.

In Donald Trump’s eyes, it may be a good thing that the people of Puerto Rico cannot vote, because he would have only 1 vote from the island, the governor, and 3,999,000 other people to vote for the other person.