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.

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.