Category: Budget

Budget, Constitution, Corruption, Environment, Trump March 19, 2019September 3, 2019

Cakeism |Why Good People Support an Evil Leader (Trump)

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report |Opinion | March 19, 2019) – This phenomenon that we’ve been witnessing for nearly three years now – friends, family and colleagues who we get along with very well, many of whom we even admire, supporting Trump, and we can’t figure out how they can be so blind – can be explained. Cakeism. We’ve seen it before. In fact, illustrations of this are everywhere. Securing a new credit card and jetting around the world. Buying a fancy car when the existing one only has $35,000 miles. Eating delicious cake. Cake is so delectable. Does anyone doubt this? It’s certainly my weakness.

“Let them eat cake.” ~ Marie Antoinette, 1789

When good things are good, they can’t be bad, right? Take low unemployment rate as an example. It’s certainly wonderful. No one can deny it. Who doesn’t love an excellent job market? I’ll take doubles, even triples. Trump announced at CPAC, that the unemployment rate is so low we don’t have enough skilled Americans to fill the open positions, so we need immigrants. Yes, Trump did emphatically state that we desperately needed immigrants, even though he’s demanding a wall to keep immigrants out. He clarified. According to Trump, we need the right kind of immigrants.

If a low unemployment rate is good, how can it be bad? Very easily. There’s always a downside to a short cut. Consequences are inevitable. Increasing our national debt by a trillion dollars a year, will lead to the death of America unless a fierce and noble leadership team steps in to quickly fix this disaster. Cutting environmental protections, as well as all the regulations that keep our landscapes and health safeguarded, will have very serious repercussions to our food supply, our tourism industry, and our physical well-being. Our crumbling infrastructure can’t be ignored. Modernizing requires public funds. Taxes. The downside to our low unemployment will quickly become our worst nightmare in the not so distant future.

Cakeism. The belief that there’s only one side of the coin, the good side. The upside. The belief that there are never any consequences for bad decisions or short cuts.

So yes, low unemployment rate is sensational, the same way chocolate ganache cake is to die for. We can absolutely thank Trump for this. Thank you, Mr. Trump. But an increasingly polarized country, with the far right demanding a civil war (what they mean by this, is slaughtering innocent liberals and their families with assault rifles, the same way the New Zealand terrorist slaughtered innocent families at the Mosque) is a frightening traumatic reality. A corrupt cabinet that undermines our future. A president without a moral code, leading through fear, serving himself, bettering himself, at the expense of everyone else. Extreme weather conditions that will only grow worse, flattening towns, destroying thousands of square miles of personal property, killing thousands of Americans, eliminating our coastal communities and many of our most important military bases.

Destroyed American landscapes. Unattended superfund sights. Gargantuan national debt. Crumbling infrastructure. An entire generation of undereducated. Alarming healthcare crisis. Our cherished institutions, the very pillars of our democracy, smashed. Extreme wealth disparity. Out of control white collar crime. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny,” ~Aristotle, 322 BC

Excellence is what America has always reached for. Excellence has been our collective purpose for two straight centuries. Excellence is what propelled us to become a global titan. Excellence, not cakeism.

I’m sure many of us have family, friends and/or colleagues who’ve made comments to the effect, “I like a lot of his policies, but I’m not a big fan of Trump.” We can now simply reply, “Cakeism. The belief that you can have all the advantages, and never have to deal with the disadvantages.” Cakeism isn’t rational of course. Bad decisions will always have negative consequences, despite the momentary short term gain.

Budget, History, Legislative Branch February 12, 2019March 3, 2019

It Took Congress 76 Years to Approve Washington Monument

Washington (Gallant Gold Media Hill Report) – It takes an excruciating long time for Congress to hammer out deals. Period. It’s been this way since the first Congress was sworn in on March 4, 1789. There’s no better example of this painstaking political process in a democracy, than the Washington Monument. In fact, the Washington Monument’s regal position smack in the center of National Mall facing the United States Capitol, seems to be a valiant tribute, a constant reminder, of Congress’s eternal battle to collect the many different points of view, persevere with noble determination, slow and steady to the bitter end, when a resilient compromise can finally be reached and delivered to the American people.

It’s much like alchemy. Lots of passionate fire, hammering and molding until the original material is completely transformed into valuable treasure.

George Washington, victorious general who overcame impossible odds in defeating the most powerful army on earth, with his ragtag team of militia, along with support from French allies, to liberate the colonies from British tyranny and become the United States of America. Our two term first president. Farmer. Statesman. Freemason. George Washington died on December 14, 1799, just two weeks shy of a new century. The country was in shock. We were so young. No one was sure if the “American experiment” would make it. But the one thing that every single solitary American was 100% certain of, was that we would build a magnificent statue or monument to honor and pay homage to this incredibly honorable, patriotic Founding Father.

Congress immediately set forth to pass a bill for just such a purpose. Our nation’s new capitol would be opening in Washington DC in 1800. The buildings were far behind schedule, the roads were a muddy mess, this dream looked impossible, yet the monument to George Washington was resolute. With every single member of congress for the bill, backed by every single citizen of America (save for a few hidden loyalists), how could it possibly take 76 years (July 5, 1876) for this bill to pass in Congress?

The devil is in the details. No one could agree on the design.

The Washington Monument should memorialize for Congress that they are indeed alchemists. That there will always be fire, and grit, scrupulous effort, give and take, to eventually arrive at a workable compromise. There are just so many different perspectives in a nation as massive as ours. Thus, we can never shutdown our government out of frustration over this eternal process. Battles to pass bills are the best examples of what democracy looks and feels like. Huzzah!

Budget, Constitution, Immigration, Legislative Branch, Mitch McConnell, Trump January 12, 2019December 22, 2019

Longest Shutdown Ever | GOP Senators 2020

Washington (GGM) Analysis | January 12, 2019
by Noreen Wise

It’s Friday night January 11, 2019 just before midnight. Mitch McConnell is already back home in Kentucky, tucked safely away in his expansive homestead, sipping champagne perhaps, while 800,000 Americans are gripped with trauma as we head into the 22 day of the longest shutdown in American history.

This shutdown has no logical justification. It feels like we’ve been viciously attacked by a foreign enemy… similar to the perilous grip of a cyber attack that inflicts grave financial harm.

Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader and is ultimately the most responsible for this nightmare. After two years of enabling Trump to defy the U.S. Constitution, and two years of McConnell failing at his responsibility to be a check on the Executive Branch, the cumulative result is a treasonous president who’s a threat to American citizens and a danger to the world.

McConnell could easily rally his GOP colleagues to follow through with their oath of office, and yet he defiantly refuses. It’s galling.

The following are 21 GOP Senators who are up for reelection in 2020. May the self-serving, anti-American amongst them, who’ve corrupted their oath of office by their flagrant inaction and indifference that’s traumatizing American citizens, be the final straw that permanently marks them, and makes these their final days in office.

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Steve Daines (R-MT)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Joni Ernst (R-IA)
Cory Gardner (R-CO)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MI)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
David Perdue (R-GA)
Jim Risch (R-ID)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Mike Rounds (R-SD)
Ben Sasse (R-NE)
Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Thom Tillis (R-NC)

Below are what some had to say on the eve of the longest shutdown in US history… a shutdown that strongly resembles a Russian cyber attack.

Senator Mitch McConnell did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019 before heading home for the weekend.

Senator Susan Collins did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans.

Senator Ben Sasse also did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans. But she did retweet the GOP video on January 10, 219.

Senator Lamar Alexander seems to have the right attitude, meeting with constituents on January 11, 2019 to discuss with them the best way to end the shutdown. He’s very atypical compared to his GOP counterparts.

Senator Tom Cotton, no mention of the shutdown on January 11, 2019, but Senator Cotton did bring up the border o January 9, 2019, approximately 24 hours after Trump’s failed Presidential Address.

Senator Bill Cassidy actually has a good idea, but the cartel money should be used for modern technology rather than a pointless medieval wall.

Senator Steve Daines didn’t tweet about the shutdown on January 11, 2019, but he did tweet about protecting public lands and working across party lines which seems to subliminally suggest he’d like to work with Dems to reopen the government.

Senator Mike Enzi is another GOP Senator who showed an air of bipartisanship by cosponsoring bill to end government shutdowns forever. This works.

Senator Joni Ernst did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019 about the shutdown, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans. But she did show complete indifference to the plight of the 800,000 federal employees by tweeting about her own pet project.

Senator Cory Gardner did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019 about the shutdown, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans. But he did show complete indifference to the plight of the 800,000 federal employees by tweeting about his own pet project.

Senator Thom Tillis did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019 about the shutdown, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans. But he did show complete indifference to the plight of the 800,000 federal employees by tweeting about his own pet project.

Senator David Perdue did NOT tweet on Friday January 11, 2019, the eve of what’s to become the longest shutdown in US history, that will harm 800,000 innocent Americans.

Budget, Legislative Branch, Trump January 1, 2019January 1, 2019

Welcome 2019 Tweets from American Leaders

With such a heated ending to 2018 (#TrumpShutdown, Mattis resignation, and dismissal of 83 complaints against Kavanaugh), it’s important to note how 2019 began so we can reference it down the road. It seems the following is how every single day in 2019 will play out (several leaders took a hiatus from Twitter during the holidays, Mitch McConnell for one):

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Budget, Immigration, National Security, Trump December 26, 2018

Border Solutions for $5 Billion | No Wall

In light of the hundreds of thousands of social media posts and tweets over the holiday weekend amidst the partial government shutdown, which occurred because of Trump’s willfully blind demand that $5 billion be earmarked to build a border wall, which the vast majority of us know is a futile mission considering how simple and easy it is to tunnel under, or climb over the wall – after all, where there’s a will there’s a way… and our ancestors certainly proved this when they crossed the Atlantic, or trekked across the Sierra Nevadas – it’s time to quickly brainstorm solutions since our president can’t.

Trump is obstinate. He’s not a flexible thinker. Trump latches onto an idea from last century, or in this case, from over a millennium ago, and refuses to let it go and sadly appears completely unable to adapt to reality. Because Trump’s thinking is cemented, he’s not the fittest to find a workable solution.

It’s time to drowned social media with bright ideas. This proposal is a work in progress, but solutions are only found by taking the first step.

Immigration and our AMERICAN PRINCIPLES:

Immigration is part of the American DNA, it’s what has enabled us to become a superpower of goodness that lights the world
We must open our doors to asylum seekers
We must have an efficient and effective path to citizenship
Dreamers must be protected
We must stop guns and drugs and the cartels from crossing the border, as well as other criminals

How to properly apply $5 Billion to securing our border, as well as maintain our American principles:

SUGGESTION: $5 Billion can be used for infrastructure
Many of the jobs created can be given to asylum seekers and migrants seeking citizenship
Back in the 1800’s, once the trans continental railroad was built, and the railway barons (Vanderbilt, Astor, Carnegie) dreamed of towns developing across the heartland, they went in search of immigrants and made deals with them to relocate to America to farm the heartland, offering homesteads, travel expenses and opportunity; more than five million Germans flooded in to what became known as “the German triangle“
Why not do something similar with the current immigration crisis, create small communities, provide infrastructure job opportunities similar to what we did during the great depression when damns, bridges and highways were built through the WPA and the New Deal
If it worked then, it can certainly work now; it’s great to already have a blueprint to follow

This is a seed idea that needs to be watered, nurtured and given sunlight. Stamping it out without coming up with another idea is pointless. Five billion for the wall is also pointless.