It's Nearly Unbelievable This Man Even BECAME President

There is an excellent article out from the end of June on this President.

100 Reasons Trump Is Unfit to Be President

And it spells exactly that--100 reasons why this man, this Donald J Trump is provenly unfit to be President.  It's a stunning list, even though most all or all we are familiar with. Herein are just the first 18 which gets us only to the Fall of 2016.

1   1985-1994

Reported $1.17 billion in business losses over the decade. Trump “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer,” according to the New York Times.

2    May 1, 1989

Took out $85,000-worth of full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five—whose convictions were later vacated after DNA evidence proved their innocence. Trump never apologized.

3   1990s

Contrary to his story of being a self-made billionaire, Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real-estate empire, much of it transferred through suspect tax-dodging schemes.

4   1991-2009

Declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy for his various businesses six times.

5   2005

Bragged about grabbing women “by the pussy” in a conversation with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush picked up on a hot mic.

6   2011-2016

Promoted birtherism against President Barack Obama—the false claim that Obama was not born in the United States, that his birth certificate was fraudulent, and that therefore he was constitutionally ineligible for the presidency.

7   2015-2016

Attacked in sexist and demeaning ways women who raised critical questions about his character. See: Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina, Hillary Clinton.

8   2015-present

Denies accusations of sexual misconduct, ranging from unwanted kissing to rape, by calling the women “liars” and not “his type.”

9   June 16, 2015

Announced his presidential campaign by describing America as “a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.” Mexicans coming to America, he said, were “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

10   July 18, 2015

Said Vietnam POW John McCain is “not a war hero” and “I like people who weren’t captured.”

11   November 22, 2015

Claimed that “thousands and thousands” of people in New Jersey’s Arab communities cheered on 9/11.

12   2016 campaign season

Encouraged violence. Said that he’d like to punch a protester “in the face”; that his supporters should “knock the hell” out of protesters—“I promise you, I’ll pay the legal bills”; and that the police should not protect suspects’ heads when loading them into squad cars.

13   May 11, 2016

Refused to release his tax returns for public inspection after having previously promised to do so. On other occasions, he falsely claimed he could not release them because he was under audit. When, in 2019, Congress subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin refused to comply—kicking off cases that went to the Supreme Court.

14   May-June 2016

Said Judge Gonzalo Curiel is unfit to rule on a lawsuit filed by Trump University students because “he’s a Mexican” (in fact, the judge is an American citizen born in Indiana). Trump would later settle the lawsuit for $25 million.

15   July 27, 2016

Called on Russia to hack and release Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails.

16   July 30, 2016

Denigrated the family of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in 2004 while serving in Iraq, after Khan’sTrump University father delivered remarks at the Democratic National Convention.

17   July 30, 2016

Broke with U.S. policy of supporting Ukraine over Russia’s invasion of Crimea, saying: “The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.”

18   Fall 2016

Before Election Day, repeatedly hyped unfounded fears of a “rigged” election. Then, after Election Day, he stated, without any evidence, “I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”

Money, ladies and gentlemen. Money, big money from corporations and the already-wealthy and then heavy gerrymandering, coast to coast, and voter ID laws and so, then, the Electoral College, all got this man, this small, thoughtless, ignorant, reckless, now dangerous man into the highest office of the land, the presidency of our United States.

To that I must one more time say, thanks, Republicans!  That's quite the guy you foisted on us all.

This is all on you. For eternity.

How qre KCPT's "Week In Review" and "Ruckus" Not Racist?

What do you call a news program in a major city of America that only has white people on it, discussing what are supposed to be local issues?

Not one African-American. Not one Hispanic or Latina/Latino. Nothing.

Only white people.

What is that but racist?

On both programs' panels, not one "person of color." "Ruckus" did, this week, have the head of our local Jazz Museum, Rashida Phillips on at the beginning of the program but no minority, save a woman, on the panel.

Only white people can give answers to what our problems are and what the solutions might be?

And how, exactly, can people like Dave Helling and Steve Kraske and Mike Mahoney support and continue to support this and these programs?

Why does the local Hispanic media like Dos Mundos support this group?

Yet One More Lily White "Ruckus" Last Evening

Yes sir and ma'am, yet one more lily white, bleached white, exclusive, exclusionist "Ruckus" news weekly last evening on our PBS station KCPT. Not one--not even one--person of color on the show. One woman but that, as usual, is as close to a minority as they got.

They go out of their way, every week, to include a middle-aged, middle-class, irrelevant white guy who calls himself a "Libertarian" but again---not one person of a minority.  And then there's always the really old, white guy with silver hair and moustache because, you know, old white guys' opinions just aren't "out there" enough already, right? (Other than the moustache, isn't that what Mike Shanin is already there for?).

The only question now is, will they do the same thing, yet again, with their other news weekly show, Nick Haines' "Week in Review"?  It's usually what they do, of course.

Pitiful

KCPT's Again, Still Lily-White "Ruckus"

If you watched KCPT's and Mike Shanin's weekly news program "Ruckus" again this evening, once more, you would think that the Kansas City metropolitan area has not one "person of color" within its borders. Not one Black American, not one Hispanic, not one Asian, nothing. Zip, Nada.

Fortunately, they did have three women on their panel--again, very white--so there's something but the rest? White men, mostly old. All three of the men are clearly Right Wing being one Libertarian and the other two deeply Right Wing.

It really does seem as though no minority person's experience nor opinion matter either to this organization, the local PBS station, or to this city.

And once more, part of the panel discussion was about our just-passed November election. Clearly they think no person in this metropolitan area has any input worth giving to the voting and all its ramifications?

Is there not one person in this city that couldn't be included on this little, cozy club?

Really?

Their name does stand for Kansas City Public Broadcasting.  Right?

The Right Wing and Republican Fear Platform

Tiresome. So tiresome.

KCPT and Their Lily White "Ruckus"

The local PBS station, KCPT, has a weekly news/conversation program each Thursday evening called "Ruckus" it is widely known. And it's usually a pretty good program, definitely, discussing local government and business current events. Given the shrinking of the Kansas City Star in town, it becomes an even more important outlet, if brief, at 30 minutes.

Last night's program, however, had at least one glaring problem I and I believe a lot of others would agree.

There was the very white, Right Wing host, three white men and one white woman.

That was it.

I swore there were Black Americans and Hispanics and other races that lived in our city.

I swore there was. Is.

There wasn't even any indication there was a Liberal or Left Winger on the program. Honestly, not one. You'd think they might have one so they could gang up and verbally beat up on and abuse them, the way now-deceased John McLaughlin used to do to Eleanor Clift on "The McLaughlin Group."  Maybe Steve Glorioso wasn't available? Someone else? The program has had "people of color", minorities on it in the past, as anyone who watches it knows, just not last night.

Apparently, their idea of "inclusion" is letting a woman sit with them. Heck, the host, Mike Shanin, even asked her a question. Two, even.

Between the host and the crotetchety, deeply Right Wing attorney Steve Mirakian  and, again, the Libertarian, they got the Republicans and Right Wing covered, 10 ways from Sunday. (I will say one good thing about the Libertarian. At least he's against the unnecessary boondoggle of a new, billion dollar airport). 

The other part of this inclusion of theirs is letting a self--professed Libertarian (whatever that means) on the show.

But a Black person from the city this week? A Hispanic? Heck, an Asian? Anything else?

I guess that would make a ruckus.
Understand, I love my KCPT and PBS, absolutely. I wouldn't want to live without it.

I just thought their standards were and would be higher, and more inclusive, than this.

Link:  Ruckus | KCPT

Thus also explaining far too many Kansas Citians' opinions

When I read comments in newspapers and especially on blogs (one local blog in particular, ahem), I am frequently stunned to read how some white people think they're oppressed by some racism because of, of all things, black people especially but minorities in general.  Today, on the interweb, I found out why:

Study Finds White Americans Believe They Experience More Racism Than African Americans

Pretty stunning stuff, however wrong:

There’s a saying that “the new racism is to deny that racism exists.” If that is the case, it may explain a study conducted by researchers from Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School. Their findings claim that self-described white Americans believe they have “replaced blacks” as the primary victims of racial discrimination in contemporary America.

The authors say that their study highlights how the expectations of a “post-racial” society, predicted or imagined in the wake of Barack Obama’s presidency, has far from been achieved.

The study finds that while both Caucasian and African Americans agree that anti-black racism has decreased over the last 60 years, whites believe that anti-white racism has increased. 

And that's all pretty bizarre--and, of course, wrong, deeply wrong--but here's the really big kicker:

...the study finds that the majority of Caucasians believe that anti-white racism is a “bigger problem” than what African Americans face.

Right.  Got it.  Sure it is.  Whatever.  Whatever you say, honkie.

 ”It’s a pretty surprising finding when you think of the wide range of disparities that still exist in society, most of which show black Americans with worse outcomes than whites in areas such as income, home ownership, health and employment.”  --Tufts Associate Professor of Psychology Samuel Sommers, PhD

Yes, it's "pretty surprising", all right.

Freaking wow.

"Pity party on aisle five!"

If people who are losing their jobs or getting their pay cut or whatever, would realize who's doing that to them---the boss or the corporations, you know, the wealthy people---maybe they'd realize who the real problem is.

But no.  Just like with our current president.

Blame the black guy.

Links:   

Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Los

Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Whites Believe They Are Victims of Racism More Often Than Blacks

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I miss Communism

I miss Communism.

I kind of miss the "Cold War."

Back when there was the big, bad, ugly Russian Communists, we knew who our enemies were and it was "them." Now, we don't know who our enemies are as well so we attack one another. We attack fellow Americans.

It was far less Republicans vs Democrats and "Left" vs "Right."

We've stopped talking to one another, we've stopped discussing our problems and possible solutions, instead attacking one another.

Now we attack opposing political stances, gays, blacks, Hispanics, Mexicans, Muslims, you name it. All fellow Americans but we attack 'em.

It's crazy.

This is no way to run a nation.


I miss it when we were all Americans, when we were all on the same side.

Just not if you're black or minority or poor

One more stereotype, shot to heck

Here's your "lazy Mexicans", according to reasearch from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the OECD):

Quoting: "Mexicans...top international studies by working nearly 10 hours a day on the job and in the home."

So much for that stereotype, huh?

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/who-knew/work-hours-which-nation-spends-the-least-amount-of-time-on-the-job-29600877.html#crsl=%252Fwho-knew%252Fwork-hours-which-nation-spends-the-least-amount-of-time-on-the-job-29600877.html

Big weekend for the city

Yes sir, there are a great deal of things going on in Kansas City this weekend.

First up is one of the year's best First Friday in the Crossroads because it's not blistering hot or freezing cold right now. That should be a terrific turnout.

Second is the Brookside Art Fair.

Next up is Cinco de Mayo so every Mexican restaurant in the area will also be packing them in.

Finally--it's a short list, if even a full weekend--"The Avengers" movie opens. I expect it will be packed, for those interested.

So, whatever you're doing this weekend, y'all, have a great time. Let's be careful out there.

What part of "equal" do we just not get?

Click on picture for legibility

Dio de los Muertos

What a cool idea. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

Germany's employment system vs. the US

Here in the States, regarding employment, we all know it's "every man for himself."

Everything here, economically, is based on this principal.

It's "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps", fight for what you want, work for what you need.

And there's some truth and merit to that, sure.  No one can give you anything, really.  You don't grow if you're just given things.

But the system can and could include plenty of work for more people, I'd claim, without being completely, totally and utterly cut-throat and, as I said, "every person for themselves."

It doesn't HAVE to be management vs. labor or the company vs. the worker.

The opposite of competition really is cooperation.

I write this today because of an article I just read pointing out what Germany at least differently if not better than our "every person for themselves", cut-throat system.  An example:

Germany has focused very directly on protecting existing jobs. Through its "kurzarbeit" program, the government provides subsidies to employers who avoid laying off workers during periods of low demand; instead bosses are encouraged merely to reduce the hours that employees work. Employers themselves have also created more flexible arrangements with their workers: Under a system of "working time accounts," employees work overtime without additional pay when demand is high during boom times, then during the downturn work shorter hours, again at regular pay. The system helps everyone better weather the ups and downs of the economy without the need for layoffs.


See?  That's what I'm talking about.  It's much more collaborative.  It's much more "we're in this together--what can we do?" than our system.


Another thing Germany does that we don't:


As the Washington Post's Harold Meyerson has written, Germany's manufacturing firms still hire large numbers of domestic workers, rather than turning to lower paid foreign workers as many of their U.S. counterparts do. That's not because German execs are inherently any more civic-minded than American one—instead, they're acting under the constraints of Germany's "co-determination" system, which aims to ensure that corporate boards contain an equal number of labor and management representatives. Here, by contrast, organized labor is fighting to avoid seeing its clout reduced still further.


Hello?  


Doesn't that make sense?  


Maybe if we practiced something more like this we wouldn't have millions of people flooding in from other countries, undercutting our wages.  Maybe there wouldn't be this magnet to come up here to get jobs.  Maybe with this, companies wouldn't turn a blind eye to our laws and hire people who are here illegally.  (See?  I'm not blaming the Mexicans and Hispanics totally for this by any means).


And no, Germany doesn't have a perfect system but they do have a good, working system and they've managed to keep most people employed in the midst of an international slowdown and they're stronger, individually and as a nation, because of it.


And the benefits to companies in all this?  If we KEEP our jobs?  Well, won't we still be able to buy their products?


Everyone would win.


We'd all be in this together.


Don't look now but we already are.


Link to original story:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110322/ts_yblog_thelookout/ich-bin-ein-example-what-we-can-learn-from-germany-about-jobs

Arizona's new slogan

Arizona: Come for the racism. Stay for the Fascism.

Arizona and Iran: A lot in common

First it was Arizona legalizing profiling and arrests of Hispanics and Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, in their quest to purify their state. We all heard about that.

Now, Arizonans can see how much they have in common with that beacon of intelligence, open-mindedness and acceptance, Iran, by coincidence, since they may begin arresting women there who are suntanned , since more scantily-clothed women are against fundamentalist Islamic law.

Stay classy, Arizona.

Classy, open-minded, intelligent and accepting.