Mr. Trump: Keep The Government Shut and Build The Wall

In the "old days," let's say pre-1970, government employees were not paid as much as private sector employees and a consolation perc they have enjoyed in perpetuity has been that the chance they will ever be fired are very slim.  This under-pay status is no longer the truth. I suspect that government senior managers are not paid as much as senior managers in the private sector but that is not true in the case of line staff. Why on earth the Feds, including Trump, raise their hands and pronounce that all furloughed employees will receive back-pay is beyond me. It is a betrayal of the taxpayers and a disgrace.  The cause of a shut-down does not matter. The fact is (those that were sent home) did not work and thus should not get paid. If a fire in a local Taco Bell causes employees to lose work for three weeks, how much do you think they get paid? Some owners may have “business interruption” coverage for such loss of income but I suspect most don't. A paycheck is not a constitutional right. You produce, you receive a paycheck.

Based not on only this but including this I won't vote for Trump again.  I was a diehard "deplorable" but he has been quite weak in using his power to, as he says, "drain the swamp." (notice he does not say that much any longer.)  Of a hundred government employees, especially in and around D.C. (look at 2016 voting results in DC and neighboring Virginia counties) how many do you think voted for him?  I am going to guess 40% or less. If Trump were to keep the government shut and announce the employees could use vacation time for pay until that runs out, it is the Dems the employees will go after.  In other words it is the Dems who will receive the pressure from the furloughed employees. What on earth does Trump have to lose (and I don’t care about the Republicans in Congress)? So the people who already suffer from TDS don’t vote for him...no loss and let’s suppose some of the Republican voters don’t vote for him.  Not significant.

Since his presidency Trump has faced opposition, often hostile, from the other two branches of government, especially the Dems and the regional courts.  Trump is one branch and he has the awesome power of veto and it is litigation proof and probably safe against the override power of congress.. It really is that simple:  veto any funding bill that includes back pay for government employees and does not include $25 billion for the border wall. The border wall was a signature issue and it is now diluted to nearly nothing of importance.  First, Mexico was going to pay for the wall; not so much. Then tariffs would pay for the wall. Guess what? Then he signed a usurious spending bill that tragically increased debt but yet again included no funding for the wall.  Then he said $5 billion which, by one account covers 265 miles out of 2,000. Dems, to a person did not support that. Now it is $1.6 billion and the dems will have nothing to do with it. I really cannot vote for him again. Admittedly he has made significant achievements in many areas (taxes, trade, military) but he has failed horribly to drain the swamp or build the wall, two oft-repeated campaign promises, and two of my “signature” issues.

And this all the while he has the power of veto.

I worked for Washington State government for 25 years and am aware first-hand how the state tried to never reduce staff (successfully).  The most significant was when Clinton signed the scam we call “Entitlements as we know them are gone.” Immediately the state lost 20% of its welfare grant workload and I know damn well why.  That 20% always was employable and decided to scoop up the better jobs before others did the same thing.

The state reduced its workforce by not one employee.

After two tries, the voters approved an initiative taking the state out of the liquor business.  What exactly happened to the liquor store employees I don’t know but I would bet they did not lose their jobs. The state was VERY quiet about that. As were the unions.  This is what the Feds are doing. At our expense they are making financially comfortable government employees who are not working.

Watched a You-Tube video, as I am often given to do, in this case on the “ten worst neighborhoods in Detroit.”  I have watched similar videos like “Ten Worst Cities in The Country.” In some of the Detroit neighborhoods, nearly 50% of the population did not complete an 8th grade education.  Any bets how many of these people are on welfare? Yet the states only sporadically devise litigation-proof laws that force people receiving my money to go to work. And, I understand the recent agriculture bill (food stamps are funded via the Department of Agriculture) on Trump’s desk REMOVED a requirement to work.

Examples are available ad nauseum.  In his defense,Trump had a lot to do.  I recall Obama once saying “changing government is more difficult than I thought.”  That does not excuse Trump’s failure to drain the swamp and build the wall. Those were his campaign promises and I voted for him thinking he would work on those like a pit bull..

Quit being afraid of being president.  Write a things-to-do list and use your executive power to keep the government shut until that list is completed...which you can work on while you are busy being impeached. Shame on you for betraying people who put all their faith in you as our last chance.  You lost my vote though in New York I concede that won’t matter much.

Trump: Grow A Spine

I was a youngster when LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson) was president and foisted upon us the terminally destructive "Great Society." That initiative and the 50 years since have witnessed expanded grant programs with nothing required of the recipients and that includes Clinton's "end of welfare as we know it." I worked for the Washington State welfare agency for 25 years and I know what I am talking about. Republicans have been complicit every step of the way. They grumble and pound their chests and then cave. We had a reprieve during the Reagan years but even during those years entitlements grew...at least he fired air traffic controllers who participated in an illegal strike. Newt Gingrich nearly pulled it off with his "contract with america" but the leftists (not known as that at the time) shrieked loudly enough (and I think Gingrich complicated that with marital problems) the Republicans caved. Since that failed initiative there has been no legislative accomplishments advancing both individual liberty AND RESPONSIBILITY. Today we have a "Republican" senate that is afraid of PC; we will have a Leftist house and that house will begin criminal proceedings against Trump who has refused to go after Obama and Clinton and their clones - I once read "out of professional courtesy." You have just got to be shitting me. Trump has accomplished much. His voiding unfavorable trade agreements; his unleashing energy production and his initiatives in Asia (no fruit of that tree yet but at least he is trying) are impressive, as well as is his support of the military and the recreation of some sense of national pride...in sharp contrast to Obama's "apology tour." He has appointed conservative judges and justices (extremely important since it does appear the judicial branch "trumps" the other two.) However, Trump made many promises. The least of which is guns although I will never turn mine in and could thus be made a criminal after-the-fact. He has done nothing to secure my right to bear arms. He promised escape from Obamacare and that has not happened. Remember the Dems rammed it upon us by delaying seating of Senator (Mark?) Brown from Massachusetts as he would have been the vote that would block that bill. Yet Trump tells everyone how much he loves everyone and he won't fall on his sword to repeal Obamacare. Trump's "signature" campaign promise was the border wall. Over and over again he demanded such a wall. First, Mexico was going to pay for it, then tariffs on Mexican goods would pay for it. Then, we would pay for it but would save more than the cost of benefits paid to illegals (and THAT I believe) then he said he could live with $6 billion (out of $26 billion). Now rumors float that he will ask for nearly nothing, that despite the constitutional oath all politicians take to protect this country from enemies, both foreign and domestic. Not that all immigrants are "enemies" but we have documented many are and you can bet, somehow it will be Trumps's "fault" if an MS13 member here illegally murders an American. So, it appears he has reneged. Again, I was a long-time Washington state employee. Even as a state employee I never did understand why people are so afraid of a government shutdown but the government itself, aka "the swamp" has convinced people they will die. I mean those darn Republicans want to feed old people dog food and push them off the cliff in their wheelchairs. So, it looks like Trump is resisting a shut down. ***If Trump does not get the wall, he will not get my vote in 2020. 2020 is not important to me; the wall is.*** This from one of the original "deplorables." If he loses in 2020 and our nation collapses at a faster rate, so be it; I will not vote for a candidate who only slows but does not reverse the trend to socialism and government "apportioning" of freedoms. If Trump caves, the 50 year progressive march continues; the swamp is alive and once again the only party who could have been the gatekeeper collapses. No democrat will get my vote but nor will Trump. "The lesser of evils is still evil." My best friend worked in a senior position of the state of Washington for two years. He said "you get everything done you can possibly get done in two years before the union and the bureaucracy figures out what you are doing...and then you leave. Donald: time to fall on your sword.

On Sour Women

I admit it; I am a girl-watcher. I am 72 but have yet to see a mountain or body of water or a forest more beautiful than a beautiful woman. My mind makes promises my body can't keep and I am happily married so window-shopping is my limit. Long Island, NY is such a nasty place. I worked part time for a big box store locally for a few years and complained to my manager that many of the employees did not treat customers well. I was told that headquarters is aware of that and that the company recognized that it was tougher to hire friendly people on Long Island than in any other market in the country...Having said that I walk a mall daily and am amazed at women of all ages who are glued to their smart phones. This includes women (and men) who are working stores or kiosks and should be greeting possible customers. Anyway, most women won't look up and if they do they are blank-faced or sour looking. I know there are many reasons; some people are just having a bad day but my point to the younger women who might be sympathetic to #metoo (though they don't understand what it is about) and older women who just don't like men is, "be careful." One day you may just wish a man would make a pass at you. No, not "sexual harassment" as reasonably defined, just a flirtatious remark. Once the days are gone they will not return. Smile today; it is cheap and easy and if you receive a smile in return, it may help your day.