In response to the WordPress Daily Post’s word, “flattery”, I pose the question, “why would a woman subject herself to the media scrutiny and public embarrassment as did the four women whom Donald Trump paraded before the media and the world’s audience last night at the President debate/townhall meeting?????
All four women, individually, were linked with the Clintons in the past, linked forever, through an unfortunate “happening” or personal experience.
There they were sitting at a table, being photographed, perhaps being questioned by the media. In fact, I just now thought, WOW, this is a beauty pageant sponsored by Donald Trump! But it’s not a beauty pageant; it’s just a very blatant media event. These women were “used” and I don’t mean in a good or kind sense. What were they thinking? Would I have done this? Would I have participated in this mini-sham?
It’s personal. It’s very personal. To “dust” off the past and wave it “out” there in front of literally the whole world to scrutinize, one must be a believer of the “requester of the favor.” I guess these women felt their presence at Trump’s request was a “good thing.”
I just don’t see the actions of these women as “flattering” either to themselves or their political beliefs whatever they may be. Are we witnessing character assassination or political assassination during these election proceedings?
I guess I don’t think the “media display” was flattering at all, especially to women. Perhaps, it was effective, but it was not flattering. But then it was not meant to be flattering, was it!
Since I have written quite a few blog articles related to jobs and jobs training, I thought I would create an archive for your perusal. Jobs go along with “economics”, without an “economy” there are no jobs. So here it goes, hope you enjoy the Archive, I have enjoyed writing the articles and as you can see the theme is a “work in progress”:
Studs Terkel, a Chicago journalist and TV personality, wrote a book called “Working“. He interviewed the “common” man or woman and recorded their lives as they related to work. We are defined by our job or craft, or skill, or “calling.” We have pride in ourselves when we feel worthiness and “worth.” Perhaps that’s what’s missing right now in the American spirit, it’s our “worth.” Let’s restore it, re-write the recipe or create a new one.
By the way, don’t forget to VOTE! It’s your patriotic duty and contributes to a feeling of “worth.”
Last night Monday, October 4, 2016, voters and citizens of the U.S. got to hear and see the Vice-Presidential candidates who will be running for office along side the Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
So what did we learn new? Were there any different viewpoints displayed between the vice-presidential candidates and their presidential running mates? Should we expect any “revelations during such a debate? Should the vice-presidential candidates have/show different opinions or viewpoints than the presidential candidate that he is “running with?”
We are entering the “home stretch” of the U.S. Presidential election, with (2) two more Presidential debates scheduled: October 9 and October 19.
And, whoever said that elections were boring??? The historians will have a field day writing about this one and just think, the “tweets” and emails alone will fill several volumes data!
Is this the penultimate “Week that was?” There are (3) three reasons that I say that:
1. The Chicago Tribune (Trib), a historical very Republication newspaper (it dates back to 1847), did endorse a Democrat for President in 2012, Barack Obama; and to my amazement, has this time endorsed the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson!!! I opened the Trib to its editorial page and there it is. I’m including a photo of the editorial page.
For disclaimers: I have no political intention with this photo. It’s just a photo of the endorsement of Gary Johnson, it just was such a surprise. Hillary Clinton being a “hometown” candidate and all, did not sway the Editorial Board nor did Donald Trump being the Republican candidate abet, a somewhat reluctant choice of the Republication party. I am not working for any political candidate, I’m not a politician, I’m not being paid to post these remarks. In fact, my blog tries to focus on economic issues but the Presidential election results will drive economic “issues” for (4) years perhaps even more. On to Reason #2:
2. The Congress of the United States over-rode a veto by the President of the United States regarding a Bill that allows U.S. citizens to sue the perpetrators of the terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001in New York, Washington, D.C. and plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Here’s a link to information about the bill.
I actually started writing this blog article early this morning (Oct 2) and was going to title it: “Is this any way to run a country?” Here, following is what I wrote early and I mean (2AM or so) this morning:
Or, how about this title for my blog article, “Is Lame Duck voting, a Brexit Redux? We have an election in November which will “fire” some in Congress and replace them with new Senators and U.S. House of Representatives. Thus any legislators voting upon on legislative Bills between the November 11 election and swearing in of newly elected Congressional representatives are called “lame ducks.”
So Congress finally over-rode a Presidential veto. This Presidential veto was meant to prevent potential diplomatic, security, safety, strategic global endangerment of US citizens abroad, around the world. The “vetoed” bill was purportedly not read adequately by Congressional members before their voting action. There are now Congressmen/women who regret their vote for the veto.
Is this retaliation or “get even” vote against President Obama because of his executive orders? Is this the ultimate touché` of a Republication Congress against a Democratic President? How self-destructive do we need to get before we completely destroy our Country? Or, to say it another way, when will our legislators discover the “art” of compromise again? Do you remember the video game “Pac Man”? I never played it but basically it was “eat or “get eaten.” When everyone or thing is “eaten” the game ends.
We are worried about the Russians or North Korea having nuclear weapons they might launch. We are worried about China becoming a world power! We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot!
So was the overturn of President Obama’s veto a retaliation, a sensible vote, gross negligence of Congress without due diligence, political blunder, political correctness, lack of diplomatic oversight…I’m running out of reasons or perhaps excuses.
Is it greed that drives the reparation movement regarding 9/11 tragedy? Unanticipated consequences brought about the Mid-East crises, unanticipated consequence brought about the housing crash of 2008-09, lack of due diligence and greed caused the dot.com crash in 2001.
How many times has the U.S. government been shut down? Answer: Too many times, it never should have happened even once!
The sequester bill was passed into law in year 2011, why it happened and the aftermath of consequences, because it did “work.” Here are some links to reference about the sequester bill:
Unlike computers, there is no UNDO button in Congress; well there is… more legislation, political wrangling, amendments, whatever. But the damage done perhaps can’t be rectified and again more reparation contemplated.
We have “tent cities”, drinking water that is poison, demonstrations like “Occupy Wall Street” which resulted from the housing crisis of 2008-09, discriminations that may or may not ever be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction. A national crumbling infrastructure that at times literally collapsed as the bridge in Minnesota. http://www.startribune.com/new-35w-bridge-already-is-aging/268746561/
I don’t even know how to end this blog, I usually come up with something witty or positive to say. Perhaps I should refer to a comedy motion picture called “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Here’s a movie “trailer” on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sla845GW9YM
I mean is it not a comedy of errors” at this point? Let’s stop pointing fingers and get to work. I’ll give you a “spoiler” alert about the motion picture, the money gets found but there is “no reward.”
First a disclaimer: I am NOT a political worker for either candidate, I am NOT an employee of Frontline, the documentary company, I am NOT a politician of any political party. I am NOT an employee of PBS.org or any other journalistic entity. I AM a private American citizen and a voter in the next Presidential election. I hope the above clears up any questions about my “status” concerning this particular posting.
Now to the post: I have just viewed the Frontline documentary called “The Choice 2016.” Here’s a link to it online: The Choice 2016.
Whether you are a “Trump” supporter or a “Clinton” supporter, its worth your time to get some background on the two Presidential candidates. The documentary covers several decades of the lives of the two candidates.
If you are “on the fence”, perhaps watching the documentary will change your vote, if you are a “Trump” or “Clinton” voter the documentary may help you solidify your voting decision. Whatever the reason, U.S. citizens need to vote.
Since I’m responding to the Daily Post word “unfinished”, today, I thought it might be appropriate to comment upon the “consumer confidence” number just recently released. As I have previously posted in my blog, here is a small tutorial on the difference between “consumer confidence” vs. “consumer sentiment.”
An article on the website MarketWatch, cites consumer confident is higher. Yet, there are retail stores closing, unfortunately people (who are also consumers) are being laid off or losing their jobs.
Mr. Trump referred to “carried interest” during the debate, here’s a link to my definitions article which contains a definition for “carried interest.” There were also comments by both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton about “trade deficits“, also, here’s my blog article regarding trade deficits plus little more.
Looking more at the word “unfinished,” it could apply to, of course, our election of a new President is, yet, unfinished; or, the U.S. economy “recovery” is yet unfinished, or is it better to look at the November election results as Thank you the campaigning is finally finished!
I hope that you viewed the debate last night. I hope that you plan to watch AND listen to the following debates which are scheduled as:
Vice Presidential candidates on October 4–remember that these two candidates are the potential #2 leaders of the United States
Presidential candidates on October 9
Presidential candidates on October 19
“Finished” in its meaning has the connotation of “ended” or “done.” It has a finality to it. Think of our election results instead as the continuity of our nation or as we say in our pledge of allegiance:
“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, One Nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.”
As a final comment, I do believe that the Pledge of Allegiance should be brought back to the schools. We said the Pledge everyday at the beginning of the school day, I attended a public school and a parochial school, we recited the Pledge at both schools. It was patriotic.
If there is anything that is “unfinished” it is our national identity. Perhaps our individual identities are changing but our National ideals and beliefs should not. We can “work it out,” we really can.
We are almost “at the wire”, the U.S. Presidential election is November 8, 2016. There are four (4) debates scheduled before the November 8 election:
• September 26 (Presidential candidates)
• October 4 (Vice Presidential candidates)
• October 9 (Presidential candidates)
• October 19 (Presidential candidates)
Who is qualified to participate in the U.S. Presidential debates in the year 2016??? That’s the $64,000 (U.S. Dollar) question!
The responsibility for deciding this question is the Commission on Presidential Debates. “The CPD’s primary mission is to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates are held every four years between and among the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States.”
“Under the 2016 Criteria, in addition to being Constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College, and have a level of support of at least 15 percent of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recently publicly-reported results at the time of the determination.”
Will third party candidate Gary Johnson have a change to participate in the U.S. 2016 Presidential election debates? Here’s what the New York Times thinks about that question: Will Gary Johnson quality to debate?
Here’s an archive of my postings that reference the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.
You can also look under my categories “election” and “presidential election” at the bottom of my Blog page for these blog articles.
It is famously quoted that Marie Antoinette (Queen of France) said “let them eat cake.” So to do a bit of a paraphrase, I say “let them debate!”
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What a great editorial in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Here’s the link: Neither for President. Evidently the WSJ does not endorse any candidates, “If ‘neither’ could make it onto the November ballot, maybe we’d reconsider our longstanding editorial policy of not endorsing candidates.”
“An unprecedented plurality of 35% responded neither, which means neither meets the 15% threshold to make it into the presidential debates. Can neither get a podium on stage?”
In my blog posting dated August 12, 2016, and titled “Show me the Money”, I offer the reader links to the four Presidential candidates’ websites and their political platforms. I also include a couple of links in my blog that refer to the 15% survey “results” requirement for inclusion in the Presidential debates.
What an interesting dilemma is posited by the WSJ! I mean, what if no Presidential candidate met the 15% “inclusion” criteria? Of course the criteria would be changed. Gee, maybe citizens should be “registered” survey responders in order to participate in the “national surveys.” Or, what if, and I know that this is really silly, but…what if only ONE candidate met the 15% requirement! They would be “onstage” debating against him or herself!
For those who can remember “Alfred E. Neuman,” should I quote him by saying “What, me worry!”
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Author update, 8/15/2016: Here’s an update on the rules being enforced in order to choose the Presidential debate candidates. This update is courtesy of CNN.com: CNN debate update
After the Labor Day holiday, the Presidential debates will begin. There are three (3) presidential debates scheduled on September 26, October 9, and October 19, 2016. There is one vice-presidential debates scheduled for October 4, 2016.
Just as I created a blog entry to links for the multiple Republication and Democrat candidates’ economic platforms while seeking their party’s nomination, this time I’m focusing on the winners of those contests, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Although the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, will probably not be participating in the Presidential debates, I’m including his Party’s web site: https://www.lp.org/platform
The Green Party also has a candidate, Jill Stein, planning to run for President. Here’s the link to their website: http://www.gp.org/
In some of my blog posts, I make reference to a motion picture, or perhaps a TV or radio show, the film that comes to mind, relative to this posting, is the movie, Jerry McGuire. To me, one of the great lines in the movie is “show me the money”, which was uttered by Cuba Gooding Jr. Here’s a trailer clip from the movie that contains that scene: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi878683161?ref_=ttvi_vi_imdb_1
The “economic” themes in the candidate’s platforms include tax treatment, infrastructure investment, military readiness, treatment of immigrants (legal or ortherwise), to name some of them. Each candidate has his or her way of “showing the money” or perhaps “stowing” the money through various taxation techniques.
Being an informed voter is more important than ever. Casting one’s vote is more important than ever. Making “the right” choice for our country is more important than ever. I hope that everyone who is a legal and registered voter, does vote. Unfortunately, the issue of being “registered” is rearing its ugly head again. We just can’t seem to “get it right!” Well, that’s a topic for another blog item.
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It’s time to write an FYI on how the Electoral College works (or doesn’t depending upon one’s opinion of it!). Here’s a link straight from the horse’s mouth or perhaps eagle’s beak is more appropriate. It’s to the U.S. National Archives and the Electoral College process is part of the U.S. Constitution: electoral college.
For the “gamers” who read my blog, here’s a “fun” website that allows you to play around with the Electoral College map and try to predict the Presidential winner: in the Trump v. Clinton game, whose your winner?
The following link is to a white paper written by William C. Kimberling, Deputy Director, FEC, Office of Election Administration. It is a 20-page paper which explains the historical beginning as well as controversy of the Electoral College since its inception: Federal Election Commission.
Why does this matter so much… well other than this is the most powerful “job” in the world at this time, I guess it does matter to the World as well as the United States citizenry! In the George W. Bush vs. Al Gore Presidential election, the Presidential election was decided by the Supreme Court. How did this happen? Here’s a link to some history on the Bush/Gore election: Bush v. Gore.
We, the citizens, have had our “fill” of hanging chads, non-functioning voting machines, “ghost voters”, polling places not open on-time, stuffed ballot boxes, absentee ballots not counted, I think everyone can contribute to the litany of voter fraud, possible or blant, that I’ve started to enumerate about here. Since we will be hearing more and more about the “Electoral College”, we should learn a little more about it.
This is one “learning curve” we all should travel if only to understand how the results will get us a new President.
The Mono-Economy of the New Millennium 
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