A few months ago, I saw advertisements on Showtime regarding a new documentary they were releasing. It looked pretty interesting, but of course, I then promptly forgot about it. Came across it again tonight, and it’s titled “The Fourth Estate”, a four part series (for Season one, not sure whether a second season is coming). I only had time to watch the first episode before heading off to bed, but … [Read more...]

Post one of three. Second post will be a screenshot of President Trump’s Tweet that Dan Rather addresses below. Third post is a screenshot of older tweets from President Trump, before he became president, with regard to Iran. https://www.facebook.com/theDanRather/posts/10160671493185716 Post two of three. First post was an editorial by Dan Rather regarding President Trump’s Tweet below. Third … [Read more...]

A lot of you know I like to share my life (and experiences) with all of you, by FB blogging. Today, I’ve decided to start twittering as well. Here is my very first Twit: ... Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. 📱🍔🚀 😱🙄😉🤓 (years from now, I'm going to wonder what this post was all about - the above tweet was actually … [Read more...]

I was only thirteen yrs old in 1972. Something stupid and crazy happened in June of that year.  It happened so silently it was only a blip on the radar, and probably only a couple of the local newspapers carried the story:  a local hotel and office complex had been broken into by a few guys, in the middle of the night.  It wasn't anywhere near a national story, and even if it were, at the age … [Read more...]

President Trump stated tonight (once again) in his State of the Union address that there are "94 million unemployed Americans". Let's take a few minutes to dissect that number to judge the validity of that statement. There are roughly 323 million people living in the United States. If there were 94 million people unemployed, that would mean, the unemployment rate is now at 29%. In 1933, in the … [Read more...]

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, when asked to clarify his recent comments about expanding U.S. nuclear weapons capability, said "Let it be an arms race!", and that the United States would win it (as reported on Friday by MSNBC). According to one source, there were a total of ~70,000 nuclear weapons world wide in the mid to late 1980's, and as of 2010, the total was down to ~20,000. Another … [Read more...]

Tonight, as I try to fall asleep, I'm reminded of an episode of "The West Wing", (from Season One, Ep 14, "Take this sabbath day.") President Bartlett had to decide whether to "stay" an execution that was scheduled to happen in less than 48 hours, and he consults wth a variety of people (his staff, the Pope, a Rabbi, a Quaker, and finally a Priest), and agonizes over the decision. Finally, a few … [Read more...]

1932, landslide Roosevelt 462, other guy 59 1936, landslide Roosevelt 523, other guy 8 1940, landslide Roosevelt 449, other guy 82 1944, landslide Roosevelt 432, other guy 99 1948,                  Truman 303, other guys 189, 38 1952, landslide Eisenhower 442, other guy, 89 1956, landslide Eisenhower 457, other guy 73 1960,                  Kennedy 303, other guys 219, 15 1964, landslide Johnson … [Read more...]

Below (way below) is an article about voting for a third party... If I can find my voice (I.e., the words) in the next week or so, I'll chime in as well with my own thoughts regarding how voting for a third party doesn't accomplish anything, other than to help elect that person whom you least like. Yes, you may think that both candidates suck, and both might be unworthy of holding the most … [Read more...]

This, to me, is a very interesting story (the attached NPR story). Apparently there is something "important" going on, in the city of Cleveland, Ohio this week. Some sort of "convention". No, I don't think it's the Model Railroading convention. Nor, is it "ComicCon". I wonder which convention it is? Uh. Is it the "Keystone cops" convention?? Maybe it's the "three stooges" convention. No, … [Read more...]

The following is a commentary I wrote last night as a response to a friend's post, and I thought I would share here as well. The topic was "trusting (or not trusting) so-and-so candidate". The version below has been edited and expanded on, with additional thoughts. Not any one politician/candidate can satisfy all 200 million eligible voters in the USA, 100% of the time. They all have to make … [Read more...]

CNN - Elizabeth Warren This would be an awesome ticket - two HIGHLY intelligent people, both of whom are leaders, both of whom are articulate as well as coherent when speaking in public and/or during interviews. We need intelligent people, visionary people, true leaders (such as these two) who can articulate their vision, their plan, and their thoughts, as well as the ability to know when to … [Read more...]

Presidential Candidate Donald Trump and his Twitter tweets (please see the above photo), in chronological order, since Mr. Trump became aware of the mass killings in Orlando. I also looked at his official campaign website - no official statement from him (other than the tweets in the attached photo). As opposed to the following from Secretary Clinton: "I join the Americans in your prayers for … [Read more...]

An editorial from the "New Yorker" magazine's website, dated today: In the rhetoric of Donald Trump, mendacity and cynicism compete for equal time. It is hard to say which prevailed today as the Republican Party standard-bearer, a man who pretends to the most powerful political office in the land, tweeted this at his followers: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic … [Read more...]

"Pocahontas". Ok, I'm pretty sure President Obama has someone on his staff doing his Twitter remarks for him. I'm guessing that both Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton also have people to do that kinda stuff too. (yes, probably both candidates have input and/or are consulted at times, before a tweet is twittered - but, my guess is, 75-90% of their tweets are made by their staff's PR … [Read more...]

Thought Provoking essay from the NY Times. Thanks goes to Betty Bowersox for sharing. NYTimes link We live in a big, diverse society. There are essentially two ways to maintain order and get things done in such a society — politics or some form of dictatorship. Either through compromise or brute force. Our founding fathers chose politics. Politics is an activity in which you recognize the … [Read more...]

This is a fairly long survey (a few dozen or more questions), but I recommend you spend the time taking it, if you are uncertain over which candidate represents you the most. I recommend expanding those subject/policy sections that say "more...questions" as well as to open the "more stances" for EACH question, rather than rely totally on either saying 'yes', or 'no', because sometimes the 'other … [Read more...]

Just read this FB comment by some person regarding climate change: "How can you be so sure about climate change? This earth has existed for a very long time, it has been established that there have been many weather patterns, all we are experiencing is just another variation, we've had ice ages for example and may again, it's nothing to do with humans and all to do with the Earth and its life … [Read more...]