President Trumps First Executive Order(s)

These are my prediction as to what Trump will try to push though once he takes office.

1st. Repeal Obamacare

He has repeatedly promised on the campaign trail that he would repeal Obamacare. Many said it wont be so easy, 20 Million people have signed up to the plan since it was first enacted. You would need time…it has to make its way though congress; Insurance companies would need to prepare and navigate the changes, etc. I would remind these people Trump’s party has control of the Senate and the House with many Republicans having been very vocal about their opposition; Making the repeal of Obamacare a very real possibility from day one.

Trump is also likely to repeal Obama’s executive order that extended gun control measures

2. Build a tremendous wall, believe me.

Possibly the single most important facet to his campaign has been his stead fast insistence that he would build a wall along Americas southern border. Many have (rightfully) criticized the feasibility of such a task. Trump has been quoted as saying the wall would cost $8 billion, then $10 billion, then 12 billion USD to make. The Washington post has estimated the wall, as described by Trump, would cost at least $25 billion to make not including the necessary cost of upkeep. No matter the cost the wall will likely take years to complete and as many suspect will be over budget. Trump has stated he would force Mexico to pay some or all of the cost of the wall but it is unclear whether the Southern nation will comply with the demands. One look at the internal discussions circulating within Mexico’s population and the answer is very likely ‘No way in hell.’

Along these lines Trump has also stated he would repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act and by extension DAPA, which deferred deportation of undocumented immigrants who entered the US before their 16th birthday and allowed them to apply for a two-year work permit. So far 750,000 immigrants have  been approved for DACA.

3. Nominate a Supreme Court Justice

Donald Trump has made a list of 21 nominees he will put forth before the Senate to replace the Supreme Court seat left open since conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February earlier this year. Trump has stated that he will push to have a conservative judge take the position. Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Ruth Bader are also set to retire in the near future. Potentially opening another two positions to be appointed by Trump and confirmed by a republican controlled Senate majority.

Beyond these three, it’s difficult to say to what extent Trump will fulfill his other campaign promises. He has stated that he will place “Extreme Vetting” on those migrating from countries that are believed to be exceptionally high risk. This may take the form of new psychological evaluations, enhanced background checks, new forms of security checks. It’s completely unknown what direction it will take.

Last, but certainly most important to his supporters are Trumps plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both of those trade agreements are very complicated situations with many parties and interests involved. Many working class Americans are hoping Trump will make good on his promise to ‘create jobs’ by pulling out of the TPP which is the type of trade agreement that is believe to have led to many manufacturing jobs being moved overseas.

References:

International Buisness Times

List of Trump’s 21 Nominees

Fist 100 Days

The Age of Marijuana

 

The country might be reeling from the election but for many there is a silver lining. As the  reality of a Trump presidential beings to settle into the minds of Americans, many are looking forward to kicking back and self-medicating with some long-awaited legal Cannabis. After the stunning success of Colorado’s Marijuana sales bringing in 120$ million in new tax revenue and creating an estimated 18,000 new jobs related to the sale and distribution of Americas favorite weed. This year many other states have jumped at the chance to get in on the action.

Here’s the break down.

As of this posting Maine’s question 1 to legalize recreational marijuana is leading in the affirmative by less than 1% with 98 percent of precincts reporting.

Arkansas, has passed with 53% in favor of medicinal marijuana.

California, has passed recreational marijuana as well a refining current standing laws on licensing. Medicinal marijuana has been legal in the state since 1996.

Florida, has passed medicinal marijuana with 71% in favor. The measure was fist proposed in 2014 but failed to achieve the 60% super majority need to pass the amendment.

Massachusetts, has passed recreational marijuana with 53% in favor.

Nevada, has passed recreational marijuana with 54% in favor.

Montana, has passed medicinal marijuana with 59% in favor.

North Dakota has passed medicinal marijuana with 64% in favor

Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have already legalized recreational marijuana.

Many of the states that have pass recreational use have also set measures to use a percentage of the revenue to fund school, grants, medical research, public construction and drug education and rehabilitation programs. While the drug is still classified as a type I controlled substance by the government (meaning the substance is believed to have no medicinal value) public opinion has dramatically changed in recent years. Use of Cannabis has been normalized in pop culture leading many to believe the federal ban may soon be lifted.

Other drugs classified as type I substances are Heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone (Quaalude), and peyote: a small cactus native to the Americas that has long been used by indigenous populations for ritualistic and medicinal purposes.

Depending on the circumstance the federal penalty for possession of marijuana can range anywhere from 1,000$ fine to 3 years in a federal prison.

References:

Study of marijuana’s economic impact in Colorado

MerryJane

New York Times latest report of Maine Q-1

Why Trump Won The Presidency

If you were totally blindsided by Trumps landslide victory, you need to blame the mainstream media. For months the legacy media has not only shoveled Hillary down the throats of its audience; It’s out right lied about its coverage of the election; Left leaning news sites over sampled registered democrats in polls and CNN’s famously feeding its ‘focus’ group pro-Hillary responses. Not only did this have the unintended consequences of lulling Hillary hopefuls into a false sense of security, it further deteriorated the crumbling faith in traditional news media.

During the poll counts CNN refused to recognize states that had already swung to Trump to give the illusion that Hillary still had a lead, when in truth, Trump had surged and in a big way. They ignored the outrage of Bernie supporters going in, they ignored independent who simply could not identify with Hillary’s platform.

They said Hillary had it in the bag, they said there were no Shadow votes for Trump. The truth is the constant brow beating from progressive’s, the demonization of Trump supporters by the media created a cultural climate that censored those who had been leaning towards Trump. It not only forced these people to hide their true political identity but strengthened their resolve to vote for a candidate that openly opposed the politically correct culture that has insulted and disparaged them on a personal level.

The rise of Donald Trump has always been a cultural push back against social progressive ideals that have alienated so many who would not fall in line with their narrative. Donald Trump sold himself as anti-establishment (Hillary exemplified establishment politics) but more importantly as anti-PC, famously stating he’d ‘refuse to be politically correct’.

This is a serious wake up call to all progressives. To stop insulting those who hold a different opinion, to stop with ad hominem attacks, stop with the racist, sexist, the misogynist, the homophobic, trans-phobic name calling and start LISTENING to others.

If progressive can’t connect with ideological opponents in a real way, in a civil, tolerant way. You will never win another election. Progressive ideology has cost the Democratic party the Presidency, the House And the Senate. This election has been nothings short of a Revolt.

All I can do has an independent is try and bridge the gap between two very polarized, very decisive and aggressive ideologies so that diplomacy and compromise can some day return to our politics. For now it looks like we a long, long way to go.

No Matter Who Wins 2016 Election, America loses.

Waiting for the results of the 2016 presidential election, one thing is for sure. The U.S. will be more divided then ever before. This shit show of an election has been the most divisive event in recent history. It has not only framed the expression of a major societal paradigm shift but in fact exacerbated resulting tensions. America is going through a variety of difficult social challenges between conservative and progressive schools of thought.  Although polls state economic and foreign policy as being the most important aspects of this election, observation has proven otherwise. This race is not about policy, it is about culture.

Heated debates over free speech, social class, integration of immigrants and the preservation of supreme court decision or their abolition are at the heart of this divide. The left is terrified that a Trump victory will mean Roe v. Wade will be overturned and the right wing states a win for Clinton will signal nothing less then the beginning of WWIII. Fear mongering, perpetuated by mainstream propaganda has driven the American people into an absolute frenzy. So much so i can say with reasonable certainty that mass riots will inevitably occur following the presidential nomination.

It doesn’t matter who will hold the executive office, it’s unlikely they will have the support needed to pass any sort of legislation one way or the other. Not until we, as a country, can come to some sort of mutual understanding. In this digital age we have lost our sense of reason and our politics are simply an abstract expression of that. Until we can come together and hold diplomacy as our instrument of compromise we will never find our way out of the ideological trenches we have dug ourselves into these past few years.

We are afraid because we no longer have trust, in each other, and therefore in the integrity of our democracy. We have academic elitist writing pseudo intellectual papers suggesting we abandon democratic principles and we have conservative think tanks calling for the complete dismantlement of our standing government. What we need is not a partisan place holder in office, we need a new renaissance. We need a grass roots movement, one dedicated to the classical principles of reason and discussion, real discussion, not the demagoguery that is so often passed as debate; the kind you find in snarky twitter quips and YouTube comment rants. The kind that slick their way to the top of Reddit forums like crude petrol. Worse our press chooses sensationalism over facts and our culture; Vanity over substance.

I don’t know who will become president; but what I do know is that our troubles have only just begun.

Donald Trumps ‘assassination’ attempt

I’m sure you’ve all seen this video of presidential hopeful Donald Trump being rushed off stage by secret service.

The real events are as follows, long time republican and Nevada local Austyn Crites was attending the trump rally. Intent on protesting using a sign he printed off the internet saying “Republicans against Trump”

Something like this

He entered the rally, which had various security measures included going through metal detectors as well as being scanned with a metal detecting wand. Standard security procedures for basically all of these kinds of events.

He passed through the security check points and hid away the sign. Later on when the rally was well underway he makes his way to the front of the stage, allegedly doing so aggressive enough to garner attention by those around him, then once at the front he goes to pull out the sign he had brought in. Those around him panicked thinking his motion telegraphed the draw of a concealed firearm. The people around him rushed to pin him down, someone calling out that he had a gun. Secret service saw the commotion, hear the cries of a gun and rushed Trump off stage. Moments later secret service and sheriffs department detained Crites, searched and questioned him but neither departments found a gun. They subsequently checked his background; concluded he was not a threat and released him that night.  Trump returns to stage and is greeted as hero and praised for his courage.

There you have it; Eradicate behavior that triggered paranoia and mass hysteria. Considering there was an actual attempt on Trumps life before this event, it isn’t difficult to see why someone would be on edge when seeing someone rush the stage and quickly pull a concealed ‘something’ from their persons.

The truth is no one is to blame for this event except those in social media that asserted this was an assassination attempt before having any facts whatsoever.

Later you have conspiracy network InfoWars interviewing a person claiming to have attended the event who also falsely asserting they saw Crites trying to draw a gun which only fueled the mania.

Once again, the media fails to follow the most basic procedures of journalism, verify before you report.

References:

Reno Gazette Journal

Confessed Assassination Attempt

The Rasputin of South Korea

There is a kind of scandal exploding in S.Korea as thousands are calling for the resignation of President Park Guen-Hye, the first woman to be elected president of South Korea.

The story begins nearly 40 years prior with her father Park Chung-hee and his relationship with the shamanistic cult leader Choi Tae-min. It is not uncommon for political leaders to seek spiritual advisors, Choi who was friends with then dictator Chung-hee befriended his daughter after her mother had been assassinated, reportedly saying that she had come to him in a dream and asked him to help her in grieving. Park Guen-hye later in a newspaper interview said she was grateful to him for consoling her during difficult times and called him a patriot of the nation. He would continue to mentor President Park until his death in 1994; allegedly using his relationship with her to take bribes from government officials and businessmen. It seems after Choi Tae-min’s death President Park Guen-Hye continued to seek spiritual counsel from his daughter Choi Soon-sil who had been friends with Park since the 1970s.

Since then their relationship has been embroidered in allegations of corruption. Allegedly stating that Choi Soon-sil had used her relationship with President Park to amass a fortune through bribes and back door dealings, much like her father had allegedly done for years before. Park Guen-Hye resigned in 1990 as chairwoman of the Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation over allegations that the Choi family had used the funds for personal gain.

Today thousands are calling for Presidents Parks resignation over yet another scandal involving the Choi family. This comes after Park publicly announced she had sought advice from her friend Choi Soon-sil when drafting speeches. S.Korean broadcasters had also alleged that Choi had been previewed to classified documents despite having no security clearance. As a result Park Guen-hye’s public approval has plummeted to an all time low, with Park accepting the resignation of five of her senior staff.

Many have drawn similarities between Park’s relation with Choi to that of Rasputin and Alexandra Feodorovn, wife to the Russian Tsar with Protestor holding signs asking Choi to command Park Guen-hye resign as well as costumes of Park as a puppet with Choi pulling the strings.

The story is still developing with Choi Soon-sil under investigation for possible embezzlement of two charitable foundations.  Park Guen-Hye has yet to comment further on allegations of corruption; or the recent arrest warrants for two of her aides but has publicly stated she would fully cooperate with the investigation.

 

References :

Reuter

Associated Press

Jeongsu Scholarship Foundation

Why James Comey totally fucked up

Today James Comey, Director of the FBI sent a letter saying: “Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,”

This coming less than 48 hours before election day. Needless to say this people lose their collective shit. This new letter has had two effects.

1. This letter completely undermines Comey’s first letter to congress stating there maybe pertinent information contained in the new emails found on Anthony Wieners laptop. While Director Comey did qualify the letter; If Comey really had no idea what the content of the emails were, he was completely out of line sending that letter. He clearly would have known sending such a letter would fuel public speculation and sway public opinion during a critical point in the election.
2. He’s made a complete laughing-stock of the FBI and called into question the competency of an entire federal department. There is a very basic rule that you DO NOT comment on an ongoing investigation unless under exceptional circumstance.

My basic reasoning behind the first letter Comey e-mailed was this. Comey isn’t an idiot, he knows that sending a letter like the one sent to congress would have serious consequences to Clinton’s campaign. So, since Comey isn’t a complete idiot, he must have some reason, some evidence that would warrant throwing the election into chaos and casting suspicion on Hillary Clinton days before votes are cast.

Boy, was I wrong; turns out Comey is in fact an incompetent idiot. He has compete disregard for the vast influence his position holds. People expect the director of the FBI to have some semblance of reason behind his actions that go well beyond wild speculation. This second letter not only proves that he has no consideration for the reputation of those under investigation but also shows he has absolutely no idea how to handle an investigation of this caliber.

Not only did Comey break a basic cardinal rule of investigative work, (you do NOT comment on an ongoing investigation) He broke that rule based on conjecture. The simple truth is Comey doesn’t understand basic investigative protocol.

James Comey does not have the intelligence or the fortitude to lead the FBI. He should resign if only to save the integrity of thousands of honorable agents. The FBI deserves better leadership than James Comey.