Amoral Hillary Is Not Entitled

I'm one of those detested political animals who claims no party loyalty.  I believe high office, the governance of our country, deserves more; it deserves the best people that can be found regardless of party.

That's one reason I do not understand blind loyalty to either Trump or Hillary.  Today it's Hillary.

Maybe you have you be of my generation to remember the Clinton years and the accompanying shenanigans.  Bill, with his sexual indiscretions, demeaned the office of the Presidency.  Hillary was complicit; an enabler.   And that's only the tip of the iceberg if you go back to Whitewater, Vince Foster, Ron Brown, cattle futures, her chuckling over the case of a child predator among the better known issues.

There is of course debate on the accuracy of all these stories.  You know: her side, my side and the right side.  What there is no argument about, however, are the shenanigans that have gone on and continue to since she was Secretary of State. Plus her unwillingness to tell the truth about them.  She is as unable to tell the straight forward truth as Donald Trump is unable to stay off Twitter. This time it would seem Bill is her enabler such as having a little chat with the Attorney General at an airport in a successful effort to have her call off the FBI then suddenly she appears on Hillary's short list for the Supreme Court.

Maybe there is no fire under all the smoke that comes from the Clinton camp but something is causing it.  And since such effort is made to tell us all is well it should make one wonder at the very least.

I'm certainly not against  having a woman as President.  The female perspective on issues should shake up the establishment to a fare thee well. I just don't think that woman should be Hillary Clinton. The woman who holds the office should deserve it.  That would preclude one who has no major accomplishments from her times in office, one who has a litany of failures because of either incompetence or plain not caring.  One who has no convictions but positions that shift with the wind or which ever group she's speaking to.

That would be her strength.  The ability to present herself as all things to all people, but that she cannot be and stand for anything.

It is sad to know that as the world becomes more chaotic, at least for the upcoming four years as has been the previous eight, it will be missing the leadership of the United States.  It is any ones guess as to what will become of us - our country, our world.

Trump - The Selfish Man-Child

This election cycle has become a regular soap opera.  You end the day wondering what Trump is going to do in the wee hours to delight his opposition.  He never disappoints.

Actually, I'm very angry with him.  He has been given the opportunity to become President of the greatest country in the world.  At least it once was.  And he's squandering it.  Because he's selfish.

He's taking it to new heights.  Seventeen other Republicans stood and took his abuse debate after debate.  Any one of them, even the weakest, would have been better for the country than this adolescent in men's clothing.

He's like the young man suffering from "affluenza" or the Stanford swimmer, both of whom were given basically smacks on the knuckles for their crimes.  One killed four people while driving drunk, the other  sexually assaulted a drugged up girl.  Neither has shown remorse for their behavior.

So it is with Trump.  While not actually committing crimes, he behaves badly and gets a pass. That being said, I have mixed feelings for those Republicans who have stood with him hoping against hope he'd straighten himself out.  What does a man like Ben Carson do or so many of Trump's other advisers with fine minds and reputations?

Trumps refusal to discipline himself is an insult to those people and to the voters who have supported him.  He won't change if he wins.  Given free reign heaven knows what he's likely to do.  The mind trembles.

Funny.  We have one narcissist in the White House now.  Who would have thought this election would boil down to a choice between two more?

Next - Hillary.

Are There Any Political or Media Adults In The Room?

Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder if there are any adults in politics and the media.  Now I know that's unfair because there are, though few and far between it would seem.

When the Director of the FBI, as compromised by politics as he is, is warning that within the next two to five years expect a Diaspora of ISIS and that we and the western nations need be prepared. Diaspora  means spreading out from their base which, as we all know, they're already doing.  This is serious stuff and needs to be heard and taken to heart.

So what are our Presidential candidates doing?  Name calling like a couple of 6 year olds.  My apologies to the six year olds.  Now it's an aggrieved ex-Miss Universe who Trump called (gasp) fat.  She in turn is taking on Trump's wife. Does any one really care?

Do we care that he hasn't released his tax records?  Is it worse than Hillary releasing a Classic Comics version of her health records?  She's crooked.  His followers are deplorable. She hasn't the stamina for the job.  He's a mysoginist. On and on it goes to the point I automatically mute the TV whenever either appears.

Then the media.  The stories that go untold or glossed over on the networks and the NBC cable outlets for fear of damaging Hillary become hyperbole on FOX.  

Interestingly it's the candidates themselves that advance this behavior. Why shouldn't their reporting be any less ludicrous than the candidates going after one another.  Policies?  Who's interested in that?

Well, I am.  Not the sweeping pronouncements from Trump nor the ignoring of them by Clinton, but real discussion of exactly what they are, and more importantly, how to implement them.  Especially with a hostile Congress that doesn't appear to be willing to assert themselves in any positive manner.  Allowing individuals to sue foreign governments for crimes against loved ones isn't the way to do it.  Just wait until a group of Iranians or some such decide to sue us for crimes against their people.  This may be the one and only time I agree with Obama.  Bad policy.  Maybe Hillary's lack of policy is better than bad ones.  Right.  

Well, time is getting short.  Every time I think there's hope for a nice dignified fencing match it turns into mud wrestling. Will the dirtiest fighter win? Who knows.  How will we tell the difference?

Debate

I did not listen to the debate last night.  I wasn't in the mood for blood sport.

We had a nice dinner then Hub went to do some shopping and I settled in the den and caught up on some back issues of the Financial Times.  I always enjoy their take on our politics but mostly I have a few favorite columns I read faithfully.

This morning, however, in reading the follow ups on the debate I gather whoever won depends on who you're talking with.  Trump won.  Hillary won.  Sounds like it was pretty much a draw.

I'd really like to see the debates run by some independent source who would choose a non-media personality for a moderator and allow all parties who are running be included.  I would not vote for either the Libertarians nor the Greens but they have some interesting ideas worth noting.

The grand exaggerations and tinged truth of the debates as they are now are just a continuation of the individual campaigns.  The only difference is they shout insults at one another at arms length rather than from rallies and campaign stops. Same-o, same-o.

I'd also like to see them more civil.  The entire process actually.  I know dirty politics is reputed to work but to my way of thinking it diminishes both candidates. If exaggeration and lies don't work than bloody the opposition.  And we complain that one or the other isn't presidential?  What's so presidential about shouting insults at one another?

At least this spectacle is in it's twilight.  We'll only really know who wins in November.  One thing I can say with some certainty, however, is it won't be us.

Cop Killers, Killer Cops

I have a friend with whom I became a pen pal during the Iraq war.  He has experience in security work, was a military policeman and is black.  I spoke with him at length this morning regarding the Blue vs Black vs White mess we find ourselves in these days.

He gave me quite a bit to digest but it all goes back to what values you are taught within the family unit and the decisions you choose to make with or without that teaching. The values are there staring you in the face as you go through life. Where do the parents learn the proper values to pass on?  From their faith in the teachings of God.  He took me to ground zero of a different sort and it made a great deal of sense.

He took the issue from being neither black against blue or white but rather an issue of choice of behavior consciously made.  His feeling is that those who partake as agitators and the violent rowdiness that often ensues is done with full knowledge that it is wrong.  They know that because of the political climate they will most likely get a pass.  It matters not at all that they know they are in the wrong.

On the blue side of the equation we talked about the over kill of their actions. No pun intended. That one bullet should do the job.  Emptying the magazine into a person is most likely not necessary. Is it a lack of training or character? Perhaps a combination but no matter which it is a matter of choice on the part of the shooter.

Then there is the media's contribution.  More whites are killed by police than blacks. Yet we rarely hear those stories.  Why is that?  It's a matter of choice.  It's a whole different issue as to why so many, regardless of race, are killed in the first place.

So how do we fix all of it?  I would think some of the ministry in communities where such activity  runs rampant are trying to fill two roles.  That in teaching the value of faith in God and  surrogate parent to too many.  That shouldn't be their role but perhaps it's better than no parenting at all. It still boils down to choice.  Conscious choice.  Whether or not to even attend services.  Whether or not to parent. Whether or not to make the right choice.

There are always consequences.  You either live or you die.  You either love or you hate.  You either make the right choice or you sacrifice your freedom to make any choice at all sooner or later.

I guess what it all boils down to is that I had this conversation with a black man who isn't "black" to me.  He's a friend.  A good friend.  And a very wise one.