PJMcK
PJMcK's Journal"...all the investigations and still no charges."
You're correct, liberal N proud, that propaganda works. Hillary Clinton has been investigated more than any other candidate in our history. She has been vetted continuously for nearly 30 years. It's actually quite ridiculous. Only one of these things can be true:
- Hillary Clinton is guilty not only of all the things she's allegedly done but probably scores of more violations. She's so deceitfully smart, however, that she's evaded all attempts to prosecute her.
= OR =
- Hillary Clinton has done nothing wrong. Every investigation of her has come up empty.
But the general public hears our corporately-owned news report only the allegation or they create false equivalencies. With the constant repetitions and scandalous lack of media corrections, the public has developed a negative perception of Mrs. Clinton. Remember, she's never been charged, let alone convicted, for anything!
I believe she will once again overcome any obstacles, become our 45th president and be a worthy successor to President Obama.
It's not that bad
Don't get me wrong, Gman. Director Comey's editorial comments were inappropriate and demonstrated that he probably really wanted to find something to indict Secretary Clinton with. After all, in a previous job, he was Kenneth Starr's lead investigator in the Whitewater affair.
When he began his presentation yesterday, his tenor gave me a sick feeling he was going to announce a recommendation to indict and frankly, I was surprised that he didn't. My reaction was specifically because he so forcefully expressed his views about Secretary Clinton's "careless" handling of sensitive information.
Actually, Director Comey may have inadvertently done us a favor. By publicly scolding Secretary Clinton he's blunted any attacks on his investigation by Republicans. As you wrote, he and his staff know that there wasn't a case and that the evidence would not support charges. With his criticism of her, the Director has signaled to his Republican allies that he's one of them, he tried, he hates her, too but there's nothing he can legally do. He'll just verbally spank her for her lack of good judgment.
Congressional Republicans, of course, have already said they will hold hearings on this investigation. Isn't it grand how Republicans can marshall the energy to investigate an investigation but they can't do their jobs like passing a budget and confirming judicial appointments? Just like their fixation on Benghazi, they'll come up empty and once again look foolish.
It's not really that much of a story anymore, surprisingly. I had to scroll way down the page at the Huffington Post in order to find the story from yesterday! Donald Trump's comments about Saddam Hussein and the endless tale of his Twitter feed have already superseded the email story. Sure, Republicans will use his quotes in some attack ads but they'll be ineffective since no charges will be filed.
Well...
MaggieD, we already agree that Secretary Clinton is eminently qualified to be our next president and I will proudly include her in my straight Democratic ballot.
There are two thoughts I'd like to ask you to consider. First, in my post, I didn't suggest that Senator Obama was the most qualified candidate when he ran for his first term. I distinguished that by referring to his reelection by which time he had four years of Republican obstructionism behind him. I give him great credit for all of his attempts to work across the aisle during his first term but, you know, Republicans are jackasses. In his reelection and throughout his second term, he showed us what real spine and dedication to accomplishments can bring in a hostile environment.
My second point is hard to write because I'm about to acknowledge some accomplished Republicans along with Democrats. But facts are facts, so here goes.
When I was born, Dwight Eisenhower was president so the first presidential election in my lifetime was 1960 when JFK was elected. Consider the resumes of the candidates in my lifetime.
John F. Kennedy: Served in the US Navy, Congressman, Senator and Pulitzer Prize winning author
Richard M. Nixon: Served in the US Navy, Congressman, Senator and Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson: Congressman, Senator (including Senate Majority Whip, Minority Leader and Majority Leader) and Vice President
Barry Goldwater: Served in both the US Army and the US Air Force in World War II and Korea, as a Senator chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee
Hubert Humphrey: Mayor of Minneapolis, Senator (including Senate Majority Whip) and Vice President
George McGovern: Historian, Author, Served in the US Air Force, Congressman and Senator
Gerald Ford: Served in the US Navy, Congressman, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, House Minority Leader and Vice President
Jimmy Carter: Served in the US Navy, Georgia State Senator and Governor of Georgia
Ronald Reagan: Served in the US Army Air Forces, President of the Screen Actors' Guild (a union!) and Governor of California
Walter Mondale: Served in the US Army, Attorney General of Minnesota, Senator and Vice President
George H.W. Bush: Served in the US Navy, Congressman, successful businessman, Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairperson of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Vice President
Michael Dukakis: Served in the US Army, Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Governor of Massachusetts
William J. Clinton: Rhodes Scholar, Attorney General of Arkansas, Governor of Arkansas
Albert Gore: Served in the US Army, Congressman, Senator and Vice President
George W. Bush: Served (allegedly) in the Texas Air National Guard, businessman in oil and baseball and Governor of Texas.
John Kerry: Served in the US Navy, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and Senator
Barack Obama: Community organizer, Author, Illinois State Senator and Senator
John McCain: Served in the US Navy, Congressman and Senator
Mitt Romney: Successful businessman, CEO of the Salt Lake City Olympics, Governor of Massachusetts
I think that any objective view of these men's resumes would have to observe that they are extremely accomplished.
Once again, I concur that Secretary Clinton is accomplished and has an impressive resume. I'll support her with some money and my vote. Meanwhile, let's keep some perspective with our hyperbole!
Longer than 20 years
The partisan and corrosive attacks by Republicans on both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton go back more than 25 to 30 years dating to Mr. Clinton's terms as Governor of Arkansas. The constant spewing of lies, spurious charges and garbage by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Jerry Falwell, Newt Gingrich and other Republican hypocrites has never provided the kill shot that they desperately hoped for. Gosh, is it possible that the Clintons aren't guilty of anything?
Those GOP losers hoped that they could destroy the Clintons with innuendo and insinuations and falsehoods. The great irony is that they impeached him for lying about sex but many of them, especially Speaker Gingrich, lost their gigs because they had their own skeletons in their closets. Of course, the Senate didn't convict him so he retained his office and President Clinton had terrific approval ratings when he left office. Was he perfect? Of course not. Neither are you or I. But he was better for our country than the alternatives and Secretary Clinton has the opportunity of the ages ahead of her. She'll get my vote.
Every time the Republicans have gone after the Clintons, (or the Obamas, for that matter), they have failed. How stupid are they?
Well, they're about to nominate Donald Trump for president.
They're stupid.
And Donald Trump is an idiot.
Great good luck and absorb all of the amazing sensations you can!
This is one of those unique and tremendous moments in a life time and I'm certain you'll be an inspiration to your audience.
In my family, we have had quite a few teachers. My grandmother was a music teacher, my grandfather a dental instructor and my aunt was a special ed teacher early in the history of the acceptance of that particular need. My brother teaches high school English, my niece is a first grade teacher and I've taught a little in high schools and somewhat more at the collegiate level. Teachers are so important to the success of a society. Democracy fails if the voters don't have critical thinking skills. An ignorant populace is easily swayed by a charismatic leader, (sound familiar?). This is why the classic civilizations of Greece and Rome valued what we call a Liberal Arts curriculum. It provides the broadest perspective of the world and develops a curiosity of the mind.
Will your speech at the Lincoln Memorial be based on your essay? It's so powerful and honest that I'm certain you'll express yourself effectively and passionately. If I may offer a small suggestion, perhaps you could add a sentence or two about your students and your experiences teaching them. It's clear that you love your work, your students and their well-being and this small addition could punch up your commitment to them as having been the driving force behind your actions and principles.
Good luck and thank you for your story and fighting the good fight!
Huge bummer
TekServe has been a life saver for me dozens of times since the early 1990's. This is a huge loss for NYC Mac users.
I, too, used to know one of the owners, David Lerner, who I met through a mutual friend, a young man named David Pogue. David P., of course, was an early proponent of the Mac and he was the president of NYMUG, the New York Mac Users Group. I think I remember going to a couple of meetings held at their original location. He would go on to have a rather brilliant career as a technology writer, author and musician. I lost touch with David L. but always went to his store for my computer needs.
The original space was several floors above its current street level location. You got off this old elevator and entered a computer hobbyist's playroom. It was crowded with equipment, a lot of it old relics like old radios and tape recorders. Later, they would display a collection of Apple computers through the years, kind of an historical museum trip down computer memory lane. There were these large white boards that had the computer products available with listings of models, CPU speeds, amounts of RAM and prices. The young people who worked there were always polite, knowledgable and interested in your needs. Their prices were competitive and they always had the extra computer stuff one needs, like cables, books, memory chips and many other accessories.
It occurred to me, the last time I was there, that there was a different feeling to the place. It wasn't quite as busy- I guess the Apple Stores have sliced into their customer base- and now I know it was a sense of doom that overhung the place. In the past, their technicians always made any repairs or upgrades themselves. This time, however, all they did was act as a middleman between me and Apple's repair facility. In fact, they completely mis-diagnosed the problem I had; it didm't matter as the repair was a fixed-cost service. Still, it was curious.
TekServe was the place to go to see new equipment, talk with other users and techies and hear gossip, tips and tricks for computer users. i'll miss them.
Senator Kennedy's challenge of President Carter for the nomination...
..was disastrous for Democrats and Progressives and the policies that they collectively believe in. It was also disastrous for the United States and her citizens.
In the midst of an economic/energy crisis and an international hostage and diplomatic crises- issues that the president has very little ability to influence- a member of the president's own party challenged his legitimacy. Senator Kennedy's actions undermined the president's credibility. After all, if President Carter can't get the support of his own party how can he get the support of the American people?
I won't judge Senator Kennedy's intentions or ambitions or desires for our country. By all that he did in his life, it's clear that he was a true American, a true Democrat and a true supporter of the common man.
However, his decision to run for president demonstrated that he lacked the judgment and wisdom for that office. To a more cognizant man, his own personal history would have been an indicator of the problems to come. There was an arrogance to his campaign that implied that he was entitled to this nomination because of his, and his family's, efforts on behalf of Americans. But the baggage he carried far exceeded any political issues President Carter had as a candidate in the General Election.
By dividing the Democratic Party, Senator Kennedy inadvertently opened the door for President Carter's defeat.
We'll never know if President Carter would have defeated Ronald Reagan if Senator Kennedy hadn't challenged him. in the end, it's just speculation anyway. But one thing is clear: the election of Ronald Reagan was disastrous for our great nation and his presidency did much to diminish our country.
Donald Trump doesn't know what he's gotten himself into
There's been much speculation about what motivated Donald Trump to run for president. The suggested impulses range from his ego to Bill Clinton made him do it.
Regardless, one thing is clear: Donald Trump has no idea what he's in for.
The Republican Primaries were infantile from the beginning. Consider that there were 17 entrants once the campaigns began and of those, only 3 or 4 were seriously credentialed for the gig. Most of them were jokers looking to raise their public profile to increase their personal marketability. Does anyone really think that Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina or most of the others thought they had a chance to win the nomination? Rand Paul? Really?! Of course they didn't. This exercise was simply to increase their Q-Score, that is, their fame with the general public.
It was easy for a childishly loud-mouthed blowhard to take them down. The more serious candidates, (bear with me, please!), like John Katich, Jeb! Bush, maybe Marco Rubio and even Chris Christie couldn't possibly fight back because they came from the establishment. Mr. Tump's support has come from the people the GOP has used and abused for decades. The establishment candidates were blind to this because it had never happened before.
There are two dynamics that allowed Donald Trump to escape serious scrutiny during the GOP primaries. First, there were so many candidates, many of whom had been in the public eye for years. Second, the story that news services focused on was how outlandish and outrageous Mr. Trump was behaving and that he had tapped into a powerful, if small, political undercurrent in the US.
Those days are over for Donald Trump.
Here we are heading towards the General Election and each day or so, another little story from Mr. Trump's past comes out:
- He promised to make a charitable contribution but he didn't
- He misused money from his Foundation
- He didn't contribute to his Foundation
- He doesn't have any money for his campaign
- His campaign is in shambles
- His shoddy business practices are coming to light
- Banks won't lend him money
This drip-drip of unpleasant history will continue day after day. As you know, that's what happens during a presidential campaign.
In short, Mr. Trump is starting to get the scrutiny that all presidential candidates are privileged(!) to receive. If you've followed anything of his life, you'll realize that for the first time, he's going to be under an unrelenting microscope. Everything he's ever done or said will be regurgitated and hyper-analyzed. I hope for the day when several of his former employees gather up there guts to violate their Non-Disclosure Agreements and tells us what they know.
Never before has Donald Trump had to provide concrete answers for his affairs. Using his bluster and bullying and bullshit, he's always been able to side-step away from any real accountability. He's used his lawyers as shields. But that won't work in a presidential campaign. Mr. Trump won't be able to take the unrelenting pressure. He's been coddled in his bubble for so long that he has no idea of the shit-storm he's about to experience.
It will be an amazing show to watch.
It couldn't happen to a more worthy man.
Mitt Romney had a real campaign
Donald Trump's campaign is a shambles. He has a ridiculously disorganized and diminutive organizational structure. His financing is deplorable. His message management is incohesive. Most importantly, he's spent the past year alienating much of the Republican infrastructure, otherwise known as the GOP Establishment. With so much chaos, this isn't a serious endeavor.
With all of that amateurism, I'm confident that Mr. Trump's team looking into Governor Christie have no idea what they are supposed to do. By contrast, Governor Romney had built a national organization, raised money, wooed important Party personnel and understood the intensity of the process. He had experienced advisors who knew how to investigate-to-discover information about potential running mates.
It's been said that if a betrothed couple can make it through their engagement, they have a fairly good chance of succeeding at marriage. Similarly, how a candidate runs their campaign demonstrates their potential ability to run the country. By that measure, Donald Trump is woefully way out of his league.
He's also an idiot.
The long view of history
The difference between 1964 and now is vast. Keep in mind that in those days, Republicans and Democrats mostly worked together to run our country. Although they had serious disagreements about policies, for the most part they did their jobs and kept the country functioning.
Today, we have a vast chasm between the parties and the Republicans have repeatedly demonstrated that they don't want to govern. They don't want to do anything for our country. They don't pass bills. They don't hold hearings on presidential appointments. They shut down the government. The Democrats try to function but their power is limited by their minority status. Our president has had to take extraordinary steps just to keep the lights on in DC.
Back in '64, Barry Goldwater didn't really represent the majority of Republicans, many of whom were quite moderate. I'm sure you've heard it said that if he were alive today, Dwight Eisenhower would be a liberal Democrat. (wink) But the conservative movement, mostly led by William F. Buckley, Jr. among others, hadn't yet matured into a powerful national force. Since 1980, we've had to fight the Dark Side of American politics and we've lost far too many battles over those years. The success of the conservatives has allowed them to become more and more extreme which is a big part of why they are fracturing: their coalition has finally shown its cracks.
One other point about the 1964 election. It's always struck me that the US had lost its president to an assassin only a year before. Perhaps the electorate wasn't ready for that amount of political instability in such a short time. President Johnson really didn't have to work up much of a sweat to defeat Senator Goldwater. Today, the polarization of our nation means that Secretary Clinton could have more of a challenge on her hands.
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Name: Paul McKibbinsGender: Male
Hometown: New York City
Home country: USA
Current location: Catskill Mountains
Member since: Mon Jun 5, 2006, 05:16 PM
Number of posts: 22,025