A response from a friend and fellow memo reader regarding my comments about Trump and his handling of A.G Sessions and the unconfirmed rumor Sen. Cruz might be his replacement. etc.
"Trump has accomplished much since taking office. But holding that office becomes a question, and I mean this in the sense of holding and using its power. I like and support Mr. Trump, but he needs to remember that he is no longer a real estate developer dealing with subcontractors who can be fired at the drop of a hard hat. Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Congress and Agency heads are a different lot, each with a unique role and a powerful constituency. Mr. Trump must learn to control his irresistible urges to publicly slam just about anyone who annoys or disagrees with him. We worked hard to help get him elected, and thank heaven we did.
The alternative was too horrible to consider. We now have a chance to make serious, positive and long-lasting changes to the way this country is run and defended. Although Ted Cruz would be a fine Attorney General, dumping Sessions may weaken the loyalty many supporters have toward the President, and would just throw more logs on the Left’s hate-fueled inferno. Many would say this action, if it comes, rivals the firing of Archibald Cox.
L----"
My response: "Agree with everything you have said. Trump is shooting himself in both feet again and Republicans are blowing it big time.
Interesting,the same Democrats now attacking Trump for the way he is treating Sessions attacked Sessions when he appeared before them for confirmation. Not excusing Trump's behaviour but evidence of more "swampland" hypocrisy. Me"
Interesting,the same Democrats now attacking Trump for the way he is treating Sessions attacked Sessions when he appeared before them for confirmation. Not excusing Trump's behaviour but evidence of more "swampland" hypocrisy. Me"
However if continued,Trump's bullying behaviour could sink his presidency:
Solid Evidence of Collusion with Russia .....
Every president has his method of reaching voters. Technological advancements help.
Roosevelt used the radio for fireside chats, Truman stood on the back of a train, others have addressed the nation through TV and Trump Tweets.
There is much Trump should be Tweeting about that has been accomplished in a brief period but he seems currently fixated on bashing Sessions.
Psychology goes a long way towards lifting a nation's spirits. Trump has, at least, been able to reverse America's mood. (See 1 below.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If Israel believes caving will appease Abbas and still his hate messages they will fail. Abbas will seek any excuse to nail Israel, stir the haters and keep the pot boiling.
PMW is a reliable source. (See 2 below.)
The consequences of wrong policies are frequently revealed when someone subsequently seeks to address/correct them because the options are narrowed and the risks rise.
Stopping N Korea is proving far more difficult and dangerous because it's intentions were not clipped earlier and when doing so was easier. The same will prove the case with Iran.
If one discovers a skin blemish and does not seek advice what was a curable melanoma can easily grow into an incurable cancerous medical issue. The analogy is just that simple. "Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure."
This is why I believe every president has a moral responsibility to take actions that make the load lighter for their predecessor(s).) Perhaps not clever politics but when it comes to keeping America and the world safe it is the course that must be pursued..
When Trump said he inherited a mess, like him or not, he was telling it like it is proving to be. Trump wants to "Make America Great Again," and that is a worthy goal and clever campaign slogan. However, the only way he can stop N Korea is convince China he is willing to go to war and/or encourage Japan to also go nuclear. Short of that, a subsequent president will be forced to go to war
When it comes to Iran, the options are equally narrow. Obama's Iran Deal and payoff has given the Ayatollah powerful leverage and I seriously doubt Trump can/will do much to shunt their drive towards nuclear status. If right, this failure will darken the sky for some subsequent president.
When Presidents refrain from stopping small serious issues, which have the potential of growing into more dangerous ones, this makes me cynical and pessimistic.
Truman ended the war with Japan by dropping atomic bombs and this probably saved more lives than were taken. He also was accused of being a racist because the victims were not Caucasian.
Kennedy called Khrushchev's hand in Cuba.
Johnson dictated the war from The White House.
Nixon recognized China and allowed Kissinger to end a war which sent the message that losing was acceptable if not preferable and the '60's were born.
Carter bungled Iran.
Reagan caused the break up of the former Soviet Union by outspending them militarily.
Bush 41 threw Saddam out of Kuwait but feared pursuing him into Iraq would have fractured the coalition.
Clinton dallied when it came to the Balkans and allowed N Korea to hood wink America.
GW attacked Iraq, the basis for doing so was partially contrived and based on false intelligence.
Obama created withdrawal vacuums which were filled with Islamic Terrorists
.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I do not question Trump's love of America but, of late, he reminds me of a bull that charges any red flag waived in front of his sight.
Today he banned transgenders from military service. Perhaps it will prove an unconstitutional decision .
We have politicized almost everything in our nation and I believe when it comes to the defense of our nation and our military we should try and keep politics out of the mix of decisions. That said, I believe anyone who wishes to serve this nation should be welcomed. There are many ways, however, to do so beyond engaging in military service.
I do not believe it is The Pentagon's responsibility to assist service personnel to change their sex. That is a decision they have every right to make but the medical procedure and cost should be born by private sources.
Conversely, one can argue that when volunteers join the military, The Pentagon is willing to repair their teeth and pay for the cost..
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is the West decadent and its morality held captured by money? You decide. (See 3 below.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dick
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1)THIS is the kind of stuff Trump needs to be Tweeting because so little of this
gets into the main stream media.
This is an impressive list of Trump’s accomplishments in his first 6 months. All despite Democrat obstruction..
US Debt has DECREASED under President Trump since his inauguration by (-$103) Billion.Stock MarketIn President Trump’s first six months since the election and since his inauguration the US Stock Markets are at record highs and millions of Americans are benefitting in their retirement savings accounts.
* The DOW daily closing stock market average has risen 18% since the election on November 8th. (On November 9th the DOW closed at 18,332 – today on July 26th the DOW closed at 21,701
* The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ have both set new all-time highs during this period.
* The US Stock Market gained $4 trillion in wealth since Trump was elected!
* The S&P 500 also broke $20 Trillion for the first time in its history.Veteran's AffairsAccording the Department of Veterans Affairs, 526 have been fired for misconduct since President Trump took office. Another 200 have been suspended and 33 demoted.US DebtAs of today, the US Debt has decreased under President Trump since his inauguration by (-$103) Billion.(President Obama INCREASED the US debt in his first 6 months more than $974 Billion or nearly $1 Trillion.) The difference between Presidents Trump and Obama is more than $1 Trillion.
Jobs
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics a projected 1,027,000 jobs have occurred in Trump's first six months (January through June 2017.) President Obama on the other hand lost more than 3,826,000 million jobs in his first six months.
Unemployment
Also according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the unemployment rate since President Trump’s inauguration decreased from 4.8% to 4.4% (January through June 2017). The unemployment rate in January 2017 was 4.8% and by June it was down to 4.4%. Unemployment under President Obama on the other hand moved in the opposite direction. In his first six months as President the US unemployment rate increased each month from 7.8% in January 2009 to 9.5% by June of 2009.
Inflation: As noted earlier this week, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the US inflation rate decreased to an eight month low in June to 1.6%. This is in part due to President Trump’s energy policies that are helping average Americans with cheaper gas and electricity.
The Fed stated today they would not raise rates due to low inflation.
Housing Sales
Housing sales are red-hot in the US right now. In 2011, houses for sale were on the market an average 84 days. This year, it’s just 45 days.
According to the US Census Bureau, there were nearly twice as many US housing sales in the past couple of months as there were under President Obama in 2009 during the same time period. (The annualized housing sales rate for May 2017 is reported at 610,000 where in 2009 this amount was only 376,000.)
Decrease in Regulations
One of the first things that President Trump did in office was to reduce the number or burdensome regulations put in place during the Obama era. In January President Trump signed his 2 for 1 executive order mandating that for every new regulation, two regulations needed to be revoked. Even far left Politico notes that significant new federal regulations since Trump’s inauguration have slowed to an almost total halt.
Regulations cost Americans and American companies money to implement and maintain. Reducing or halting regulations allows companies to spend their money on more prudent money making areas.
Other ResultsMADE IN THE USA
The US Manufacturing Index soared to a 33 year high in President Trump’s first six months which was the best number since 1983 under President Reagan.Illegal immigration is down almost 70% under President Trump.
NATO announced Allied spending is up $10 Billion because of President Trump.
After being nominated by President Trump, Constitutionalist Judge Neil Gorsuch was confirmed and sworn in as Supreme Court Justice in early April.
The President has signed around 150 executive orders, memoranda and proclamations as of July 19th, including:
* Dismantling Obama’s climate change initiatives.
* Travel bans for individuals from a select number of countries embroiled in terrorist atrocities.
* Enforcing regulatory reform.
* Protecting Law enforcement.
* Mandating for every new regulation to eliminate two.
* Defeating ISIS.
* Rebuilding the military.
* Building a border wall.
* Cutting funding for sanctuary cities.
* Approving pipelines.
* Reducing regulations on manufacturers.
* Placing a hiring freeze on federal employees.
* Exiting the US from the TPP.President Trump Donates His Salary Back To the USA...President Trump’s donation of his first-quarter salary went toward a pair of projects at a preserved Civil War battlefield in Maryland. Today it went to The Department of Education.The First Lady Melania Trump employs only five staffers. Michelle Obama employed a staff of 24, with a payroll that cost millions of dollars annually.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
Abbas encourages Palestinians to keep rioting in Jerusalem:
"We are with you in all that you have done
and are still doing... you are causing us pride"
Fatah: "At your service, O Jerusalem
At your service, O Al-Aqsa Mosque"
By Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Despite the fact that two days ago Israel decided to remove the metal detectors from the entrances to the Temple Mount, this was not enough for Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas, who is encouraging Palestinians to continue rioting in Jerusalem. His Fatah Movement is doing likewise, posting the image above of a clenched fist surrounded by flames and the text:
"At your service, O Jerusalem
At your service, O Al-Aqsa Mosque"
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement's Bethlehem Branch, July 25, 2017]
At a meeting with the PA leadership yesterday evening, after Israel had removed the metal detectors, Abbas stated that "there will be no changes whatsoever" in Palestinian conduct unless Israel "returns the situation in Jerusalem" to what "it was before July 14, [2017]." He praised the rioting Palestinians in Jerusalem for "defend[ing]" the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian "dignity":
"All of the new Israeli steps on the ground from that date until today need to stop, and then the situation in Jerusalem will return to normal. Afterwards we will continue our work on everything regarding the relations between us and them...
Since Israel tried to change the situation, the [Palestinian] residents of Jerusalem have risen as one (they launched violent riots -Ed.) You have objected to all of the [Israeli] steps, and we have supported you in what you have done and what you are doing. We are with you in everything that you have done and are still doing, as you are causing us pride, and you are taking care of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, your land, your dignity, your people, your religion, and your holy sites. This is the response to everyone who wants to harm our holy sites. Jerusalem is ours. It is our capital and it is [under] our sovereignty, and therefore what you [Palestinians] are doing is right."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 26, 2017]
As Palestinian Media Watch has reported, PA and Fatah leaders have ignored the fact that it was an attack on July 14 in which terrorists shot from the Temple Mount plaza, murdering two Israeli border policemen, which brought about the installation of the new security measures. Instead, they have accused Israel of "escalating" and "harming the holy site." Abbas and other PA and Fatah leaders present the riots as a justified "defense", reinforcing the old PA libel that Israel is plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to build the "alleged Temple." Abbas' Fatah Movement also emphasized the message of danger and the supposed need for Palestinians to come to the rescue of the mosque in distress by posting the image above of a clenched fist surrounded by flames, and the statement: "At your service, O Jerusalem, At your service, O Al-Aqsa Mosque." Since July 14, 2017, violent riots in Jerusalem are not the only thing to have happened. On July 21, 2017, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed and murdered 3 Israelis while they were having dinner in their home in the Jewish town of Halamish near Ramallah. Palestinian Media Watch has shown that the lack of condemnation by PA leaders of this murderous attack constitutes a silent approval of it. Although Abbas specifically addressed the "residents of Jerusalem" and praised them for the last two weeks of "response" to Israel, the killing of the three Israelis has also been interpreted as a response to Israel's actions at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Among others, the terrorist's father stated that his son is an "honorable" and "moderate" man who normally would not plan any terror attacks, but he killed "because of the occupation and what it has inflicted on the Al-Aqsa Mosque":  
Father of terrorist murderer Omar Al-Abd: "The occupation is the reason for this operation (i.e., terror attack, 3 murdered), because my son is an honorable and educated man, not a man who carries out operations. He is a very calm man, and the members of the village testify to his personality. He is a very moderate man and does not talk about things like this. Rather this happened because of the occupation and what it has inflicted on the Al-Aqsa Mosque."
[Official PA TV News, July 22, 2017]
The following are longer excerpts of the statements mentioned above:
Image (above) and text posted on the Facebook page of the Fatah Movement's Bethlehem Branch:
Posted text: "At your service, O Al-Aqsa Mosque"
The image shows a clenched fist surrounded by flames. It has the Fatah logo on it that includes a grenade, crossed rifles, and the PA map of "Palestine" that presents all of Israel as "Palestine" together with the PA areas.
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement's Bethlehem Branch, July 25, 2017]
Headline: "The [PA] president in a meeting of the [PA] leadership: As long as the situation in Jerusalem does not return to being as it was before July 14, [2017], there will be no changes whatsoever; to the residents of Jerusalem: We are with you in all that you have done and are still doing, as you are causing us pride and you are taking care of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, your land, your dignity, your people, your religion, and your holy sites"
"At the beginning of a meeting of the [PA] leadership yesterday evening [July 25, 2017], [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas said that as long as the situation in Jerusalem does not return to being as it was before July 14, [2017], there will be no changes whatsoever (refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount following a terror attack there that were later removed; see note below -Ed.).
The president added: 'All of the new Israeli steps on the ground from that date until today need to stop, and then the situation in Jerusalem will return to normal. Afterwards we will continue our work on everything regarding the relations between us and them.'
The president said: 'Since Israel tried to change the situation, the [Palestinian] residents of Jerusalem have risen as one (they launched violent riots -Ed.) You have objected to all of the [Israeli] steps, and we have supported you in what you have done and what you are doing. We are with you in everything that you have done and are still doing, as you are causing us pride, and you are taking care of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, your land, your dignity, your people, your religion, and your holy sites. This is the response to everyone who wants to harm our holy sites. Jerusalem is ours. It is our capital and it is [under] our sovereignty, and therefore what you [Palestinians] are doing is right.'
President Abbas noted that the meeting was supposed to take place today (Wednesday) [July 26, 2017], and said: 'We made it earlier because there were developments (refers to Israel deciding to remove security measures from the Temple Mount on July 24, 2017 -Ed.). We must examine them in order to say our piece and say where we are headed.'
He added: 'What we have decided is to freeze the security coordination [with Israel] - and this is happening, and to defend the holy sites - and this is happening [too]. We want to examine what has happened from that day until today in order to see what we will do.'"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 26, 2017]
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' mention of the situation in Jerusalem since July 14, 2017, refers to Israeli security measures at the Temple Mount following an attack there on that day in which 2 Israelis were murdered - see note below. On July 24, 2017, Israel started to remove the metal detectors and security cameras from the site, but the PA continues to demand all measures including inspection at the entrances be removed.Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Jabarin, Muhammad Hamed Abd Al-Latif Jabarin, andMuhammad Ahmad Mufaddal Jabarin - Israeli Arab terrorists aged 29, 19, and 19, who shot from the Temple Mount at Israeli policemen, murdering 2 Israeli Druze border policemen - Haiel Stawi and Kamil Shnaan, on July 14, 2017. Two of the terrorists were shot and killed by other policemen during the attack. The third terrorist was shot and killed while trying to flee. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3) THE WEST'S DECADENT FOREIGN POLICY
Author(s): CHRIS PATTEN
Nowadays, the West can be described as decadent. That does not mean simply that we are addicted to “bread and circuses,” from welfare programs in Europe (which we can barely afford) to the Super Bowl in the United States. It means also that we are increasingly reluctant to allow our own vision of civil liberties and human rights to shape our foreign policies, owing to the potential commercial costs.
Consider the case of the Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, who recently died while serving an 11-year prison sentence for calling for democracy in China. The Chinese authorities refused Liu’s request, made just weeks before his death, to seek treatment abroad for his aggressive cancer, and his wife remains under house arrest.
China’s treatment of dissidents like Liu is nothing short of savage. Yet Western leaders have offered only a few carefully phrased diplomatic statements criticizing it. I can only wonder how many Western leaders in recent years have raised Liu’s case with their Chinese counterparts behind closed doors. Opportunities surely abounded, including at this summer’s G20 meeting, when Liu was on his deathbed.
But it seems unlikely that Western leaders confronted Chinese President Xi Jinping on the matter. After all, when Liu was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010, and an infuriated China attempted to ostracize Norway, the West did not express outrage or display real solidarity with a NATO ally.
China’s treatment of Hong Kong has gone similarly uncontested by Western leaders. China seems intent on violating its obligations, established in the “joint declaration” signed with the United Kingdom, to preserve the city’s way of life and the rule of law until 2047. Already, it has threatened the independence of the judiciary, the autonomy of universities, and freedom of the press. Yet there has been little pushback from the West, including the UK.
Why are Western countries so reluctant to criticize China’s behavior more loudly and consistently? The answer, it seems, is money.
Greece, which proudly claims to be the cradle of democracy, has leaders who largely grew up opposing an authoritarian military government. Yet its cash-strapped government recently blocked the European Union from criticizing China’s human-rights record at the United Nations, because China provides critical investment, particularly from the China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO, which in August 2016 acquired a majority stake in the port of Piraeus. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras – a supposedly radical leftist who, paying homage to Che Guevara, named his son Ernesto – has become a Chinese patsy.
The West’s moral bankruptcy is on display closer to home, too. The EU continues to hold back from condemning the thuggery of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has proudly boasted of his belief in “illiberal democracy” (an oxymoron if ever there was one). Under Orbán’s leadership, breaches of human-rights conventions in the treatment of refugees have been accompanied by a crackdown on civil society, particularly on organizations that receive money from outside the country.
One notable target of repression is Central European University, a bastion of open debate, teaching, and research in Hungary, which is funded by George Soros. Orbán has even gone so far as to resurrect some of the nastiest anti-Semitic images of 1930s Hungary (an ally of Nazi Germany) to demonize Soros. Yet Orbán himself attended the University of Oxford (where I am Chancellor) on a Soros-funded scholarship, and studied there under the great liberal thinker Isaiah Berlin.
Even as Orbán’s Hungary rejects the obligations of EU membership, it receives more than €5.5 billion ($6.4 billion) from the EU each year, while contributing less than €1 billion to the common budget. Why should European citizens pay so much to a government that thumbs its nose at them and compares the EU to the Soviet Union? At the very least, the EU should apply the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty that allow it to suspend some of the rights of a country that is breaking its rules and showing contempt for its standards and values.
The behavior of Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) government – which shows scant concern for either law or justice – raises similar issues. The government is working to overhaul the constitution, in order to thwart democratic checks and balances. It plainly wants judges to do what politicians tell them, and it does not want the media to be able to say much about it. I daresay that China’s rulers would have no difficulty in understanding the PiS’s approach.
Turkey, of course, is not a member of the EU, nor will it ever become one if it continues along the road of dictatorial repression taken by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, no small fan of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. But, judging by the EU’s growing tolerance of illiberalism, some EU leaders may well be prepared to contemplate a closer relationship with Erdoğan’s Turkey.
Such foreign-policy decadence threatens to undermine the EU’s claim to be a community of values, not just a glorified customs union. As we know from the 1920s and 1930s, as decadence breeds more decadence, the world becomes an increasingly dangerous and unstable place. It is time for Europe – to be joined by the United States after President Donald Trump leaves office – to find our moral compass once again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
|
No comments:
Post a Comment