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I believe, in 2018, Schumer and Pelosi will bet on hatred trumping general voter acceptance . The Democrat's ad program, as with most all Democrat campaign ads, will be designed to stir up passion, will play to identity politics, negativism and will be predominantly cynical. They will likely have no choice because the economy should be on reasonably firm ground, GDP should be elevated above the Obama year's, employment should be low, wages should improving moderately and, unless we are at war with N Korea and//or Iran, the basic outlook should be satisfactory.
The one negative will be a deficit above 2017 because of the tax reduction effect which will take several years to kick in meaningfully.
Obama's interview with England's Harry was interesting. Those who like listening to our former president and think of him as a wise sage and constitutional genius must have been enthralled to see him on T.V again dressed in that casual, I'm just one of you, manner we came to know and he orchestrated so well.
The man was a disaster in my book. His inept policies left millions dead and refugees fleeing from regimes he boosted/protected by his feckless policies/threats. He helped restore Russia to their meddlesome prominence with his inane and naive reset policy..
His economic policies may ultimately lead to our nation's bankruptcy because they created a girdle on any robust effort to pay down the hole he put us in and our military capabilities were set back decades with the sequester nonsense.
He set back race relations in America, presided over and never solved the pitiful treatment of veterans, blew away a decent health care system that wound up costing billions and did little to solve the plight of the uninsured.
He pitted Americans against each other with his politics of envy and left a surging/unchecked Iran for his predecessors to deal with as well as his indifference towards N Korea.
What did he do for black education? He caved to unions. What did he do to solve black on black crime? What did he do to end ISIS' influence? What did he do to restore faith in government agencies or restrain the influx of illegal immigration?
If truth be known, I doubt he even improved his golf score.
As for Trump, he might not be lovable, he might be crude, he might not be a great orator but he is realistic and clear eyed. He sees the world and our adversaries for what and who they are and his recent security policy is based on the world as it is not as some presidents wished it to be and that includes our adversaries. He is willing to tell the bloodsuckers in the U.N. you need to get your act together if you want to maintain a friendship and get our dollars. He even defied he naysayers and is moving our embassy to Jerusalem and soon many others will follow.
Domestically, he is trying to give business a shot in the arm in the hope they will come back and help our employment picture. He is going to try and meet opponents half way on the DACA issue and rebuilding our infrastructure. He has already restored a semblance of good will towards those who protect us and he has called for government agencies to serve the people as they were always charged to do and not illegally play favorites etc. as so many did under Obama's orchestration.
Regarding his successes, he has been reviled by the haters and mass media who nit pick everything he does as they always highlight his negatives of which there are many and self-imposed to a large extent. He is a boisterous, brash New York real estate mogul trying to squeeze into the Brooks Brother's suit of a traditional president and to the smug Brookies it ain't fitting.
With all that, Trump remains upbeat, a fighter, forward looking, confrontational and a businessman who is still learning the ropes of political governance.
Democrats think he is a pushover and a narcissistic patsy.
Time will tell if they are right or so caught up in their echo cocoon of obstructive hatred to learn he is far better, clever and effective than they believe.
Meanwhile their disdain and use of a fake headline knows no bounds as they attack Melania.
(Newsweek is apparently so desperate for anti-Trump content that they will publish misleading /gotcha headlines about the First Lady. Newsweek wrote on Tuesday that First Lady Melania Trump was ordering the “removal of [a] near-200-year-old tree from the White House.” ) (See 1 below.)
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I finally finished Abram's introduction "Of Forty Year Human Rights Policy" and I learned he concluded GW came to embrace Human Rights as a distinct aspect of our foreign policy and that Sec. Rice was a co-partner in most instances. However, it took 9/11 to awake GW who previously shared his father's diffident view of introducing democracy.In Elliott's first chapter entitled "The Freedom Deficit" he discusses the pro and cons of why democracy continues to be a difficult embrace for Arab/Muslim societies.
It is difficult for existing Arab/Muslim political societies to believe they are not the natural ones to perpetuate themselves, you have the Sunni Shia tribal divisions at work, you have the monarchical influence which is difficult to penetrate and how the rulers play the alternative Islamist threat to gain support and finally there are no existing democrats in thesesocieties.
Because of all the discordant negatives, stated above, bringing democracy to Arab/Muslim nations, as GW believed and stated, will take a long time but is a must if world peace is a lingering objective.
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Meanwhile, A Happy, Healthy New Year to all,even those who continue to walk down the obstructionist path thinking Trump's America cannot be great again.
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Dick
1) MELANIA TRUMP ORDERS REMOVAL OF NEAR-200-YEAR-OLD TREE FROM WHITE HOUSE
BY
The historic Jackson magnolia has been on the south facade of the White House since the 1800s—making it the oldest on the grounds. But Tuesday, Melania Trump reportedly made the decision to have it removed after tree specialists determined “the overall architecture and structure of the tree is greatly compromised,” the report stated, according to CNN.
CNN obtained documents from specialists at the United States National Arboretum, which determined the magnolia tree must be removed. The tree is “completely dependent on artificial support,” the document read.
The document said, “Without the extensive cabling system, the tree would have fallen years ago. Presently, and very concerning, the cabling system is failing on the east trunk, as a cable has pulled through the very thin layer of wood that remains. It is difficult to predict when and how many more will fail.”
A White House official told CNN that the first lady made the decision after reviewing and assessing professional information and historical documents. “Mrs. Trump personally reviewed the reports from the United States National Arboretum and spoke at length with her staff about exploring every option before making the decision to remove a portion of the magnolia tree,” Trump’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, told CNN. “After reviewing the reports, she trusted that every effort had been made to preserve the historic tree and was concerned about the safety of visitors and members of the press, who are often standing right in front of the tree during Marine One lifts.”
The tree was about to fall, and experts recommended its removal. Mrs. Trump, according to Grisham, has requested to preserve the wood from the tree.
The tree is expected to be removed later this week. White House groundskeepers were prepared for the tree’s demise, however, and offshoots of the original Jackson magnolia have been growing nearby. They are around 8 to 10 feet tall and will be planted in the original tree’s place, according to CNN.
Documentation reviewed by CNN revealed the Jackson magnolia has had apparent damage as far as five decades back. Three trunks of the tree grew from the base—tangling together in a mess of shared bark. One of those trunks was removed, leaving an exposed cavity that was filled with cement. Back in the 1970s, this was the standard procedure in this circumstance. The concrete, however, permanently damaged the tree. By 1981, a large pole and cable system were installed and still hold up the tree today.
The document from the United States National Arboretum also noted that “the high winds resulting from frequent helicopter landings complicates the future of the [west limb],” saying that it “may fail in an unpredictable way.”
“We understand this is a historic tree, and all measures have been used to save it to this point in time. While we cannot comment on the need to preserve the tree as long as it stands, we believe eventually, the tree will fail,” the report stated, according to CNN.
The history of the tree stretches as far back as former President Andrew Jackson—who brought the tree from his farm, Hermitage, in Tennessee, according to CNN. Jackson’s wife, Rachel, died days after the 1828 presidential election. Following his inauguration, it is believed that Jackson wanted the magnolia tree planted in honor of his wife’s death. The exact date when it was planted is disputed, with some saying it was planted as late as 1835, according to Oak Ridger. There are two Southern magnolias, which were planted by Jackson sometime between 1829 and 1837, according to Dale Haney, the White House grounds superintendent. Presidents have long planted trees at the White House—including a cut leaf silver maple by former President George W. Bush in 2001 and a little leaf linden by former President George H. Bush in 1991.
The tree was featured on the back of the $20 bill between 1928 and 1998. A 1994 single-engine plane crash damaged the magnolia by slicing off one of its branches. Last year, former first lady Michelle Obama brought a seedling as a gift to the people of Cuba—which wasn’t the first time replanted seedlings have been gifted. The tree has been the backdrop for events from state arrival ceremonies and Marine One departures and arrivals to Easter Egg Rolls. The tree stands behind the press during these events.
This article has been updated to include additional information about the history of the Jackson magnolia and tree planting at the White House, and with additional insights about the decision to remove the tree. A previous version stated that Rachel Jackson died in 1928; that year has been corrected to 1828.
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