First the elephant in the room = Tweety supporters see a gigantic conspiracy in Washington Dc and across the nation, to bring down their guy, Tweety. The Russia investigation is front and center with J. Kushner up to "bat" now and everyone in the Tweety entourage lawyering up. Tweety supporters always go for conspiracies to give them the answers, so there is nothing new in this notion.
OK, let's grant the "CONSPIRACY AGAINST TWEETY" as real. The problem is that I see many of the focal points for undermining Tweety as real, with evidence, or directly from Tweety himself. Maybe my list below will make that clear to you. I hope it does.
The thing is there seem to be too many objects in Tweety chaotic Presidency, from TV interviews, to NATO Summit crown barging, and on and on for this to be an effort that can be organized from any liberal center point. There is too much smoke here for no fire!
Another thing that bothers me about my friends liking and trusting Tweety is the man is a buffono, fool of foolish it not mean and cruel remarks about people. This is not, NOT abot being Politically Correct in reverse.
Tweety's bullying is NOT about dropping the "PC Mask," it is about rudeness, meanness, misogyny, racism or at best disrespect for ethnic groups, and being a nasty, nasty person. It is UNCOMFORTABLE for me to watch Tweety do the ugly things he does. Tweety was immature, gutless, and unprofessional in the ay fired Comey. No boss does that!.
My friends who support Tweety will argue with me over anything, everything, even these obvious points. They are "True Believers."
David Roberst got it right for me in Vox.com: "There is clearly something wrong with Trump. His chaotic, scandal-plagued few months in office have exposed him as an "extreme narcissist" haunted by "a gnawing sense of inadequacy" and driven by his hunger for "adulation, admiration, and reinforcement for his hypersensitive ego." Denied it [the adulation and admiration] he becomes "incredibly vengeful." Trump has no real agenda or core beliefs, except a hunger to dominate others [check out the NATO Summit photo shoot for Tweety barging to the front rudely]; no one can trust him [certainly not America's possibly former allies]. "He is a raging fire of need, shaped by a lifetime of entitlement, with the emotional maturity and attention span of a 6-year-old."
To put it simply, said Andrew Sullivan in NYMag.com the president is flat-out "off his rocker."
It is obvious to any objective person, all these adjectives, notwithstanding any agenda Tweety has, or whatever REAL work he has done, yet my friends who are True Believers will saw nonsense to it all. I don't get it. If I behaved like Tweety they would notice and suggest I calm down and act "normal."
I spent a few hours talking to a friend who supports Tweety and got the "TRUE BELIEVER" view. Here is a list of things I discussed with one of those friends last night, and my thoughts.
1. People do not have to have a college education to work. There are plenty trade jobs people can get. If they do not find work, they are lazy. The people who say this kind of epithet are ignorant of how the poor live and how they became poor. Study a little sociology my friend.
2. Many, maybe most people on welfare are lazy, and should be removed from welfare. It is the poorly designed / written welfare system / rules, all apparently written in a way to require people to NOT WORK, or suffer losing their MINIMAL support they get through Government assistance. It makes NO ONE PROUD to live off Government assistance. They are not lazy to require assistance.
3. Health care is a commodity, a product to sell like any other product in a capitalist economy. God bless health providers making a profit on health care. I tried to offer that the Government has no problem spending a ~$100billion on infrastructure like bridges and highways, which also is a socialist / welfare of a sort, a way of creating jobs as another "entitlement." No one will miss getting health care, there is always the Emergency Room.
Footnote: DENTAL care is not part of health care for insane reasons. It is wrong to not see our oral hygiene is an essential part of health care. Read The Last Word in The Week Magazine, 2 June 2017, "Straight talk about teeth"
4. I should know that economic growth under Obama never achieved what he promised, and has not exceeded 3% in eight years. I offered that what Obama achieved was the best anyone could have. I offered that Tewety tax cuts and spending plans will increase the deficit as never before. The response is that, no, the economy will grow to make up for lost revenues. I was told the tax cuts will stimulate growth, and I offered that 37 economists think that is wrong. He offered that it worked under Reagan so I better go look it up.
"Does Supply-Side Economics Work? Does Boosting Supply Create Economic Growth?"
By Kimberly AmadeoUpdated April 27, 2017
https://www.thebalance.com/supply-side-economics-does-it-work-3305786
"Definition: Economic growth is how much more the economy produces than it did before. If the economy is producing more, businesses are more profitable, and stock prices rise. That gives companies capital to invest and hire more employees. As more jobs are created, incomes rise. Consumers have more money to buy additional products and services, driving higher economic growth. For this reason, all countries want positive economic growth.
That makes economic growth the most watched economic indicator."
More . . . other source.
"59b. Reaganomics"
http://www.ushistory.org/us/59b.asp
"Economists disagreed over the achievements of Reaganomics. Tax cuts plus increased military spending would cost the federal government trillions of dollars. Reagan advocated paying for these expenses by slashing government programs. In the end, the Congress approved his tax and defense plans, but refused to make any deep cuts to the welfare state. Even Reagan himself was squeamish about attacking popular programs like Social Security and Medicare, which consume the largest percentages of taxpayer dollars. The results were skyrocketing deficits."
More . . .
"The results of this plan were mixed. Initially, the Federal Reserve Board believed the tax cut would re-ignite inflation and raise interest rates. This sparked a deep recession in 1981 and 1982. The high interest rates caused the value of the dollar to rise on the international exchange market, making American goods more expensive abroad. As a result, exports decreased while imports increased. Eventually, the economy stabilized in 1983, and the remaining years of Reagan's administration showed national growth."
More . . .
"The national debt tripled from one to three trillion dollars during the Reagan Years. The President and conservatives in Congress cried for a balanced budget amendment, but neither branch had the discipline to propose or enact a balanced budget. The growth that Americans enjoyed during the 1980s came at a huge price for the generations to follow."
"Economists See Little Magic in Tax Cuts to Promote Growth"
By PATRICIA COHEN and NELSON D. SCHWARTZMAY 23, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/economy/trump-budget-tax-cuts-economic-growth.html
5. I asked about tax cuts for the rich, and why the rich get the best health care because they are rich. I asked about tax cuts for the rich and was told Reagan made it work great. This, of course, is misleading, even false. Reagan did some things to make a case for his "supply chain" ideas, and "rigged" the "solution."
6. I was told security is a higher priority than helath care for people. DoD needs more money. I offered DoD is unable to manage their budget already. My friend has no answer, but he wants to spend more on defense no matter what.
7. When I offer that soft power: aid and treaties, not hard power: bullets and bombs, is how America can win against ISIS, I am not sure I am understood, or convincing. Bullets and bombs are so much easier to do than to aid and treaties, and quicker. ISIS, and maybe a lot of Muslims hate America, so why bother trying to to win hearts and minds of ISIS and Muslims. They hate us, we hate them. I try again, saying in the long run the only long term solution to ISIS, even as we agree ISIS is a criminal gang, not a religious group, is to make peace thru hearts and minds, not a body count.
8. The Russia investigation is a ruse, a waste of time, sorry losers, fake. Russia has always meddled in our elections, so why investigate now? My friend, like Tweety, assumes the investigation of Russia hacking is intended to remove Tweety from office, which it is NOT!
I offer that actually Russia has NOT meddled in a Presidential election, and this election shows Russia is getting more aggressive, more intrusive. I offer why is Tweety creating a "War Room" to handle the output of the investigation if there is no relevance? Doesn't he want to know if Russia is trying to destroy and embarrass our democracy? I ask why doesn't Tweety just ask his 17 intelligence officials that said Russia hacked our election, about the Russia hacking since he is their boss? My friends response is that these 17 have an agenda, and they come from Obama.
"Trump considers major changes amid escalating Russia crisis" [Why is Tweety doing this? What does he expect the investigation to come to?]
By John Wagner, Robert Costa and Ashley Parker
May 27 at 3:14 PM
"President Trump and his advisers, seeking to contain the escalating Russia crisis that threatens to consume his presidency, are considering a retooling of his senior staff and the creation of a “war room” within the White House, according to several aides and outside Trump allies."
9. Did Obama bring back jobs I ask. No is the response of my friend. My friend rattles off the mantra about people leaving he employment rolls so the numbers do not tell us what is really happening.
10. My friend says capitalism is what answers the issues, but I offer that America does not have a pure capitalism economy. The system has many, many rigged elements to favor the rich and special interest groups.
11. Can Tweety win hearts and minds by his zero sum / win-lose deals I ask my friend? We did not go into this one, but on the international plane, there is no way zero sum deals succeed. Tweety says the German trade surplus is bad, but he has no idea what is involved.
12. I ask my friend if Tweety has done anything to contradict his supporter's needs? He says, "no." but that is not true. Tweety uses Executive Orders the same as what he criticized Obama for. Tweety golfs much more than Obama, yet he said he would not take time to golf and said Obama could not wait to get out and play golf. Thwety criticed Obama for a number of things that Tweety is now doing.
13. I love that Tweety tweets all his thoughts, and recognize some are not good. This one baffles me. We don't really want our President living by tweets do we? Tweety once told an interviewer, paraphrasing a bit, I don't stand by anything I said. You have your opinion an di have mine. This is the President talking! How about firing Comey, then tweeting that Comey better hope there are no tapes of conversations the two had! This is unreal, and unequivocally STUPID.
14. We need to spend more on defense, Security is #1. What threats does America face, and which truly endanger America? Not North Korea, since that country might have 10 nukes to our 1,000! DoD cannot manage their budget so they do not need more budget to "manage." DoD acquisition processes lead to extreme waste.
15. Tweety goes to Saudi, gives them an OK of a ~$110B weapons deal, and advises them to go after Iran, take the war to the Shia. Tweety sees Iran as the main terror threat in the world. Obviously he did not ask anyone who knew better, did not read anything about which country sponsors terrorism, did not listen to his intelligence briefings, and his advisors are NOT experts on which country is the larger sponsor of terror on the planet, Saudi or Iran.
"How Saudi Arabia played Donald Trump"
By Fareed Zakaria
May 25 , 25 May 2017
"This week’s bombing in Manchester, England, was another gruesome reminder that the threat from radical Islamist terrorism is ongoing. And President Trump’s journey to the Middle East illustrated yet again how the country central to the spread of this terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has managed to evade and deflect any responsibility for it. In fact, Trump has given Saudi Arabia a free pass and a free hand in the region.
The facts are well-known. For five decades, Saudi Arabia has spread its narrow, puritanical and intolerant version of Islam — originally practiced almost nowhere else — across the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden was Saudi, as were 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists."
"Donald Trump Dances to Saudi Arabia’s Tune"
The president’s rhetorical pirouette in defense of the Kingdom was brazen, even for Trump.
by Isobel Thompson
May 22, 2017 1:00 pm
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/donald-trump-dances-to-saudi-arabias-tune
"Saudi Arabia plays Trump on Iran to tilt the balance in West Asia"
Saudis convince the US president that Iran – not their own fundamentalism – is a bigger danger for the region.
https://scroll.in/article/838745/saudi-arabia-plays-trump-on-iran-to-tilt-the-balance-in-west-asia
What evidence is needed to show the folly of the White House siding with Saudi Arabia?
"Eager to be seen as succeeding with his foreign policy, Trump unilaterally reset his opinions of Saudi Arabia by 180 degrees. A year ago, addressing a campaign rally in Wisconsin, he said, “Nobody’s going to mess with Saudi Arabia because we’re watching them [the Saudis]… they’re not paying us a fair price. We’re losing our shirt.” As late as April 28, in a Reuters interview, he complained; “Frankly, Saudi Arabia has not treated us fairly, because we are losing a tremendous amount of money in defending Saudi Arabia.” Three weeks later, in Riyadh, he uttered not a word about the US financial burden of protecting the kingdom – totalling $10,000 in military education and training in 2014.
Instead, Trump focused on signing a US-Saudi military cooperation agreement worth $350 billion over 10 years, with $110 billion to take effect immediately."
United States State Department list of world terror sponsors. See where Saudi sits? They aren't on the list!
"Countries determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism are designated pursuant to three laws: section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act. Taken together, the four main categories of sanctions resulting from designation under these authorities include restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defense exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.
Designation under the above-referenced authorities also implicates other sanctions laws that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with state sponsors. Currently there are three countries designated under these authorities: Iran, Sudan, and Syria.
Country Date
Iran
January 19, 1984
Sudan
August 12, 1993
Syria
December 29, 1979
"Saudis and Extremism: ‘Both the Arsonists and the Firefighters’"
Critics see Saudi Arabia’s export of a rigid strain of Islam as contributing to
terrorism, but the kingdom’s influence depends greatly on local conditions.
اقرأ المقال بالعربية (Read in Arabic)
By SCOTT SHANEAUG. 25, 2016
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-islam.html?_r=0
"WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump do not agree on much, but Saudi Arabia may be an exception. She has deplored Saudi Arabia’s support for “radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism.” He has called the Saudis “the world’s biggest funders of terrorism.”
The first American diplomat to serve as envoy to Muslim communities around the world visited 80 countries and concluded that the Saudi influence was destroying tolerant Islamic traditions. “If the Saudis do not cease what they are doing,” the official, Farah Pandith, wrote last year, “there must be diplomatic, cultural and economic consequences.”
And hardly a week passes without a television pundit or a newspaper columnist blaming Saudi Arabia for jihadist violence. On HBO, Bill Maher calls Saudi teachings “medieval,” adding an epithet. In The Washington Post, Fareed Zakaria writes that the Saudis have “created a monster in the world of Islam.”"
More . . .
"One American former official who has begun to speak out is Ms. Pandith, the State Department’s first special representative to Muslim communities worldwide. From 2009 to 2014, she visited Muslims in 80 countries and concluded that Saudi influence was pernicious and universal. “In each place I visited, the Wahhabi influence was an insidious presence,” she wrote in The New York Times last year. She said the United States should “disrupt the training of extremist imams,” “reject free Saudi textbooks and translations that are filled with hate,” and “prevent the Saudis from demolishing local Muslim religious and cultural sites that are evidence of the diversity of Islam.”"
16. Most important, my friends are strong or "good," solid "Christian," and their dogged support of the Tweety agenda and his mean, rude, careless tweet "policies," worry and confuse me. What happened to kindness and caring in America? Aren't strong, powerful, rich people supposed to help the sick, weak, homeless, and poor? USA for Africa, helping the less fortunate, stretching ourselves to do good, all ended for the next four years.
16. You don't need a college education to get a job. You can always get a job. This from a friend who made VERY sure his daughter got as much college as he could pay for, and as much as she was willing to go through. He didn't expect his daughter to be a plumber, but someone elses daughter can. It's like ANY job is fine for someone else. Poor people should take any job, and not worry about education. Just work.
My friend's daughter speak up and talks about how she works her butt off to make her way. Really? This from a lady who has had everything provided to her all of her life, and she blithely says anyone can do what she did. All it takes is hard work, and a great father who has a great job, and no bad breaks along the way. Am I unfair? I studied the sociology of the poor. I read a book titled, "The Poor Pay More," but have no chance explaining the facts of poverty to my true believer friend. They believe what Sean Hannity has to say about the poor, not the truth.
