Tag: Trump

Warren the Intemperate

She may well win the democratic party’s nomination but it is looking unlikely that she’ll beat Trump.

In the reaction to Trump’s excesses in office, Warren is waving too frantically the banner of government remedies. Gradualism, which allows for the American entrepreneurial spirit to blossom, is being pushed aside.

In the reaction to Trump’s excesses, the democratic party ends up playing Trump’s game. A game that seeks to antagonize and divide.

Trump knows that there is a constituency in the middle that is unlikely to buy into the Medicare for All plan.

He knows that there is a constituency in the middle that is not ready to say that college education should be free.

Trump knows that the same constituency will not tolerate high taxes on the rich.

And he seems confident in the belief that, though that constituency disapproves of his conduct in many ways, when pushed, they would rather go to the polls holding their noses and vote for him, than to risk the radical changes Warren is now offering.

Will the nation be better off if health care delivery is improved and made more inclusive?  Yes.

Will we be better off with greater access to college and quality schools? Yes.

Will we be better off with tax reform where the richest pay more than they do now? Absolutely.

But it needs to happen gradually.

Warren needs to have two main plans. One plan to get in, the other to gradually begin to make the changes. But she needs to get in first.

She needs to get in and by showing herself a capable president, then begin to persuade us that some of those fundamental changes must be made.

We need to see her being open to compromise, to dialogue. We need to see her open to accept that while the system needs a lot of fixing, there’s also a lot of good stuff that should not be trimmed. And it takes time, sweat and tears, to do all that maneuvering.

We need to see a politician do the politician’s work of horse trading. Simply because that’s the nature of the business. Lots and lots of horse trading. Until she proves herself capable of reaching for the best in all of us.

Telling us that she has a plan for everything smells too much of government overreach. If she stays on that track, she’ll be playing Trump’s game and will not get in.

Trump has no plan and he’s okay with that. Or, his only plan to get reelected is to defend the status quo, stirring up hatred against the incoming democratic socialists.  

Warren the politician needs to step up. Warren the professor and preacher needs to sit down.

It shouldn’t be hard.

Will Impeachment Eclipse the Drive to November 2020?

The impeachment inquiry is taking up a whole lot of time and energy, whereas the outcome is very uncertain.

Trump cannot keep from making mistake after mistake, but for democrats to use up so many resources, to the point of diminishing the drive to persuade enough voters to beat him at the ballot box, is a monumental mistake.

At present, the center stage is Trump’s and he loves it, and that is not lost on the electorate who is not inclined to read the fine print in the multitude of documents to be reviewed. Soon they will be bored with the proceedings.

‘It will turn out to be a positive for me,’ Trump said defiantly in response to the announcement of the inquiry. I suspect he will be right.

Subpoenas will be issued and the many actors will take their seat in front of the panel of interrogators, but the questions and answers will be difficult to follow. I assure you there will be much frustration as the respondents give vague answers like, ‘I don’t recall’ and ‘To the best of my recollection this is all I know…’ etc.

Let us not forget that in Trump’s universe, there are two kinds of lawyers and only two: those who take notes and those who don’t. He picks those who don’t. Enter Rudy Giuliani.

Will the distinguished former New York mayor have a clear memory of what happened in his many meetings in the Ukraine? Of course not. And the interrogators will be pulling out their hair. Will Ukraine be cooperative? It depends. Do they think Trump will win reelection? Judging by the enthusiasm of Mr Zelensky, their president, Trump is faring well in that land.

There is an abundance of facts to make the case that Trump should not be reelected. But the hard work needed to persuade people to vote for a democratic candidate remains to be done.

There is a thirst in the American electorate for a person to lead us whose task is simply that, to lead. Lead us to connect with each other, to decrease inequality and increase opportunity.

There is a great desire in the American electorate for someone without personal problems, someone who can focus on the task of leadership and is not hungry for personal attention.

But it will take time to clarify the winning message that will make voters eager to cast their ballot come November 2020. There are no short cuts to get there.

Trump can and should be beat at the ballot box.

Impeachment should not eclipse the light that can take us there.

The Speech that Biden and Sanders are About to Give.

(It was written by the two and is to be delivered by them at two separate locations at the same time)

Dear fellow Americans,

At no time in our history, have so many talented women chosen to run for the office of president. At no time has there been such great need for our best publicly minded citizens to step forward.

The values that our nation holds dear, freedom, openness, fairness, strength of character, compassion, are under assault by the bigoted and the small minded.

Democracy itself being under siege, it is urgent that we join forces to fight back against those who seek to divide us and plunge us into darkness.

The two of us have a long history in politics. You may disagree with us on some matters, but we both are confident that, in our different capacities and to the best of our abilities, we have always endeavored to do the best we could for the nation.

And so it is that with both sadness and joy, the two of us would like to announce that we are no longer seeking the office of the presidency.

We are saddened because we are putting aside our highest personal ambition, which is not easy.

We are joyful because we think our decision will pave the way for a woman to become president to all Americans.

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate who will be showered with money by the financiers and business people who want to continue to get the tax cuts and deregulations that favor them.  

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate for whom money will not be an obstacle in this election, because the affluent class of this country sees him as their best hope to maintain inequality and keep them in power .

But the unfairness we are seeing in taxes, in health care, in education, is breaking our backs and degrading the American spirit.

This is the time to stand up against those forces that keep spreading the word that if the very rich cannot keep getting richer, why then there would be no more creativity in the land.

This is the time to rise against those forces that keep telling us that if the very rich are not given unlimited privileges, why then the rest of us would not have it in ourselves to find our way to prosperity and harmony.

They are wrong. Very wrong.

We democrats, strongly believe, that when education and health care are made available to all of us, then that will release the drive and ingenuity that is needed to create a world where there is dignity alongside plenty.

And we believe, that this very special moment in our history, is just the right time for an American woman to step front and rise to the office of the presidency, leading us to unity, greater prosperity and reestablishing our place among the nations of the world.  

In 1789, two hundred and thirty years ago, we elected George Washington as our first president.

During those two hundred and thirty years since we elected George Washington, we have never elected a woman president.

Two hundred and thirty years.

My fellow Americans, don’t tell us that in nearly a quarter of a millennium there has not been a highly qualified woman capable of carrying out the duties of president of this nation.

There has not been a woman president in our land because consciously or unconsciously, overtly or covertly, we consistently have thought of ourselves as better than them.

Let us be brave and admit it, for that is the first step toward healing the soul.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who was just as talented as you are or more.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who did not have ample leadership qualities.

If you haven’t then you haven’t looked. If you haven’t then you have been blind. Talented women are everywhere, they are standing next to us this moment. They are present in every field of endeavor, and they have been vastly underutilized.

It has been our loss. We cannot afford such waste.

Our current president is a symbol of the undervaluing of women. Put aside his many degrading remarks and just look at the composition of his cabinet. Out of 15 positions, only 2 are presently occupied by women. Only 2, the secretaries of education and transportation. Is this not a representative democracy?

Both of us who have crafted this speech have had good political careers. We’re not done yet. But we think that we both have had a good run and that it is time to step aside and let a woman move forward.

We are taking this position, more than a year before the election, because we believe that the electorate needs to get to know the women candidates for president. We are also taking this position partly because of our age, and there’s no turning back the hands of time.

We may have our own preferences as to a woman candidate, but we are not endorsing anyone just now.

We strongly believe, however, that during this next year before the general election, we will need to concentrate our efforts and that the less diluted the field is, the more clear our choice will become, and the less likely it will be that we squander much needed resources.

Fellow Americans, the nation needs to heal.

Our current president is tearing us apart.

We need someone with the capacity to reach out to those whose animosity is consuming them, remind them that in unity lies our strength, and so begin to build the bridges to a fairer, kinder and stronger America.

Let us make 2020, the Year of the American Woman*. By then, it will have been 231 years since we elected our 1st president.

Thank you

And God bless America.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

*The idea that 2020 be designated the Year of the American Woman, was first proposed on 7/18/2019 by an obscure California writer and blogger who shall remain unnamed.

Hong Kong and the Tariff war.

There they are, week after week, the residents of Hong Kong protesting the mainland’s suppression of their liberties, in violation of the agreement China signed in 1997 with England which would guarantee the territory keeping their rights for another 50 years. Week after week the protesters continue to fight, and week after week the police and armed thugs push them back.

Is the rest of the world taking a firm stand against the mainland’s repression of the protesters?

No.

The US could be summoning international support to tell China not to mistreat the protesters but it is not. And it is not because Mr Trump has not valued our alliances.

Our president may think he has achieved a great victory in getting China – through his imposition of tariffs – to drop from being our number one trading partner to becoming our third largest, behind Canada and Mexico, but that is no victory at all. Instead, what the tariffs have done is increase animosities and hurt the global economy.

As Trump has carried on with applying tariffs on China and threatening them on our allies, our stature in the world has diminished.

As Trump has carried on against immigrants, our moral standing has suffered too.

Meanwhile, with each protest, the people in Hong Kong keep sending out a call to the nations of the world to take a stand with them in the fight for freedom. We used to be able to hear those calls but gone is our moral leadership.

Can we ask China not to repress the protesters in Hong Kong when we are bashing them with tariffs? They would laugh at us.

Can we ask the rest of the world to take a stand with us? The likely answer, ‘aren’t you all about making America great again? That doesn’t include us, does it?’

The courageous people of Hong Kong will fight on because that is their precious land. They are fighting for their freedom. They are also fighting for the freedom of all Chinese, even those in the mainland whose voices are harshly suppressed.

One day China will be free, and they will do so fueled by the memories of the sacrifices of their brothers and sisters in Hong Kong.

What Mr Trump doesn’t get, is that China’s drive for becoming a great nation cannot be stopped.

Yes, they have traded unfairly and stolen technology, but they have it in them to learn from it and create their own. Didn’t they already travel to the other side of the moon without our help?

A different approach to the trade problem was available, and still is, one that includes cooperation with our allies who are also affected. But our myopic president dismissed such option. The complexities of the world dwarf him.

Had he not started a tariff war, we, and the rest of the world, could well have been in a better position to stand together in defense of Hong Kong.

And yet, still we hope, that Hong Kong doesn’t turn into another Tiananmen.

Tariffs and The Entertainer in Chief

It is the beginning of the end.

By now it should be clear to our president, like it is to most of us, that the tariff war with China cannot be won. Trade with China needs fixes, of course, but the way our president has gone about it has been self-defeating. His style is aimed more at playing to the world and propping up his fragile ego than to secure a favorable deal.

In the excitement of his impulsive tweets and the frenzy of his contradictions, he has revealed his style to China and they have taken notice.

Sure, he can say one thing now and stocks go up, another thing later the same day and stocks go down, but the market is not the economy.

Gradually, through his erratic ways, he has proven himself unsteady, eroding business confidence and doing real damage to the economy.

The economy can still recover – after a period to make the adjustment – but it would take for Mr Trump to see it as a priority and to focus on stability.

There is nothing to suggest that precious quality lives in him.

Curiously, he knows that a sound economy is essential to keeping alive his hopes of being reelected, but his need to see himself as Entertainer in Chief overpowers his better judgment.

And that’s who we’re stuck with.

A man who one moment wants to buy Greenland (which could be a sound idea if approached sensibly instead of in a capricious tweet), another moment wants Netanyahu in Israel to bar two US congresswomen from visiting the West Bank, then wants to invite Putin to the next G7 meeting – never mind his power grab of Crimea in the Ukraine, and the shooting down of a commercial airliner killing everyone on board, including distinguished scientists – and why not have the meeting at Mar-a-Lago and play a round of golf? Putin, who interfered in the 2016 election and will surely interfere again. Or as Robert Mueller said recently before congress, it is already happening.

Meanwhile, China watches.

China knows to wait out our president. They have taken the measure of the man.

They are willing to endure whatever hardship the trade war will bring for they will not bow to Trump and his swashbuckling style.

Trump doesn’t get that. And we and the world will pay the price.

Maybe that is what it will take for us not to make the same mistake again.

Dear Elizabeth, (3), 2020 is the Year of the American Woman.

For a brief moment I had considered that Trump would make an effort to veer to the center by toning down his divisive rhetoric and appeal to voters outside his ‘base,’ since it alone is unlikely to win him the reelection. Now I think differently.

Trump does not seem able to help himself and will play the racist card as he sees fit. But it will only hasten his undoing.

During his two and a half years in office, he has already incited enough hatred for the country to take the measure of the man. Could voters be so gullible as to take the bait again? They just might.

So let us ask ourselves this question, between a man and a woman, who’s more likely to be duped by Trump?

I think a man.

During his tenure, Trump has been offensive to both men and women, but more so toward women. Thus, I believe women who voted for him in 2016 are unlikely to vote for him again.

With strong women candidates vying for the presidency – accomplished women without the political baggage that accompanied Hillary – women voters will have before them a range of choices they have never had before.  

2020 will then be the Year of the American Woman. And it could well become a campaign slogan of yours.

American women must be pursued vigorously, and reminded of how they can, through the power of the vote, have a say in altering the direction of our social and economic policies and thus the fate of the nation.

Either we continue on an isolationist path that seeks to divide and weaken the country, or we embrace a future where women will rise to positions of leadership in all walks of life.

A woman president will immediately, from day one, affect the composition of the cabinet. Immediately, from day one, a woman president will greatly influence the number of female appointees to hundreds of critical posts. And the nation will breathe easier, knowing that with a better male/female balance in the conduct of our affairs, both foreign and national, America stands a much better chance of steering an enlightened course, one that is in our best interest while at the same time remaining respectful of other countries’ concerns.

To remain a nation of the first order, actions like the current trade war are of no benefit. What will make a difference in the long run, will be to foster the creative potential of every American, man or woman, while keeping our minds and hearts open to the world.

Best

Oscar Valdes   oscarvaldes.net

Author of Brother Donald: Letters, and Helsinki.

Dear Elizabeth (2)

I read your proposals on immigration. They are balanced and filled with a sense of compassion. Thank you. The idea of creating an office for New Americans is a fine example of a future oriented imagination that seeks to inspire. Let that be the hallmark of your campaign. Thank you again.

The task now is to sell the proposals. I mean sell them to those who do not yet grasp the value of immigrants. I mean sell the proposals to Trump’s supporters.

I do not think that Trump’s ‘base’ should be conceded. Far from it. It should be actively courted because they are Americans left behind. They are Americans who, having been ignored by previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, fell prey to the manipulations of the current president who, based on his actions, i.e. tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, seeks not to empower them. That task of empowerment will fall to someone who, like you, has a strong record of working to uplift our citizenry.

The ‘base’ was once sadly referred to by Hillary Clinton as comprised of ‘deplorables,’ a mistake that contributed to her losing her bid to be president. I have no doubt that, had a writer of yours inserted that word in the text of a speech, you would have immediately deemed it inappropriate and not vocalized it.  

The advantage of courting Trump’s base is that, in doing so, you would be actively engaged in the quest of attempting to unite the nation. Trump has shown no inclination to do so. He could but he doesn’t seem to grasp the essence of the concept. Part of the reason is that he is not an integrated man. He is intelligent and competitive, hard driving too, but his efforts appear guided by the desire to boost an ego thirsty for attention.

You, on the other hand, convey a sense of being a mature and well grounded person, someone not bedeviled by Trump’s affliction. Because of it, you can aspire to unite the nation. Which means reaching out to Trump’s ‘base’.

I do not think that the ‘base’ really sees the building of a wall on our southern border as a real solution to their problems.

The ‘base’ needs to gradually be guided to understand that their real freedom lies not in barring immigrants (though setting immigration limits is essential) but that it will come from their personal development; their real freedom will come from their efforts to nurture their productive capacities so they can feel they’re on a path to integrating with the rest of the nation and the world at large. Previous administration, both Democratic and Republican failed to assist them. Your administration will not make that mistake. You will engage the ‘base” and challenge them to be their best, offering the necessary means for them to realize their potential.

Men and women who are actively attempting to exercise their potential are not likely to fall prey to the fallacy of racism or white supremacy.

Reaching out to Trump’s ‘base’ with the firm promise of generous assistance for their personal and economic development stands the chance to not only engage them, but to signal to the rest of the nation that you are in the office of president to be an agent of change for the nation as a whole, and that you carry in you the spirit and creativity of a statesman like Franklin D Roosevelt.

Maybe there is a place for an office for Americans left behind by Globalization (as a counterpart to the office for New Americans) and for it to be the fountain of the effort to bring them on board.

There is a dynamic view of human beings that should be at the bottom of your programs and creative solutions. We human beings are always in transition. We are always desirous of improving ourselves. Sometimes we give up but the longings are always there. All of us, without exception, are eager to be better than we have been and, at bottom, want others to recognize us.

Essential to who we are is the need to connect to our fellow human beings, no matter what their color or origin. Racist beliefs are held by those who have temporarily given up on that fundamental quest.

Essential to who we are is the yearning to be validated by our brothers and sisters for there is nothing more satisfying.

Elizabeth, life has assigned you a gigantic task. But in its infinite wisdom, life has also chosen someone who is tremendously capable. So fear not that you lack the imagination, the daring and the compassion for the job. It’s all in you.

I see it. Others do too.

Best

Oscar Valdes

Oscarvaldes.net

Author of Brother Donald:Letters.

On Iran. A Little Thought, Anyone?

                                                                                                        

When Trump decided to pull out of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran his objective was to boost his macho image on the world stage. The agreement, flawed as it was, had kept us in diplomacy. Trump’s choice to break away from the pact shut us out of it. I suppose he’s keeping some people happy with his decision but our nation as a whole is the loser.

It is so easy to lose perspective on the subject. Sure, Iran is funding Hamas and Hezbollah and is a foe to allies in the region, but are any of those allies not dictatorial, except for Israel? No. Realpolitik? Okay, but not to boost the flawed ego of a failing president.

It is so convenient to forget how we’ve treated Iran. In 1953 we joined with Britain to overthrow a regime that wanted to nationalize their oil production. We felt we had the right to bully another nation into submission.

We installed the Shah which was no great gift to anyone other than he was willing to do our bidding. Finally, the Iranians had had enough and revolted. But soon after we were backing Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in a long bloody war against Iran that cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. No qualms of conscience. The war was far away from our soil.

As things went, it would not be long before Saddam turned against us, and so back in we went with guns blazing to attempt to mold another regime to our liking. Never mind the lack of evidence for Weapons of Mass Destruction.

After all that blood and treasure spent, can we say we have liberated Iraq? No. They will be very happy to see us leave and one day soon we will have to. Our legacy? Iraq has grown more sympathetic to Iran.

It is not difficult to see how a more thoughtful policy from the start could have delivered very different results and the Middle East would likely be a different story today. Where were the thinkers then? Where are they now?

Make America Great Again? Really. I see no trace of greatness in our record with Iran or Iraq.

But let us not lose hope.

The other day I saw that some people had come up with a line of clothing that said ‘Make America Think Again’. It might be the start of something.

Dear Elizabeth

The fight is heating up. As you go through it you will be tested again and again, and again and again you will overcome. It’s in you. And you will be the next president of our nation.

You are being entrusted not only with restoring sanity to our affairs foreign and national, but with the grander task, long overdue, of lifting American women to positions of leadership.

The nation will be richer, when we let women in as full partners, for she has been neglected and undervalued throughout the course of our history.

We have paid dearly for such sad neglect. Had there been the balance that women bring to policy making and executive decisions, there may not have been the debacle of Vietnam, the bloody mistake of Iraq. Had there been the balance that women bring to policy making and executive decisions, there may not have been the institutionalized racism that plagues us, or the economic inequality that haunts us.

We often hear the question, is America ready for a woman president? It has always been ready. What has blocked women’s ascent is masculine insecurity, the obsession that men have with domination, the obsession with control over others to be able to feel at peace with ourselves.

But the peace earned in such way is transitory. Personal peace that lasts comes from a sense that everyone has value, and from the knowledge that at any given time in a person’s development, each human being is endeavoring to express such value, thus the importance of education and of social supports, to facilitate such expression.

Elizabeth,

The field is crowded, but already we can see the differences. The lack of focus. The vain quest for attention.

Meanwhile, do stay centered. You have a clear advantage over everybody in the field. I see it. Others see it.

As to the debates with Mr Trump you will have nothing to fear. He does not have the depth that you do (he could reach for it but he chooses not to). He knows that, which is why he will do all he can to degrade the nature of an exchange with you for that is his only course. Let him do the jokes. Let him have the laughs. We have seen plenty of those under his tenure while the nation backslides.

What the county wants to see is the leader in you. But rest easy. In contrast to our president, you do not have to reach for it or invent it. You do not have to make it up. It is in you. It is you.

You do not have to have all the answers. Some of your approaches may not be accurate. But if you have the courage to listen to contrary views and weigh them, you will chart balanced courses of action. Your choices may have to change, for circumstances will shift, but if your rationale has been sound, the chances of success will be good.

Till next time.

Oscar valdes   oscarvaldes.net

Iran and the Shooting Down of a US Drone

Escalation, yes. A country with its back against the wall from the US imposed sanctions, could do a lot worse than shooting down a drone whose position in flight may or may not have been in Iranian airspace. And Trump could easily have retaliated with a strike against their military installations but did not.

Surely the hawks in his inner circle, Pompeo and Bolton, would very much have liked that choice. But the president, looking ahead to his political survival, made the decision that best suited his agenda: winning his reelection.

Trump weighed the pros and cons. An attack on Iranian installations, even if no lives were lost, an unlikely event, would have led to another Iranian response, and a chain reaction easily set in motion.

Does Trump want a protracted war on his hands as he tries to rally support for his reelection?

No.

Additionally, on June 18-19 when the G-20 meeting takes place in Osaka, Japan, all eyes will be on Trump and Xi Jinping regarding a possible resolution to the ongoing trade war between the two countries.

A war in the background likely weakens Trump’s position, so he chose to be sensible and hold his hand.

Apparently cyber attacks were ordered and further economic sanctions imposed as a result of the drone attack, but no lives will be lost.

Iran has been funding terrorist actions in the region and that has been going on for years. Empowering the people who are targeted by those actions will be the best way to counter them.

And so, too, inside Iran itself, for eventually it will be up to Iranians to confront their leaders and demand a regime change.

Current events show us that this is possible and likely more fundamental in its effects than the intervention of a foreign power in a nation’s affairs.

Today, in Turkey, the city of Istanbul got a new mayor who is a member of the opposition to Erdogan’s ruling party and was bitterly resisted by him. It is a great moment for Turkish democracy.

Last weekend, the people of Hong Kong came out in great numbers to oppose a rule that would have allowed the extradition of a resident of the city to the mainland. The rule was clearly a move to undermine Hong Kong’s democratic institutions. And the people responded with an enormous display of courage. What an inspiration for the rest of China and for the world.