| Who are you going to believe?
President Obama announced that ISIS is shrinking and its power and influence is diminishing. Two days later his Director of the CIA essentially said ISIS is expanding its influence, including training terrorists to sneak into the US with Syrian refugees or to cross the border from Mexico. Do fifty career diplomats in the State Department know more about the success of our policy in Syria and Iraq than the President? Even the Secretary of State is not sure. Are walls effective? Maybe it depends on how high. If 7 feet is not high enough, how about 11-feet 8-inches? This is not about the “Trump Wall” with Mexico, which Secretary Clinton and President Obama dismiss as useless. No, this “wall” is the fence around the White House, which Obama decided would be more effective if it was a few feet higher. What is the root cause of the massacre in Orlando? Donald Trump quickly blamed the Orlando slaughter on radical Islamism. President Obama and Secretary Clinton got in a huddle and discussed options. “We previously blamed a video. We don’t believe in radical Islamic terrorism. Let’s blame it on guns and hatred of gays.” What if the killer had targeted Disney World instead of a gay nightclub? Every night Disney has fireworks. He could have shot a hundred before the crowd even realized it was not just the sound of fireworks. What if the killer had made a bomb and set it off, either at the nightclub or a crowded entrance to Disney? I bet ISIS is telling all the potential “home-grown” Islamic terrorist killers, “Don’t use a bomb. Don’t use poison. Use a gun that looks like an assault rifle. They’ll blame the gun, not us.” Historic quote by Will Rogers: (Automatic weapons, ie. machine guns, were essentially banned nine years after Will wrote this.) “You know what has been the cause of the big increase in murders? It’s been the manufacture of the automatic pistol… The automatic pistol is as much more dangerous and destructive than the old Six-Shooter, as poison gas is over perfume.” WA #145. Sept. 20, 1925 Note: Cleveland Cavaliers gave the city their first championship in 52 years, Cavaliers over Golden State Warriors, 93-89. First NBA team to come back from a 3-1 deficit. |
Hillary makes History; Massacre in Orlando
To borrow a phrase from FDR, “Today will live in infamy.” A young man full of hatred committed an act of terror with an assault rifle in an Orlando nightclub. That is the news we received from President Obama and his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The worst mass shooting in American history [by one person] left at least 50 dead. Another 53 were injured. And this tragedy could have been prevented with strict gun laws. The root cause is the NRA and Republicans who refuse to allow limits to the Second Amendment.
On the other hand, Donald Trump blamed the mass murder on a radical Islamic terrorist. Was he referring to the same massacre as Obama and Clinton?
I have read comments by several acquaintances on social media today. About half seem to follow the President’s lead, and the others agree with Trump. And if you disagree with any of ‘em, you risk getting your face slapped (figuratively).
Omar Mateen was a 29-year old, divorced Muslim son of parents originally from Afghanistan. He worked as a professional security guard who had a license to carry guns almost anywhere. The FBI had investigated Mateen in 2013 for radical comments. Apparently he was deleted from any terrorist list (that might have prevented him from buying a gun or even working as an armed security guard) simply because there are so many young Muslims with similar views that the FBI cannot afford to keep track of all of them.
In other news… Hillary Clinton made history last week as the first female nominee for President. A few pundits also pointed out she is the first nominee to be under FBI investigation. Of course, she is not the only Presidential nominee who should have been investigated.
Bernie Sanders has refused to concede and promises to stay in the race until the convention next month. Clinton is focused entirely on Donald Trump. She has been endorsed by prominent Democrats, including President Obama, who are also blasting Trump. Meanwhile, several prominent Republicans continue to take potshots at Trump. In this peculiar election I think “my” well-known quote applies equally to both parties: “I’m not a member of any organized political party… I’m a Democrat.”
By Election Day in November, the economy will be the main factor. Polls show that two-thirds of us think we are on the wrong track, and that Trump’s policies are more likely to lead to more and better jobs. Clinton wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, build more solar collectors to replace coal, and expand Obamacare. Take your pick.
Historic quote by Will Rogers:
“There is a woman running [in Illinois] for Congress that Alice Longworth told me one time had the keenest political mind of any one in Washington and was the most able woman that could possibly enter politics. It’s Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick. She is not like other women that go into politics who get up and tell you about the ‘woman’s angle.’ She tells you about the people’s angle.” DT #528, Apr 5, 1928