Bits and Pieces

So much happening. So many words tossed about in public spaces. Not many of them factual but enticing. Just as they were meant to be!?

Sessions vs Chicago: a talking point by trumpet trying to shame the City of Chicago for its current history of gun violence. He tries to shame his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, by asking him to look into Chicago and straighten it out. Hmmmm. The Department of Justice investigated Chicago’s gun violence and related police complaints. The DOJ came up with a negotiated settlement which requires Chicago to rein in its police department. Negotiated. Settlement. By the DOJ. What would Sessions possibly do at this late date in the process? He has no knowledge or skin in the game. If he enters the fray it is his own job he is attempting to save with the trumpeter. Sad. Very sad state of affairs in Washington DC. And they think they can do a better job here than Chicago can?  Ours is a local social problem complicated by poverty, racism, sexism, gangs and lax gun laws. What could possibly go wrong? And an ineffective AG working for an ineffective propagandist will only get in the way of real solutions.

Trump vs Innocent Kavanaugh: the anti-fact president declares Kavanaugh was found innocent of the charges he assaulted Dr. Ford. Not true. No finding of fact was even attempted. No legal filings were made. No criminal processing to find guilt or innocence was engaged. Innocence was not found. It wasn’t even searched for. However, all the complaints have now been filed with the Washington DC Court of Appeals which promptly asked the Supreme Court to direct the complaints to another appeals court because the DC court had Kavanaugh on their bench for the last 12 years. Avoiding a conflict of interest, Chief Justice Roberts assigned the cases to the Colorado Appeals Court. Now there may be some legal processing to determine guilt or innocence, but I doubt that.

Trump vs Federal Reserve: the propagandist in chief is hard at work demeaning the Federal Reserve Bank. The trumpeter is unhappy with rising interest rates while he has long bemoaned the ‘artificially depressed interest rates’ experienced during the Obama presidency. I guess he truly doesn’t understand the role of interest rates in our market driven economy, nor does he understand the independent nature of the Federal Reserve in controlling the money supply via interest rates to best manage inflation. The white house tenant continues to bandy about terms he doesn’t understand for the propaganda value they hold with others who understand these matters even less. It is all window dressing without substance. Leave the Federal Reserve alone to do its job. It’s trying to maintain market stability during tumultuous pressure by politicians to accomplish the opposite. First the supreme court? Now the Federal Reserve?

Women Voters vs trump: 50% of our adult population are women. Most of them vote. One political party appears to be anti-women; the republican party. That party used to be home & family and mom & apple pie. Today that appearance seems quite wrong. Whether or not the democratic party is more welcoming to women, remains to be seen or even earned. If one party is not welcoming, then hopefully the other one is.  The question remains: will women vote accordingly? Current events suggest a vote for a republican candidate is a vote for a conservative supreme court, a vote against abortion, a vote for more organized religion in our governing system, and a host of other issues. Is this a true reflection of issues that matter to women? If so, why would there be any doubt about which political party garners their votes?

October 12, 2018