Trump Vs. Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln's Legacy

Trump vs Lincoln
by Wayne D. King


The "talking heads" representing the so-called President have lately taken to referring to actions by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War as justification for Trump's unconstitutional actions as President.

Some historic perspective on this is useful as a means of assessing the extent of the threat if nothing more.

Yes Lincoln did violate the Habeas Corpus provision of the Constitution when he had members of the Maryland Legislature arrested. Without being an apologist for Lincoln's actions it is important to understand that Lincoln was in the middle of a Civil War and - at the time - the Union was in trouble. Lincoln had reason to believe that Maryland would vote to succeed from the Union which would have left the nation's capitol surrounded by the Confederacy.

By moving to prevent an affirmative vote that would have isolated DC, Lincoln managed to stop the momentum of the South without firing a shot. But - and here's the most important part - Lincoln was responding to a real existential threat to the nation, not to some politically manufactured crisis that is more Fake News than real threat.

Of the 19 terrorists involved with the Sept 11 attack not one of them came from the nations affected by Trumps Muslim ban. The nations from which they came, were all exempted by the administration. Furthermore in 40 years there has not been a successful attack on American soil by an individual from any of the countries on the ban.

It has been pointed out that almost all of the nations exempted have a Trump hotel or a Trump corporate presence but it is just as likely that they were exempted for their ability to fight back and rally other nations, especially European nations, to their defense.

In any case, to use Lincoln to justify Trumps outrageous actions is an affront to the memory of our 16th President, a man who was without question one of the greatest Presidents of the United States and a martyr to the cause of Union and equality. A man who died in the service of perfecting the words of the founders. A cause for which we now take to the streets.

Dump Trump Poster click here

The Fight for the Middle

The Fight for the Middle
Wayne D. King

If anyone is unclear at this point, let me be perfectly clear. . . 50% of the people or more who supported Trump in the election are not going to be reached by any argument or act. We have watched them interviewed in diners in Pennsylvania and W. Virginia and on a thousand tv and radio stations. They are frightened by the fear-mongering of candidate and now President Trump and the coterie of altNews, AltFacts and AltRight he has drawn around himself with the help of Steve Bannon and Kelly Ann Conway. They are angry at being left behind by a world that is shifting under their feet.

If their minds are to be changed it will only happen over time when they learn that Trump has "punked" them. The very fact that on day one he signed an executive order that made the cost of buying a home for lower and middle income people $500.00 more expensive might have been a good warning but Trump slipped that one under their radar.

The battle is going to be for those who voted for Trump reluctantly, those who did not vote, and those who voted for Hillary Clinton reluctantly. We want these people protesting in the streets with the rest of us. Not in support of one party or another but in support of the American constitution and American ideals. Only then will we have a chance of stopping this outrage before it spreads roots that are too deep to pull out easily.

We must put the "fear of the people" into the hearts of Republican AND Democratic elected officials who would walk away from the ACA, or the gains in human rights, LGBTQ rights and religious freedom made under the Obama administration and from the challenge of reversing the income disparity that has led us to this place and time.

Cloud Lens Over Ossippee Mountain Range

Senate Uses Trump Chaos to Relax Regulations on Coal Slag and Bribery of Foreign Officials

Senate Uses Trump Chaos to Relax Regulations on Coal Slag and Bribery of Foreign Officials

The recent actions of the Senate allowing rules promulgated around previously passed laws to be overturned with 51 votes and prevents the agencies from taking any action to assure that the spirit of the law is upheld is very very discouraging. This week they overturned a law that makes it illegal for Oil Company executives to bribe foreign officials and to keep Coal companies from dumping their slag into clean rivers.

There is a growing number of people who are suggesting that many of the controversial actions of Trump and Bannon are intended to create a diversion while they make sub-rosa changes like this that most Americans would find highly objectionable.

First Rodeo

Violence in Protests

Violence in Protests
by Wayne King

Violence in protests is exactly what Steve Bannon and the other racist, xenophobic AltRight gang want. Even though the incidents represent a very small minority of the people who have been speaking out against the Trump administration or the AltRight forces their actions reflect on the rest of us.

Steve Bannon and the AltRight forces are attempting to create as much chaos as they can with the hopes that they can drive a wedge between Americans the way Richard Nixon's administration did. Bannon and his ilk thrive on chaos and anger.

The good news is that we have been here before. We know that when Americans joined together against the Vietnam war - instead of fighting with one another - we stopped the war and the unity of the nation led to years of tranquility and prosperity. It was not without its challenges but between the Presidency of Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan, George Bush (1) and President Clinton the country went through a generation of peace and prosperity.

We need to seek common ground and speak out against violence. The example we set for our kids and our fellow Americans can turn the tide quickly.

Ripple of Hope Poster
Includes a quote from Bobby Kennedy's famous Ripple of Hope speech
Click here to purchase the poster

A Leadership Moment Presents Itself

A Leadership Moment Presents Itself
by Wayne D. King


There will be many of my friends and allies who will find reason to disagree with me on this and I readily confess that I find it hard to swallow myself but I think the nomination of Neil Goresuch to the Supreme Court offers an opportunity - as Michelle Obama would say - "to go high" and achieve more than a pitched battle would achieve.

I know, I know, the bad taste of what the Republicans did to President Obama and Merrick Garland - and to the country and constitution is still strong. My own first reaction was that we should give them a taste of their own medicine but having reflected on this a bit more I have a different idea.


We have a powerful teachable moment presenting itself to us. Democrats on the Senate panel questioning Judge Goresuch can spend their time grand standing for the base or they can ask Judge Goresuch to help them analyze what happened with Judge Garland and how the country might avoid ever falling into this trap again.

I don't delude myself into thinking that we can get an apology from Mitch McConnell for putting party before country but we can ask him to do so, over and over, and over until the American people get the message - The Republican party is willingly playing partisan politics in even those moments where our greatest ideals are under threat.

The Republicans are expecting the Democrats to come out with guns blazing knowing that they have all the advantage. Its to their advantage to have the Goresuch hearings leave the American people shaking their heads in disgust and expressing their disdain for the entire lot of them.

On the other hand, if Democrats embarrassed them with a display of forgiveness, patriotism and a genuine concern for bringing the country together, The Republicans will be caught flat footed and Democrats will be able to keep their powder dry for a battle that can be won.

Goresuch is quite likely to be a judge very much in the style of the man he will replace in both temperment and philosophy. His philosophy aside, every indication is that he is fully deserving of the honor of being chosen and will acquit himself well as a member of the nation's highest court.

There is really nothing that can be done to right the wrongs of the Garland debacle. The best we can hope for is a moment of "Truth and Reconciliation" where the guilty party admits their crime against American ideals and the constitution and the American public gets to see the difference between Democrats who love their country and Republicans who love their party.

Ripple of Hope Poster
Includes a quote from Bobby Kennedy's famous Ripple of Hope speech
Click here to purchase the poster

Staring Down the Barrel of a Trade War

Regular readers of my policy commentary here or on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1007197659) will recognize that I believe that both Bernie and Donald Trump are wrong about trade agreements and the path we are currently on is alarmingly similar to the path that led to the Great Depression beginning with the Smoot Hawley act that created tariffs on goods from other countries and set off a trade war between the US and many countries with whom we did business.

This is not to say that we can't do a whole lot better at crafting trade agreements, but to take the simplistic approach of blaming the loss of jobs on trade agreements - ignoring for example the much more powerful effects of technology causing the replacement of human labor with robots and software.

We would be far better served by an effort to better understand the forces at work in our economy and the world economy and working to develop MORE trade agreements that reflect those changes. 

We are all well aware that change is the rule in our world and the speed with which change occurs increases dramatically with each passing year. Why would we want to apply 1920s ideas to the problems of the 21st Century? They were disastrous then and only likely to be more disastrous today.

Right now it appears that the US is deeply divided along classic lines of liberal vs conservative ideology but If that is the case (and I contend that it is NOT the case) this is merely the early rumblings of a divide that is built around an entirely new paradigm.

The new ideological divide will not be liberal vs. conservative; it will be centralization vs decentralization. I believe that we are watching the early quakes in the final stages of the meltdown of BOTH Classic Capitalism and Communism and the birth of a new paradigm where successful nations lead the way toward economies built around principles that embrace the power of blending economics principles and social collaboration to craft "new" definitions of work and what constitutes a meaningful life.

I am not a utopian. I don't suggest that these changes will be simple, easy or painless. Like any other social and economic revolution they will be painful, jarring and confusing at best.

A trade war that ignores the lead for us to lift all boats in this new world would be the worst thing we could do.

Dump Trump Poster click here

A Suggestion for Covert Sanctions Against Russia

The actions by the OBama administration including the expulsion of individuals directly involved in the hacks that were intended to influence the outcome of the US Elections are a good start and effectively "Name and shame" some of the primary culprits, including Putin directly.

In addition to the public sanctions the President has said that some covert actions will be taken as well. My suggestion is that among those sanctions we include a hack of emails of individuals involved in the doping scandal of Russian Olympic athletes. Particularly if we can make public evidence that the Russian Government was actively involved in the doping campaign and provide the evidence needed to make the case for a long-term suspension of all or most of the Russian Olympic team, other high level athletes and their coaches.

There are few things more important to the Russian psyche than their International athletic prowess. To have the extent of the government complicity and that of their nationally acclaimed athletic coaches and athletes revealed would give the International Olympic Committee the evidence needed to sanction Russia much more severely than the virtual slap on the wrist that they have gotten to date.

I'm not an expert on hacking but I am betting that this would be a relatively easy hack and the odds that the leadership within the secret cabal that orchestrated the doping of athletes would be arrogant enough to have openly communicated among themselves by email.

-wdk