The lesson of the last year is this: foreign policy can’t be managed through the politics of personality, and our President would do well to take note of an observation John F. Kennedy made once he was in office – that all of the world’s problems aren’t his predecessor’s fault.
=–Sarah Palin
© 2017 Netdancer Photography – Candace L Stauber
You have enemies?
Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
-Winston Churchill
© 2017 Netdancer Photography – Candace L Stauber
We are increasingly seeing the trashing of the first amendment going on in our country, today 45’s White House banned access to the NY Times, as well as CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Politico, and BuzzFeed from the press briefings; only allowing a handpicked group of conservative-leaning media outlets into the briefings. These organizations included Breitbart News, the One America NewsNetwork and the Washington Times. Journalists from ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Fox News also attended.
Although, this may have happened before, 45 thinks that any news that does not favor him or tells his version of the “truth” is fake news. Are they probing too deeply, asking questions that he does not want to be answered, investigating too well?
As an ex-reporter, myself, it is our duty to report the news and the facts as they occur, whether the public, the president or the leaders like it. Not everything is pleasant to hear not everything is going to be favorable to “his majesty”. If you have nothing to hide, don’t do anything wrong and don’t be afraid to invite the press in to report what they find. Transparency is key. This maneuver on 45’s part sounds like a cover up and a smokescreen for other behavior that is going on that the Whitehouse and the Republicans do not want the public to know about- the scandals he wants us to forget about. It is a diversion to make us forget about what is at stake – our freedoms, our rights, our health care.
The professional team of reporters for any honest and ethical media outlet will continue to report the news. They will continue to dig and investigate to get to the truth of the matter. Those press briefings have proven to be only platforms of propaganda and lies. They don’t get the truth when they attend them, they get the runaround, they get platitudes and insults.
Another thing, I also understand that in Arizona, a Republican state senator has introduced legislation that could give police the authority to arrest anyone involved in a peaceful demonstration. It would also enable the police to arrest those who attended the event, even if they themselves did not commit any crime. They claim that those who protest are full-time, professional provocateur anarchists that are there solely to create public disorder and chaos. As a protestor myself, and one who as taken part in several of these marches, they are talking out of their hat!
To those and to those Congressmen refusing to meet with us because they say we are paid protestors and to those who tell us to get a job, I only say, we work full time, we are not all senior citizens with time on our hands, we are not professional anarchists, we are not paid by anyone, we pay OUR TAXES, we pay your salary, we are concerned citizens of the world and we see it going to hell in a hand basket unless we speak up. Listen! We will persist! Do not doubt us, you cannot silence us, and we will go to jail if need be.
Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.
-Thomas Jefferson
The best road to progress is freedom’s road.
John F. Kennedy
The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth.
-John F. Kennedy
To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light.
-George Washington
I saw this in some comments on Facebook today and it struck such a chord with me. Although #45 may have not had this in mind when he said this we have as a nation of intelligent individuals have come to realize just how fragile our democracy and independence truly is. How much we need to stay active to preserve this freedom that we love. How we cannot be apathetic to our sisters and brothers problems but become part of the solution not part of the problem. How we need to be vigilant to in obtaining the truth from our leaders and news media. How we need to be able to discern the truth from lies.
Mark Fergusen states in his comment:
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it looks like Trump is actually making America great again. Just look at the progress made since the election:
1. Unprecedented levels of ongoing civic engagement.
2. Millions of Americans now know who their state and federal representatives are without having to google.
3. Millions of Americans are exercising more. They’re holding signs and marching every week.
4. Alec Baldwin is great again. Everyone’s forgotten he’s kind of a jerk.
5. The Postal Service is enjoying the influx cash due to stamps purchased by millions of people for letter and postcard campaigns.
6. Likewise, the pharmaceutical industry is enjoying record growth in sales of anti-depressants.
7. Millions of Americans now know how to call their elected officials and know exactly what to say to be effective.
8. Footage of town hall meetings is now entertaining.
9. Tens of millions of people are now correctly spelling words like emoluments, narcissist, fascist, misogynist, holocaust and cognitive dissonance.
10. Everyone knows more about the rise of Hitler than they did last year.
11. Everyone knows more about legislation, branches of power and how checks and balances work.
12. Marginalized groups are experiencing a surge in white allies.
13. White people in record numbers have just learned that racism is not dead. (See #6)
14. White people in record numbers also finally understand that Obamacare IS the Affordable Care Act.
15. Stephen Colbert’s “Late Night” finally gained the elusive #1 spot in late night talk shows, and Seth Meyers is finding his footing as today’s Jon Stewart.
16. “Mike Pence” has donated millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood since Nov. 9th.
17. Melissa FREAKING McCarthy.
18. Travel ban protesters put $24 million into ACLU coffers in just 48 hours, enabling them to hire 200 more attorneys. Lawyers are now heroes.
19. As people seek veracity in their news sources, respected news outlets are happily reporting a substantial increase in subscriptions, a boon to a struggling industry vital to our democracy.
20. Live streaming court cases and congressional sessions are now as popular as the Kardashians.
21. Massive cleanup of facebook friend lists.
22. People are reading classic literature again. Sales of George Orwell’s “1984” increased by 10,000% after the inauguration. (Yes, that is true. 10,000%. 9th grade Lit teachers all over the country are now rock stars.)
23. More than ever before, Americans are aware that education is important. Like, super important.
24. Now, more than anytime in history, everyone believes that anyone can be President. Seriously, anyone.”
A Zen Master’s Advice On Coping With TrumpFrom the Huffington Post, an article that you will find that it involves a lot more than meditating.
The Platinum Dragon 