Thursday, June 8, 2017

Why the Russian influence matters...

It's this. 

From senator Mark Warner's opening remarks: 

So I'd like to briefly describe, at least from this senator's standpoint, what we already know and what we're still investigating. To be clear, this whole (ph) investigation is not about relitigating the election. It's not about who won or lost. And it sure as heck is not about Democrats versus Republicans.

We're here because a foreign adversary attacked us right here at home, plain and simple, not by guns or missiles, but by foreign operatives seeking to hijack our most important democratic process -- our presidential election.

Russian spies engaged in a series of online cyber raids and a broad campaign of disinformation, all ultimately aimed at sowing chaos to us to undermine public faith in our process, in our leadership and ultimately in ourselves.

And that's not just this senator's opinion, it is the unanimous determination of the entire U.S. intelligence community. So we must find out the full story, what the Russians did, and, candidly, as some other colleagues have mentioned, why they were so successful. And, more importantly, we must determine the necessary steps to take to protect our democracy and ensure they can't do it again.

Chairman mentioned elections in 2018 and 2020. In my home state of Virginia, we have elections this year, in 2017. Simply put, we cannot let anything or anyone prevent us from getting to the bottom of this.



Short. Sweet. To the point. That's the beauty Dave's iPhone. 

Friday, May 26, 2017

Since @marcorubio won't hold a town hall, here's a message for him

Senator,

As a Floridian, I can not understand why you won't hold a town hall. We have a lot of concerns, and you won't hear us. Yes, the conversations would be difficult, and there would likely be some hot topics. But please understand that we are passionate about some issues and feel like you are only it for yourself and your wealthy donors, and not for us and not representing us,

Realizing that, I wanted to share a few topics and my thoughts on them.
1. Russia. The evidence shows that their was a hack of sorts and influence by Russian agents in our election. Our democracy was subverted. Where is your senate panel on this? You haven't advance much over the last few weeks. We need to see the investigation continue!

2. Trump. You said, effectively, get over it and help the man have success. No. No. And no again. The man is a petulant child, who is making money as president because he is president. He has hired family to work for him. He has obstructed justice, at least in a way that should garner more outrage. He continues to embarasss us with our allies. He has passed classified information to others. He had Russians in the White House as guests. And on and on. He must not go unchecked. You must do your job and keep the balance of power.

3. The budget. What he has proposed is insane. Effectively he proposes guts from every social program and pays for his stupid wall, and his golf outings. I realize congress passes the budget, but you can't just stand idly by and pretend like this is okay. Social programs are one of the things your state, and particular, your community relies on. You can't just leave us in the (I would say cold, but it's Florida so I'll say) heat.

4. Big corporations, finance, and Wall Street. Letting big corporations, and particularly banks, run amok will harm us. The sensible regulations that were put in place in 2008 should protect us against another financial crisis like in 2008. We can't just deregulate and expect companies to do the right thing. There were surely be run away inflation, rising consumer prices, and likely higher unemployment as companies look to maximize their profit. Floridians are as vulnerable as anyone - and because we are a tourist economy, we rely on others spending money to come here. If they don't have disposable income, we all lose.

5. Immigration and visas. Similar to my point on a tourist economy, we need people visiting from other places to invigorate our economy and keep hotel rooms full. We can't just keep casting people out and calling them bad hombres. We can't just deport people Willy nilly. What are your thoughts on the person who came over in the Mariel boat lift in 1980 who was a legal resident, but is now awaiting a deportation proceeding to Cuba. I realize it's complicated, but it illustrates a problem: after 40 years here, he's being sent to a country he doesn't know. How can you let things like that slide?

6. And finally, healthcare. We need universal care. We need to know we are always covered. It shouldn't come down to whether we can afford private care. This is a right that all first world nations offer. We should too. It shouldn't be that your state will have a high level of uninsured and have to try and get sub-par care, rely on public hospitals if that's even possible, or simply die. No. we can and should do better. Medicare should be available for seniors and others who built this country. Medicaid needs to be there for the vulnerable among us. It shouldn't be left to the states to decide how to administer healthcare. That's ridiculous and will never work. Stand up for us, and fight for what's right!

We're Floridians and we need you to stand up for us.

Thank you.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Sage words from Lincoln

For the 1963 worlds fair, Walt Disney created a show about Abraham Lincoln.  I detail the show in a podcast http://disneyview.blogspot.com/2016/03/episode-243-great-moments-with-mr.html that I created last year.

Basically, James Algar wove together real quotes from Lincoln to be brought to life.  There's one particular quote that should resonate today, with the state of politics such as it is, and talk of ties to russia. It's at about the 11 minute mark in the video:

"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of EuropeAsia, and Africa combined could not, by force, take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, [that] if it ever reach us, it must spring [from] amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we [ourselves must] be [the] author[s] and finisher[s]. As a nation of free men, we must live through all time[s], or die by suicide."