Chaos Insues

So Trump decided to jump on the ban of Muslims via a travel ban.  He signed this Executive Order during the swearing in of General Mattis into the position of Defense Secretary.  When I thought that the process was going to be kind of slow, I jumped off pretty much immediately!  Not only were refugees were effected, but also people who possess green cards and visas.  This created some major chaos especially in the airports.  It started at JFK Airport with a very sizable crowd and the protests started to grow with more and more cities getting engaged.

A Federal Judge in Brooklyn, NYC, NY then came out on her judgement of the executive order pretty much saying that it was not constitutional.  Days later a federal judge in Seattle, WA jumped out and froze (in a sense) the executive order for the entire nation.  A judge in Minneapolis also jumped in and also placed a freeze on the order.

This of course angered the Trump Administration and they immediately put up and appeal via the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Oh must note that the Deputy Attorney General at the time named Sally Yates, had decided to not support the Executive Order and was fired for it.  Very, very lame IMO.  Well the appeal went to the Court of Appeals which in a three judge panel and they unanimously decided to deny the appeal, which made the lower courts decision to stand.  Trump had made statements via Twitter to now blame him of something bad happens.  Blame the court system.  He also called the federal judge in Seattle a "so-called judge", which made me just sigh.  He is a child that is using media tactics because people disagreed with him.  Typical.

So, now it is up in the air what Trump will do.  He said that he may create a new/modified order.  He may move the case to the Supreme Court.  Or whatever else he my come up with. 

I feel he should just give it up.  If he decided to create a new/modified order, it will most likely be block or shut down again.  If he takes it to the Supreme Court, even of Gorsuch get confirmed, I feel it will not change.  At least according to the facts and the constitution.  So I just think Trump and his Administratiuon should let it go, but most likely they won't.

Then in that case, oh well and on with the show.

Congratulations, James "Mad Dog" Mattis

General James Mattis has been sworn in to the cabinet position of Secretary of Defense by Vice-President Mike Pence.  I don't know a whole lot about this man, but I do know he loves to fight.  He seems like someone who does not take any crap and is a man of honor and integrity.  I do hope he serves the position well.  Actually I am sure he will.  I didn't get to see any of his confirmation hearing sessions, but given that he was confirmed around the same time as Trump & Pence were sworn in, the hearings must have gone extremely well.

Now to just nitpick some, Trump needs to work on his self-presentation during these events.  His stance is kind of bad.  Pretty slouchy with his hands hanging as if he doesn't want to be there.  When Mattis got up to say his speech, Trump's stance improved where he crossed them in front himself.  Anyways, that's is not the big thing.  The big thing is his speech where I feel he needs to get rid of these key words and phrases that IMO sounds immature.  "Believe Me" &  "Beautiful" are a few.

Ok.  Trump gave his speech and then went to sign a couple of Executive Orders. One was the Rebuilding of the U.S. Armed Forces.  I think I understand what this is about, but I am trying to understand why.  Honestly I don't think anything major is wrong with the military.  We have pretty much the strongest military out there.  Rebuilding it kind of tells me that it has seriously weakened to a point that it is all, but disappeared.  The other thing about this is cost.  You already have to do budgets to maintain the Armed Forces, but rebuilding them?   *Sigh* I don't know.

The second Executive Order was the Protection of the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry.  Now he said that we should know what that is about, but to be honest, I am not sure.  I know he was talking about temporary bans on Muslims and cleaning up illegal immigration so I am going to think it will have something to do with that.  May have to research more on them.

Oh well, congrats to Secretary Mattis.  Best of luck to you in your position.  Hopefully you will be in for the long term.

Below is a playlist of videos on Secretary Mattis.  Check them out if you like:

Subliminal Violence.....Again!

He has done this before, people!  

HEADLINE: Trump adjusts call for Clinton bodyguards to lose their guns.  

Can someone tell me what is wrong with this man?  Why in the hell is he doing or saying these things?   

It pisses me off they he keeps wanting to excite some of the wilder folks amongst his supporters!  I know he is not the only one doing things like this, but I don't I'll say that he is the worst of him.  

For all you folks that will want to say that Trump is not trying to incite violence, you know what you can do.   

This I a man who truly does not give a.....

And that's my view.  

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-adjusts-call-clinton-bodyguards-lose-guns-001102062--election.html

Birther | This Still A Thing? (TSAT)

Before you all read this I just want to ask this; why is this just a thing?!!   I ask because he did this almost 8 years ago and never backed down on it.  I figured, like most of the people,  that Trump is stuck on this and will never changed, which made me dismiss it.   

The other thing is that Trump pretty much did this reluctantly.  He tells the reporters that he didn't want to talk about it earlier in the week, then his campaign put out a statement that he now believes that President Barack Obama was born in the US, but then people was all about, "We want to hear it from him!"   Sigh!  So he comes out and says himself that he does believe that Obama was born in the US.  PERIOD!

Geez people.  This crap was not necessary.  It is just another stupid destruction or an attempt to drum up outrage.  I would have liked him to have change his mind, but by now I just didn't care.  Seriously!!   

Now people, including the First Lady Michelle Obama, is saying that Trump didn't say "Born In Hawaii."  Double Sigh!!!   I love you folks.  I really do, but you got to stop this nonsense.  This will gain nothing!   

Oh well, this is my rant on this.  It is just so stupid, IMO.  

And that is my view.  

Here is the article from Yahoo! News if you are still interested. 

Trump finally admits President Obama was born in the US

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-mum-while-campaign-says-believes-obama-born-073502901--election.html

Speaker Ryan Honors the Life of Congressman Takai

Up To Kaepernick

This was a message from Shaun King that preceded an article by the New York Times about the protest that Colin Kaepernick performed at a preseason game this past weekend.  I just felt propelled to share because it moved me and made me revisit some decisions I made years to decades ago.  Here is the message from Shaun King.  

On Friday night, before a 49ers preseason game against the Packers, quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose not to stand for the national anthem.

It wasn't an accident. He didn't forget. He wasn't injured.

He didn't stand at attention like Gabby Douglas did during the Olympics. He stayed seated - on purpose.

It was a deliberate act of protest.

Colin Kaepernick, like millions of people all over this country, has had enough. I've had enough. Everybody I know and love has had enough. If you don't know what we've had enough of, you are probably white and probably live in a bubble that has protected you not only from the injustice, but even from its reality.

The levels of injustice, racism, bigotry and brutality faced by people of color has crossed an invisible threshold in America. The straw has broken the camel's back. It was not just the violent police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling this summer that pushed many of us past our breaking point, but the accumulation of injustice and the corresponding unwillingness of this nation to truly take the problem seriously that has put us where we are now. It's too much.

What Colin Kaepernick did, not only by refusing to stand, but by then very clearly saying that he was refusing to stand for an anthem to a country that habitually mistreats African-Americans at every turn, was one of the boldest moves in the history of American sports. It follows Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight in the Vietnam War and the Black Power salute hoisted in the air at the 1968 Olympics by Tommie Smith and John Carlos.

The stages those athletes were on may have been bigger, but in this generation, in this era, no athlete has ever done something quite like what Colin Kaepernick just did. Over the past year, Colin and I have become friends online. While I had no idea that he was going to protest this way, I've seen up close how disturbed he has become by injustice in America. We should all be that disturbed.

I have actually grown quite used to athletes saying and doing very little about injustice, but we've crossed over to the point that even Michael Jordan, who is known for staying away from such public risks, has said that he's had enough. If that doesn't tell you how bad the problems are, then you simply don't get it.

Of course the racists and white supremacists are already out in droves. They always are. But what they don't get is that Kaepernick did not do this for himself. He knows that he is a privileged and wealthy NFL quarterback. He did this for the families of victims of police brutality who are left to do nothing but grieve when their loved ones are killed by the very people paid to protect them. He did this for Sterling and Castile. He did this for Tamir. He did this because he knows, like I know, that the brutality is going to continue and not a single substantive thing has been done to stop it.

On Saturday afternoon, I spoke to a crowd of hundreds of college students - most of whom are young women of color. Without fail, each and every one of them told me that it pains them to stand up for the national anthem. Many said they stopped singing it years ago. I did as well.

I haven't cared to sing the anthem for a good 15 years. Does that mean that we hate America? Does that mean that we hate soldiers? Does that mean that we are spitting in the face of people that have sacrificed their lives?

No.

It means that right now, we don't feel like singing a love song to a country that seems to love black culture but not black people. It means that we don't believe many words in this song or in the Pledge of Allegiance.

This is not the land of the free.

This country does not have liberty and justice for all.

Colin Kaepernick was tired of lying, so he stayed seated. He just had enough courage of convictions to actually do what so many of us have thought of doing for years.

And here's the thing, if you are angrier today with what Colin did than you have ever been about police brutality and the painful denials of justice that inevitably follow, then you, not Colin, are the real problem.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/king-colin-kaepernick-not-stand-anthem-article-1.2768350

Thank You, Mr. President! Thank You.

As me and my wife sat.  Ignoring all the other tasks that stood before us.  We watched and listened as this man came forward after so many amazing speeches before him and resurrected the young senator from Illinois who spoke at the 2004 DNC convention in Boston, Mass.  

My wife was starting in tears and my heart started to get heavy as President Obama approached the podium and we became focused as he spoke.  I have felt pride in a president before with Clinton and believe it or not Reagan.   I even felt pretty good about Bushes as well.  Because I managed to see how good their hearts are despite the rough times they faced and decisions they tried that went bad.   I knew that all of them truly love this nation.   Oh Carter's my boy, too.  Still is, but I digress.  None matched the pride in how I felt and still feel about Barack Obama.  I'm not going to lie, as a black man I felt an extra sense of pride because, like black folks much older than I, I never felt that I would see a black man, let alone a minority, make it into the White House in my lifetime, but it did happen.   

Did I vote for him?  Yes.  Because I knew in my heart that he was the one.  Especially since McCain and Romney sorely disappointed me by trying so hard to be so, so conservative instead of focusing on the true objective, America.

Anyway, when Obama made it to the White House I started to look beyond the color and start observing him as I did every other president.  When he spoke about all he wanted to get done, I was like whoa, bruh!   I am not sure if you can accomplish all of that, but he would be damned if he didn't try.  

Obama was optimistic and determined, but he was realistic as well.  He knew the hard battle he was going to face in his future, but he fought on.  Now here he is after delivering the same type of amazing speech he brought 12 years ago.  Did he achieve everything?  No!  As he said, "There is still so much I want to do!", but we all knew how hard it was going to be, especially with the congress he was working with.   

So now we we moving on.  Approaching November 2016.  I will say my goodbyes later, but for now we all must remain focused and (I can't believe I am going to say this) do as Senator Ted Cruz suggested, "Vote Your Conscience".  Follow your instincts and your heart.   Do what you feel is right and GET OUT THERE & VOTE!!!!!

If you haven't seen President Obama's speech last night, I have it here below.  Also if you want to see or re-see the other speeches from the DNC Philly 2016 , go to the Democratic National Convention's YouTube Channel.   

Enjoy

#ACentristView