Trump Waste Creation

It is amazing how much chaos and waste DOGE, Trump and Musk are causing. Clinton reduced government with the help of Congress in the 1990's and it was much more effective.
Courts-block-trumps-doge-actions...

Lessons Learned

Trump vs Clinton Doc Cases

 Are quite different. Though Trump supporters seem unwilling to accept this.

Not to mention that neither Trump nor his DOJ bothered to go back after Clinton.

However Trump did make a point to say "LOCK HER UP"...  Since he was even more intentional and resistant in his document scandal, it seems we should now be saying "LOCK HIM UP" !!!  And yet his supporters that wanted to see Hillary incarcerated, seem okay with his blatantly illegal activities.

How about we drop the crooks and go with someone like Tim Scott? 

It might help the GOP get the minority vote...  However how many White GOPers would refuse to vote for a Black man? 😧

Trump vs Clinton FBI Search

 GOPers Hypocritical Again.  And Hillary appears to be enjoying their stupidity.

If you do not remember, these same GOPers were demanding that the FBI search Hillary's private parts to look for confidential files.  And now they are crying foul as the FBI searches Trumps home, even though it was proven that he had taken other documents with him that he should not have.

Clinton Spying on Trump?

 It seems Trump and FOX are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Here is further discussion.  Here is the actual 13 Page Filing.

This seems like a little smoke and no fire so far...  I sure hope this terrible waste of tax payer money ends sooner than later.  It is making the Mueller investigation look SHORT...  Though I am certain the GOPers will insist on spending more time and money chasing them witches...

Maybe it will be worth discussing if Durham ever finds something significant and actually indicts someone...  Until then it is just politics in the USA as always.

I mean if investigations and prosecutor opinions proved guilt...  Trump would be in prison for life...

GOP Abandons The Police?

By resisting Capitol Storming Investigation

The Capitol was taken over insurrectionists for the first time in modern history, people died and the Crazy Folks in the GOP don't want to investigate what happened and went wrong. Really?

These are the hypocrites who wasted tons of time and money on Benghazi, Clinton emails, investigating the Trump investigations, and countless others.  

And they will not even support the police who were attacked and killed by people who were trying to stop the lawful operation of the US Government.

Maybe McCarthy Fears Self Incrimination?

The Coming Red Wave?

Or so one of my friends believe.  Yes he actually appeared to be serious.  And no I did not try to convince him otherwise, since voter turnout is everything in these elections.  And I have no sense if the often dead beat DEM supporters like Biden or hate Trump enough to get to the polls.

Personally I think it is going to be a Blue Wave because Trump has effectively pissed off or disgusted everyone except his base... (see comic)  Touch to zoom and read FrankenBiden parts.

I just think of all the Moderate Independents and Republicans like myself who were going to give him a chance because of our dislike / distrust of Clinton.  And how he totally failed at being honest, professional, fiscally conservative, showing humility, showing empathy, etc. So I know that is literally millions of votes that Trump lost...  

I am very interested in what happens Tuesday?  I am hoping it is a blow out for Biden, so we can soon put this unfortunate experiment behind us like MN put Jesse Venture behind it.  And I think Jesse was far smarter, more honest and more professional than Trump. :-) 

Poll Discussions 1

Poll Discussion 2

Biden is Not Clinton

 That is for sure. And Trump certainly did not grow into a President that would unite and empower America.  And he has surrounded himself with incompetent people...

And he continues rallies as COVID case numbers sky rocket and deaths remain at ~750 per day...

So 2020 certainly is not 2016...  And maybe the pollsters learned some stuff from 2016.

Trump Show Grows Tired

by Juan Williams is Excellent.

"But if pop culture celebrity is a winning hand, it is also a fact that Americans do not like reruns.

And in every episode of the Trump Show, the script uses the same schtick to hold the audience.

Trump's favorite schtick is making himself the hero. He alone can save America from - well, take your pick:

Remember when Trump promoted himself as the only man willing to imply the first black president was a fake because he was not born in the U.S.? It wasn't true. But in the Trump Show, only ratings matter.

Remember when he came down the golden escalator in Trump Tower to announce his run for the White House was to protect the nation from criminal, rapist Mexicans threatening the American way of life? It wasn't true. But it got ratings.

Remember the call to "lock her up," because Hillary Clinton's email server was somehow a threat to national security? Again, not true but it got some votes.

At some point, this act gets tired."

How to Help Poor Kids Learn?

NPR Supreme Court Could be Headed to a Major Unraveling of Public School Funding

A FB Friend posted the above link with the comment. "The attempt to theocratize America continues." And the first commenter wrote. "So sick of religious zealots stealing from the public to fund their indoctrination centers. People want to segregate their children from poor people let them pay to do that."

Then I added the following and we were off to the races... "As for segregating their children, millions of very Liberal people do that daily by "moving to better neighborhood", enrolling in a magnet / charter school, open enrolling to a different district, etc. Why should Christians who pay a LOT of these taxes be forced to pay even more to attend a school that is aligned with their beliefs? Especially since many of the public schools have been forced to become so sterile / no religion / fewer parties / events? Why again should all of our tax payer dollars only go to support a near monopolistic system that refuses to measure, change and improve?

Well I never did get very much for answers, but the original poster did take the time to write a lot regarding his perspective... And I am curious what you think?

In 1991 I was a college graduate. Stung by the poor job outlook in 1991, I looked into going to work for the Federal Government. They had a program called the Outstanding Scholar program for college grads who met certain criteria, and it put you on a fast track to move up the first few paygrades in federal employment. Shortly after graduation, I was offered a position supporting the CFO for the US Department of Education (ED) In Washington, DC. At the time, I was a young moderate to conservative Republican who thought I knew everything (as is typical for the age) and I was excited to work in and around all the action in DC.  

About that same time, Governor Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee, was appointed Education Secretary by then president George H.W. Bush. After a history of conservatives bashing ED and wanting to shut it down (think William Bennett), Bush and Alexander believed that education is a priority and that the Federal Government did have a role in influencing education to make it competitive with the rest of the world.  

Around that same time, ED adopted "America 2000", a set of education goals developed in a joint, bipartisan effort including the President and all of the nation's governors. It included six education goals. I do recall a couple of them: All students start school ready to learn, and a graduation rate of 90%. These were goals that the Government wanted to help the nation accomplish by the year 2000. We were all very excited about these goals, and the bipartisan way in which they came to be. And state and local schools would get funding from the Federal Government tied to adopting America 2000 and putting together plans to meet the goals. It seemed like a win-win proposition for everyone.  

In 1992, Bill Clinton won the presidency and appointed Richard Riley as the Education secretary. I didn't know what to expect because I had really only known Republican administrations in my lifetime at that point, and I did not vote for Bill Clint on in 1992, nor did I vote for Mike Dukakis in 1988. As it turned out, it was a lot of the same. Bill Clinton had been one of the governors who had developed the national education goals, so they repackaged America 2000 and called it Goals 2000. They were largely the same with some changes.  

Over the next several years I got the opportunity to interact with some of the education gurus who came in to help promote the national education agenda, including Diane Ravitch (who was so well respected she was appointed under both administrations), who was appointed by Secretary Riley to serve as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which supervises the National Assessment of Educational Progress. She was also an early proponent of "No Child Left Behind", which was the repackaging of America 2000 and Goals 2000 by the new George W. Bush Administration in 2002.  

What happened from there, however, is really where problems began to develop. School districts became so focused on achieving the benchmarks dictated by the goals, in order to get the Federal money, that it changed teaching. I had left the Federal Government by then and had moved into working for Federal contractors in various roles. But I knew A LOT of teachers and I was married to one. They made up the vast majority of our social circle and many, many family members and extended family members as well. The joy and passion of teaching became harder for them to find. What they had been educated and trained to do, to inspire students to learn, became less important than meeting test score targets. There was pressure to not fail students who were poor performers because of graduation targets. Teachers, talented and passionate about education and learning and seeing their students succeed (not about pay), began to leave teaching.  

Charter schools started to become a big thing, utilizing public education money to, in essence, create private schools where they could admit only the top performers and keep out poor performers. Then they started showing better test results (shocking). So they gained more traction.  

Now what do we have? Schools still failing, still too may children being left behind. National standards that have bastardized and corrupted real education, the politicizing of education funds by far right interests who believe in this farce of "liberal indoctrination" (I can assure you that if it's not tied to the national education standards, it's not being taught).  

And, if you take the time to read any of Diane Ravitch's retrospective (she has written and blogged a lot on this subject) on the national goals and standardized testing she helped create and promote, you will see that she now regrets it. She regrets what it has become, and regrets school choice, too. All things she promoted and was considered instrumental in starting at the federal level. She recognizes now that the best predictor of poor school performance is poverty. She now focuses her efforts on addressing poverty and racial segregation.  

The attacks on teachers, teacher unions, etc. that you have bought into John, are all done for political gain. The real "fix" is all about having schools where all children have the same opportunity to learn, regardless of their socioeconomic status or their race. The national standards have failed to address those fundamental causes of poor achievement. Attacking teacher unions doesn't address those either.  

Addressing the causes of poverty and racial inequality are likely going to gain the best traction toward improving educational achievement. If you want to really "Give to attain", John, then work toward influencing people to take up the cause of poverty and racial disparity in our country. Vote for the candidates who have plans to do this. Look for constructive solutions instead of looking to blame those who are in the trenches fighting the good fight every day. Vote for politicians and support organizations who are most committed to addressing poverty and racial inequality.

 

Here were my initial thoughts in response:

As for brief immediate answers... You now have stepped into the chicken vs egg problem because correlation does not mean causation... Poverty in and of itself does not cause failure in school, therefore giving people more money will not necessarily yield better results... It is the things that cause poverty that often drive poor academic results. Un / undereducated parent(s), irresponsible / neglectful parent(s), single parent, high crime neighborhoods, cultures that do not value education, addicted parent(s), racism, etc.  

I know many low income folk who's kids did great in school, but that was because they had 2 parents who were serious about their child learning. (much like my friends in China and South Korea)  

The US Education system was created to lift people out of poverty. To say that we must eliminate poverty to make it work is very counter-intuitive and counter-productive.  

As for "the teachers are stressed" because their kids must learn... Halleulia !!! I am stressed because I must deliver everyday or my bosses will give me the boot. That does not mean that I hold it against my bosses that performance is why I am paid each month. It is nice to enjoy one's job, but it is also healthy to be pushed to learn and perform even better!!! Don't the kids deserve to learn each day and to be ready at 18 to be independent capable citizens?

In summary, the folks commenting in opposition to me believed the answer to closing the achievement gap was to go back to 1990, stop the testing, give the Publics Schools ever more money, get rid of the public charters and stay out their education system. In fact, I was in essence berated for even weighing in on the topic since I am not a teacher.  Here was the list from one of them.

 

If you want to build a better education system in this country. 

• pay teachers better and support them 100% 
• hire people that actually have experience in education that make policy for education. 
• treat every school equal, and give every student the same opportunities.
• poor people vote to. Stop making policy that rewards the rich families.

To that my response and questions were.  In MN we do not treat every school equally. The schools that get the most money by far are the schools with the most challenging student demographics. It may still not be enough but it exceeds $20,000 per student. And they still have the worst academic results.

1. So how much should we raise that amount to?
2. How much will the achievement increase?
3. What should happen if the money is spent and things do not change substantially?
4. Do we just keep increasing the funding or do we promote competition?

Thoughts on this chaotic long piece?


Here are some of the many links from these and other parts of the exchange.

Politico History of NCLB
NEA's Response to Race to the Top
G2A Blame vs Contributions
G2A Why are Poor People Poor?
MW Definition of Teach
BTA Economists Ate My School
G2A How to Win the War on Poverty
G2A AYP, NCLB, PDCA
MinnPost MPLS Data Teacher Equity by School
Wiki Public Employee Union History
VOX SCOTUS on School Funding
CSM SCOTUS on School Funding
Diana Ravitch Blog
Forbes Texas vs California

Thank Heavens for Witnesses?

WSJ GOP Doesn't Now Have Votes to Block Witnesses

Politico Trump team warns vulnerable senators: Stand strong or prepare for an endless trial

AP FACT CHECK: Trump wrong on Bolton; more claims from trial

FactCheck False Claim Ukraine Got Aid ‘Before Schedule’

PBS Dershowitz Argument against Impeachment

Politico Trump finds nearly unwavering loyalty from Republicans after Dem case

It seems to me that censuring Trump's behavior would be common sense off ramp, however that seems unlikely since he has no interest in apologizing.

“It’s a very serious matter and I’m listening in a respectful way,” said Collins, who has already signaled that she may vote for additional witnesses to be called. “I’ve filled up 25 pages of notes on my legal pad and I pay very close attention.”
But for the rest of the party there’s almost no interest in even inching toward a rebuke of Trump. There’s definitely no attempt to censure the president or propose some other formal condemnation short of impeachment. To Republicans, there’s no point trying to concede Trump did anything wrong — a far cry from Democrats’ denunciation of President Bill Clinton’s behavior during his 1999 impeachment trial.
“Our job is not to evaluate in great detail what happened. Our job at this point is to evaluate whether it’s impeachable or not,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). “And I don’t see minds changing on that, including mine.”

MinnPost How would you feel if Trump had apologized for his behavior toward Ukraine?

Just Like Clinton Impeachment, Except...

NYT Senate Impeachment Process Comparison

The politics and cover up seem to be continuing...  Please note that the GOP does not seem concerned with the factual timeline, they seem to be pointing everywhere else but the facts.

As I keep asking, I wonder if they would be doing the same things if it was Obama?  Or are they truly hypocrites who do not care about institutions, law and order?

Of course, the opposite question applies...  Would the DEMs be out for blood if it was Obama? :-)

The polls are still tight:
Impeachment
Remove from Office

Please remember that I do not care if they remove him from office or not. 
What I care about is that know the facts before they determine a verdict.

If this Summer was such a harmless wonderful non-secretive transaction, then Trump etal as Public Servants should testify under oath. Wouldn't you expect that from someone who works for you?

Support All Presidents

QCT Letter: Pulling for the president

A FB Friend posted this Letter to the Editor from the Quad City Times

I got on an airplane last year with other passengers. As I watched the pilot go into the cockpit and lock the door, I realized I didn’t know anything about him. Was he the best pilot the airline had, or was he the worst pilot in the nation? 

That began to concern me. If I had met the pilot, I might not have been happy with him being in charge. What if I really didn’t like this pilot? What if he had character flaws? What if he almost got kicked out of pilots’ training? I did not choose him. He wasn’t my choice. Somebody else chose him for this flight, not me. But he was the pilot. 

Still, we were going to fly together. So one thing was certain, I did not want him to fail. If he fails – we all fail. I read the emergency card, and I was alert for any trouble, but I hoped for the best. Maybe he wasn’t the worst pilot; or maybe he was. But that didn’t matter. I wanted him to succeed; I didn’t want him to fail. 

I think a lot of us need to remember that about our presidents. It is sad that some people want a president to fail. Although I didn’t want Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to be president, I definitely did not want them to fail. Whoever is president; we should hope for the best. 

There are no winners in a plane crash, and no winners in a divided nation. 

Steve Garrington

My initial responses were:

Maybe someone should send this to Trump. 😁 It would be nice if he would work to increase his support amongst all Americans instead of just reinforcing his support among the religious right, NRA supporters, anti-immigrant folks, etc.... 

He is bit like a captain who cares for half the passengers while insulting the folks in coach. 😂  By the way, President Pence sounds okay to.... And we would not hear so much whining, tweeting, etc.

However I think this requires more thought and discussion... I even voted for this "pilot" in hopes that he could become "better".  And he just has not...  I assume this is why planes have co-pilots. That way if the Pilot becomes indisposed or loses his mind, they can be replaced for the good of the passengers.  Or do we recommend keeping the questionable Pilot in charge no matter what?

Thoughts?

Impeachment Negotiations and Positions

Christianity Today Trump Should Be Removed from Office. It’s time to say what we said 20 years ago when a president’s character was revealed for what it was.

NYT Trump Impeachment Trial in Doubt as Democrats Weigh Withholding Articles

FOX McConnell: 'Impasse' over Trump impeachment trial, as Dems depart from precedent

NBC Trump blasts evangelical magazine after it calls him 'profoundly immoral,' seeks his removal

I listened to the Editor of CT being interviewed today. He made a good comparison. Trump is like a somewhat verbally abusive husband who the wife stays with because he is a good provider for her and their children.  The challenge is that with time he slowly grows more abusive of her and the children.  At what point should she leave him because he shows no signs of remorse or improvement?

A quote from CT that proves at least they are NOT Hypocrites like many Trump supporters.  I mean if lying to the people was bad when Clinton was in office, why is it acceptable for Trump to do so?

This concern for the character of our national leader is not new in CT. In 1998, we wrote this:

The President's failure to tell the truth—even when cornered—rips at the fabric of the nation. This is not a private affair. For above all, social intercourse is built on a presumption of trust: trust that the milk your grocer sells you is wholesome and pure; trust that the money you put in your bank can be taken out of the bank; trust that your babysitter, firefighters, clergy, and ambulance drivers will all do their best. And while politicians are notorious for breaking campaign promises, while in office they have a fundamental obligation to uphold our trust in them and to live by the law.

And this:

Unsavory dealings and immoral acts by the President and those close to him have rendered this administration morally unable to lead.

Unfortunately, the words that we applied to Mr. Clinton 20 years ago apply almost perfectly to our current president. Whether Mr. Trump should be removed from office by the Senate or by popular vote next election—that is a matter of prudential judgment. That he should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.

It is a Mad Mad World

Sometimes my conservative FB Friends, however this one seems pretty much delusional.

Impeachment..... Each and every one of you should be ashamed and pray that this doesn’t happen....and, I’ll tell you why.....

• For 8 years, we sat silent, while Obama divided our nation. 
• He used identity politics, race warfare, and class warfare to divide us all. 
• Obama thrust universal healthcare upon us and we sat silent, 
• Obama and his administration removed monuments, statues and plaques....our past, our heritage from parks and plazas in cities and small towns around the nation, and we sat silent....
• In the meantime, Hillary and Obama let 4 Americans die in Benghazi, while they watched on closed circuit TV..... Again, we were silent. 
• We watched Hillary Clinton and Donna Brazil rig a primary against Bernie Sanders. 
• We saw Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch (Attorney General at the time) sit on a flight line, only to find that Hilary was exonerated for any crime; regarding her acid washed/bleach bit server and 33,000 deleted emails. Again, we were silent....
• We have watched our duly elected president harassed each and every day, for 3 years; even though he has put millions back to work, brought jobs back to America, stood up to our adversaries, and fought like hell to protect our borders, and yet he and his family and staff are ridiculed and dismissed, and we sat silent...
• Now, we see Joe Biden leveraging $1 Billion American dollars for his son. 
• However, the Democrats and the media only care about impeaching Trump! 

So, I can tell you with the utmost certainty, if you are successful in your witch-hunt, we will NOT be silent!!!

Tread lightly...... Years ago the Japanese leaders said, “I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant.” The silent majority are pissed!!!😡

I mean who is author kidding... "We sat silent..."  Maybe he lived an alternate reality? :-) I mean:

• I don't remember Obama ever calling people who were different from him names or vilifying them like Trump does regularly.  Remember Trump calling Mexicans / Hispanics murderers and rapists.  Or his implying that Muslims are terrorists, while calling White Supremacists good people.
• I don't remember anyone passing Universal Healthcare, there was the Affordable Healthcare Act where people were required to buy good quality health insurance or they would need to pay extra taxes.  Just as we require drivers to carry quality liability insurance so the tax payers and victims don't get stuck paying their bills.  I have never understood the resistance against making people carry good quality health insurance, I mean do they prefer paying for their emergency care through our taxes, higher fees at the hospital, bankruptcy costs that we all absorb?  And again...  Who sat silent?  I have been hearing Conservatives whine about ACA since before it was passed. :-)
• And silent regarding Benghazi, give me a break.  The GOP Congress spent tons of money on investigations that came up with SQUAT...  And Hillary at least had the balls to show up and testify before Congress unlike our current spineless President. (Note: He is a civil servant, when an investigation is being held his people should answer questions under oath. Just think of squawking would would have heard from the right if Obama had said... We in the Executive Office do not need to answer to the GOP House of Representatives)
• Emails: please remember that again. Hillary produced a LOT of data, worked with FBI, testified in Congress, etc.  Unlike you know who.
• Now I voted for Trump and like some of his actions, but how can anyone respect a man who lies, name calls, etc regularly.  If you disagree, please tell me where.
• As for accomplishments: the biggest are Conservatives Judges and an unnecessary tax cut that has spiked the deficit and national debt and mortgaged our children for generations.  More info here.
• Regarding Biden...  He was just one of many who knew the individual had to go and it was done out in the public via official channels.  Please do you research.  Whereas Trump did it on the down low via his personal lawyer and the EU Ambassador who normally would not even be working in Ukraine.

Now we have a Senator who is supposed to be the jury foreman colluding with the defendant, and a President who aggressively refused to cooperate with a very legal investigation.  And a bunch of supposed law and order Republicans who are cheering on this refusal to answer simple questions under oath.  

As I say...  Would you have supported Clinton stone walling Congress?

The Will of the People?

Now I am a big supporter of what I call region weighted voting as you know. (ie electoral system)  Where a citizen's vote for President in low population states have more relative power than similar citizens in a high population state.  And yet the high population states still have more overall power because of their large populations.  I think it helps to keep America stable and cohesive.  And it ensures that the parties / presidential candidates need to pay attention to low population states as well as large population states.

 However Hiram reminded me of some stupid hypocritical rhetoric that the GOP have been using during the Impeachment Proceedings.

Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, called the articles a "baseless and partisan attempt to undermine a sitting president" when the articles were unveiled.
“House Democrats have long wanted to overturn the votes of 63 million Americans," Grisham said. "They have determined that they must impeach President Trump because they cannot legitimately defeat him at the ballot box."

They seem to have forgotten that far more American citizens voted AGAINST Trump than voted FOR Trump. Where is there concern for the voices of the 66 million citizens for Clinton?

Now as I noted to Hiram, Trump is our legal President because he won by our chosen weighted system, but to deny that more citizens really disapprove of him than approve is silly.

I keep wondering if Trump and the GOP are working to make sure they lose a couple of more states.  Though Trump likes to say he had some over whelming win, the reality is that he barely got over the finish line. And he sure has not been doing anything to gain supporters among Moderates. The only chance Trump has in 2020 is if the DEMs go too Far Left with their nominee.

2016 Vote Results

RCP Impeach Poll Summary

What about Private Devices being AWFUL?

WAPO Clinton-email critics pull a role reversal as Trump administration draws fire for private phone use

I am always amazed how hypocritical GOP politicians can be...

HP Man Obsessed With Hillary Clinton’s Private Server Hid Documents On A Secret System

Is it okay for GOP politicians to use unsecured devices and to hide their data from us citizens?

Trump Says NO to Legal Process

NYT White House Declares War on Impeachment Inquiry, Claiming Effort to Undo Trump’s Election

Well if you are certain that the evidence is bad for you, I suppose this is one way to slow things down... Tell the "court" that they do not have the right to see the evidence. :-( 

Here is the actual letter

It seems to me that they are intentionally confusing the roles.  This is an "Impeachment" Inquiry, not the "Impeachment Trial" which would be held in the Senate which the GOP controls.

I have never seen an "INNOCENT GENIUS POLITICIAN" fight so hard to keep his government workings hidden from the citizens.  Of course the Trump True Believers won't even question his motives.

Even though if Obama or Clinton had tried to hide facts and data from Congress like this, they would have been screaming cover up!!!  People are so fascinating and disturbing!!!

You Are Fired

The following report and the relative stability of the Trump entourage has me wondering:

• Will Trump be able to exercise enough self control to make it past the mid-term elections?
•  In what order will people leave after the mid-terms elections?
• Will Trump muster up enough courage to actually fire anyone?
• Or will they need to learn they are unemployed via the TV news?

FOX News Hillary Clinton says Trump will 'wholesale fire people' after midterm elections

Some food for thought
Jeff Sessions
Jim Mattis
John Kelly
The Inner Circle List
Previous Departures

Trump's 5 Assaults on Democracy

Hillary seems pretty accurate in this. USA Today Hillary Clinton charges that President Trump has launched five 'assaults' on democracy

1. Undermining the rule of law. Clinton points to news reports that Trump expected Attorney General Jeff Sessions to protect him from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, regardless of the law. She also accused Trump of urging the Justice Department to go after his political opponents. Although she didn't mention it in her essay, Clinton is one of the people Trump has publicly asked the department to investigate.
2. Failing to protect the U.S. election system from further attacks from the Russians or other foreign governments. Clinton said Trump and Republicans also are trying to suppress voter participation by putting "onerous – and I believe illegal" – regulations in place.
3. Attacking journalists and "waging war on truth and reason." Clinton talks about Trump's penchant for making false and misleading statements. She says he needs to learn to take criticism from the media and push back without destroying the free press.
4. "Breathtaking corruption." Trump promised to "drain the swamp," but instead, Clinton contends, "It’s amazing how blithely the president and his Cabinet have piled up conflicts of interest, abuses of power, and blatant violations of ethics rules."
5. Weakening national unity. "Trump doesn’t even try to pretend he’s a president for all Americans," Clinton writes. "It’s hard to ignore the racial subtext of virtually everything Trump says."

I mean there is no question about 1, 2, 3 & 5.  Trump does not believe in team building, collaboration, facts and data, encouraging peace, etc.  #4 seems accurate given the number of "Trump's best people" that got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Not sure if it is breath taking though.

Child Placement Criteria

So back on What is Welfare Waste / Fraud, we got into a topic that I feel strongly about. And on Minnpost Ryan's Farewell I made similar comments and got little back.

"Actually most of my craziest ideas are regarding making sure almost all kids are raised well. When the parents and kids fail it is often too late.  Unfortunately no one likes my ideas. So here is the question. 

Why does our society allow people who would never pass an adoption screening to make and raise babies?  Why do we pay them to do so? Then complain about the achievement gap?  Our nation’s children deserve better." G2A

"For a "small government" guy, where do you place the idea of a government that would decide who could or could not have children ?  A "child permit" before pregnancy ?  What happens with an "illegal pregnancy" ?  Only the "most worthy" allowed ?  Certainly, Mein Führer !! A master-race !" Neal 

"Small is relative... And as I said, no one likes my ideas... They are happy to protect the freedoms of the adults while babies go home with people who they would not let baby sit their own infant.  They fight to ensure that older Public Employees make more and their jobs are secure even as a large portion of our unlucky kids fail in school and life. We are putting the freedoms, incomes and security of adults ahead of those of our most helpless citizens. That is a choice we are making and many kids are suffering for it. :-(" G2A

We tried changing that system once. It's called eugenics, and it has fallen out of favor.
"Since the Clinton presidency, the government has been moving away from perpetual cash for reproduction.It also strikes me as a bit facile to link the achievement gap with welfare receipt by parents." RB 

"Eugenics: "the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics" 

My view is different...  "Children have the right to a stable home and qualified, non-stressed out, mature, supported, dedicated, etc parent(s). 

I am sorry to say, but responsible Parent(s) do not have a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 15th child when they can not afford to house and take care of child 1 or 2 themselves..." 

I don't care about the parent's genetic traits, I care about their parental capabilities, behaviors and dedication to make good choices for their children.  And unfortunately it looks like the pay for kid programs are coming back.  PBS Family Welfare Limit Changes" G2A 

"Should pretty much anyone be free to make and keep a baby in your view?
What would you do if a "not good parent" kept making babies?
Here is an update regarding the poster child for unfit mothers.
What do recommend our society do?" G2A

 The consensus of commenters has been similar to that of RB's and Neal's. In essence that adults get to keep making babies in America whether they can afford them or are capable of caring for them responsibly or not. Personally I disagree, I think our society has a duty to the child(ren) first and until we accept this responsibility the poor unlucky screwed up kids will stay with us. Angel should never have been allowed to have more than 2 children and social services should have kept a close eye on them.

Some Misc Links
Children with Emotionally Immature Parents
Politico Just Give Them Cash
Guardian Drugs and Babies
Number of Kids in Foster Care Grows
PT The Problem with Welfare Fund Recovery
Thank you to my Baby's Daddy
Lovely TI's View
BAW Dealing with Babby Daddys