With the appointment of Steve Bannon to White House Senior Counselor -- on an equal footing with the Chief of Staff -- I created the attached jpg with a new slogan.

President Elect Trump has now changed his slogan from "Make America Great Again" to

"Make America HATE Again"

This post was done in memory of the great PBS Journalist and Anchor, Gwen Ifill, whose passing was announced today.
 
Long live the First Amendment!

Please pass it along.

PENCE IS NOT A TEDDY BEAR, HE'S A  PORCUPINE!

Mike Pence may have the appearance of a Teddy Bear, but watch out!  He's really a porcupine as far as far as the issues of birth control, sexual orientation and women's rights are concerned -- and heaven knows what else.  And now Trump has put him in charge of the transition team. And you know what that means: He's going to appoint an army of porcupines to staff the White House in the days ahead.

There goes all the hard work that President Obama worked so hard to achieve in the last several years.

In 2008, Pence was the only Republican to oppose the Wall Street bailout, and he also opposed the 2009 auto bailout.  He favored balancing the budget over saving the economy.  How can anyone be so stupid?

In 2009, Pence co-sponsored the Birthright Citizenship Act, preventing babies born to undocumented immigrants to becoming United States citizens.  That would overturn the guarantees of the 14th amendment to the Constitution.

 He is firmly opposed to same-sex marriage. He co-sponsored the Marriage Protection Amendment, which would constitutionally define marriage as being between one man and one woman.  Fortunately, the Supreme Court later declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

 

He Voted to Repeal the Affordable Care Act.  Congress has tried to repeal it 50 times.  Why weren't they doing their job, like adding to our infrastructure -- building and repairing roads and bridges and everything else.

 As Governor of Illinois, he enacted a law that would put gay and lesbian partners in jail for applying for a marriage license.  Simply by signing the application. Up to four years in jail.

Mike Pence supports anti-gay reparative therapy, that sometimes includes electro-shock. Sounds like he studied under Dr. Josef Mengele at Auschwitz.  

Barack Obama -- A World Class Leader of a World Class Democracy

Wednesday’s meeting (Nov. 09, 2016) of President Obama with President Elect Trump a the shinning example of a world-class democracy. It would have made our founders proud. Contrast this with the iron-fisted, bloody transitions in all-too-many countries around the world.

President Obama said, “My number-one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our President-elect is successful. Because if he is successful, then our country will be successful.” That’s putting the country first, above all other considerations.

Contrast that with the snarky remarks by Majority Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell, on President Obama’s entry into the White House eight years ago. He ungraciously said in a meeting with all Republican Senators that “…their top political priority is to deny President Obama a second term.”

That’s putting party before the country and its people. But fortunately for the country, that effort failed to stop Obama’s outstanding two-term Presidency.

Hitler and Trump: A Scary Comparison
Being in the Octogenarian’s Club, we have had the privilege of witnessing some of the most momentous events in our country’s history: the Great Depression, WWII, the Atomic Bomb, Moon Landing, the creation of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Watergate, the Voting Right Act, School Desegregation and the election of the first African American, Barack Obama, as President of the United States.
But that is nothing compared to World War II in our nation’s ability to come together -- to defeat Nazi and Japanese militaristic aggression. The threat was very real, and the outcome uncertain.  In the early 1940s, our ships carrying needed supplies to England — the only surviving European nation — were being sunk right outside our harbors by U-Boats.  All discretionary U.S. manufacturing was stopped and diverted to building thousands of tanks, planes and ships every week — assembled in large measure by our able-bodied female population.  General Eisenhower went on to command the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world at Normandy. That was the beginning of the end for Nazism.  

The Rise of Hitler
The lesson of that war, which we need to reflect upon today, is how Hitler was able to take a highly advanced and cultured nation like Germany and turn it into a hideous war machine.  Populism and nationalism were on the rise, and Germany was suffering under crushing inflation, which was wiping out savings and tearing at the economy.  Hitler’s evil genius was to invent an enemy, the Jews and inferior races of Europe, which he could blame for all the country’s ills. And to literally wipe out anyone who did not fit the ideal Ayran (read German) mold: Gypsies, Jews, “inferior races,” and most anyone mentally  or physically challenged.   It was basically a “Make Germany Great Again,” philosophy.  And its success depended on three major factors: An anxious, low information population looking for easy answers; a Hitler-directed campaign of hate directed at the above elements in the population; and as Edmund Burke once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” He got citizens to do his dirty work, “under the radar” by organizing teams of thugs called Brown Shirts.  They later morphed into the despicable Waffen-SS organization.  

Here we go again
Fast forward 80 years.  The stage is eerily similar.  Populism and nationalism are again on the rise.  People are looking for easy and quick answers. It’s each country for itself, consequences be damned.  Look at how the U.K. has shot itself in the foot by leaving the European Union with BREXIT. 
Donald Trump is, frankly, following many of Hitler’s crowd-rousing techniques.  First is “Make America Great Again,” which is taken right out of Hitler’s appeal to anxious Germans in the 1930s. Then, there is antagonism and hatred against Mexicans, Syrian refugees, people of color, the physically and mentally challenged.  Even disparaging remarks about women who don’t measure up to an Aryan ideal.  And he is offering quick solutions for all the country’s ills.  It’s basically the argument of Hitler in the 1930s: Let me take over and I, and I alone, will solve all the country’s problems.  Those are the pronouncements of a dictator.

And the rabble rousing, gun toting Second-Amendment fans of Donald Trump are now trying to intimidate voters at the voting both — even brandishing guns and by shooting video of voters. And Trump has fanned these flames by telling his supporters to police voting areas in Philadelphia and other voting sites with large minority populations — even though that is an outrageously illegal act. If this isn’t taking a page from Hitler’s playbook, I don’t know what is.   

The Real Issues
So the issue for everyone entering a voting booth next Tuesday is not to examine the latest string of accusations between candidates, but to look realistically at what’s going on in the world and the country and who can lead us through it.  Not just to cover it over with bluster, but to lead.  
Hillary’s motto is “Stronger Together,” which is an inclusive philosophy, and it’s just what we did, nationally and internationally, in the 1940s to win World War II.  Right now, there is a movement in the world toward xenophobia, and the world is looking at us to lead the way back to sanity.  The answer is to work with our international partners.  We need them, and they need to trust us.
And nationally, we think Hillary has developed a broader view of what needs to be done to solve our country’s internal challenges because of her contest with Bernie Sanders. Finally, as Bernie has said, “Enough of your XXXX emails.”  Yes, she admitted that setting up a personal email server was a mistake and she apologized.  So, Hillary has shown that she can change.  And we think that is the most important characteristic for a President of the United States.  Take a measured view of the challenges ahead and work with our partners in the House and Senate to achieve solutions, not to cling naively to an exclusionary ideology. 

But we know one thing will be constant, and that is her untiring efforts over the years to give all of our children a better, brighter future.  And we are sure that she and her good friend, Michelle Obama will continue these efforts over the next four years. 

This time, we cannot allow evil to triumph.  Good people cannot stand by and do nothing.   
We are voting for Hillary next Tuesday!

Dan and Mary Udell
397 Old State Route 82
Taghkanic, NY 12521
518-851-7044