Conventions Are Over - 104 Days to Vote - What The Hell Do We Do Now?

Day 3 and 4 - The DNC Convention,

 What Do We Do Now? 104 Days To Vote

2016 Democratic National Convention - Philadelphia, PA

Democratic National Convention - Days 3 

     After the gavel in on Day 3 Erica Smegielski was the first speaker. Erica’s mother Dawn was the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary and was killed while trying to protect her students.The full schedule of speakers can be found here from WTOP.com: Full schedule of speakers for Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA The headliners were Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama. Vice President Nominee Tim Kaine accepted the nomination for Vice President.

     So President Barack Obama delivered another speech as only a good orator could, Unfortunately he, and other speakers, in going with how we are a great country he sort of, let's say, stretched the truth a little bit. Here are some things fact-checkers found without having done their entire speeches as yet. Don't these people think that fact-checkers are going to check what they say?

• President Barack Obama claimed that under his administration, “we finally began to wean ourselves off foreign oil,” but dependency on imported oil had begun to drop years before he took office.
• The president repeated a frequent boast that the U.S. “doubled our production of clean energy” during his tenure. Monthly renewable energy production has gone up 40 percent.
• Obama said deficits have “come down” under his administration. That’s true, but they are expected to rise again soon under his proposed budget.
• Vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine falsely referred to economist Mark Zandi as “John McCain’s chief economic adviser during the ’08 race,” in touting an estimate of job loss under Donald Trump’s proposals. In fact, Zandi is a Democrat.
• Rev. Jesse Jackson wrongly said “we have not lost a single job, a single month” since Obama became president, and he was also off in saying the U.S. trades “more with Mexico than we do with China.”
• Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta falsely claimed that Trump “says he gets his foreign policy experience from … running the Miss Universe pageant.” Trump didn’t say that was his foreign policy experience.
• Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid claimed that the GOP ticket wanted to “gamble” Social Security “in the stock market.” But Trump’s campaign has called for making no changes to Social Security.
• Kaine claimed that Trump said he “wants to abandon” our NATO allies. Trump has said that he doesn’t want the U.S. to leave NATO, but has suggested he would not automatically defend NATO allies that do not pay their share of defense costs.

     There was some good in that this convention actually had more viewers that the celebrity show candidate drew, hopefully that will mean more Democrats come out on November 8, 2016 and vote for every Senator and Congressman and woman running. In "the takeaways" by The New York Times America first — in the world. From The New York Times "Takeaways" of the DNC Convention    they said "The third night of Mrs. Clinton’s Democratic National Convention, heavy on national security themes, could have been titled “America First in the World.” Democrats celebrated the country’s diversity, with Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the vice-presidential nominee, ladling on the Spanish. Prominent Democratic hawks, including Leon Panetta, a former C.I.A. director and secretary of defense, made the case for internationalism and multilateral engagement, harking back to the Cold War tradition." The Fix section of The Washington Post give you their Winners and losers from the third night of the Democratic convention . Overall, a good line-up of speakers; 

Democratic National Convention - Days 4

     The finale, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination. By now I'm way too upset at Hillary. The straw that broke the camel's back was when she "promoted" the Former Chair of the DNC Debbie Wasserman-Schultz moments after she was forced to resign after hacked e-mails showed there was a concerted effort to hurt Senator Bernie Sander's campaign. She could stand up there and promise the moon and just how many of the 70% of Americans that consider her "untrustworthy" are going to believe a word she says. Well, when you look at how many supporters the narcissistic, misogynistic, hateful, racist, businessman/celebrity reality show host, Republican Nominee for President of the United States has, it's not easy to answer that question. "The Democratic nominee for United States president made a play for progressives, moderates, and Independents alike during her address in Philadelphia on Thursday night." Hillary Clinton Begins Building Her Coalition  David A. Graham, The Atlantic reported "While Clinton did not skip over the historic aspect of her nomination, she spent most of her hour-long speech emphasizing two, interlocking themes: the importance of community and togetherness, and the fundamental unfitness of the Republican nominee for office."

So Here We Are - Two Horrible Candidates With 104 Days Left

      I am really angry that the current political system has given us these two candidates to us to choose from for the President Of The United States (POTUS). They say we have a two party system. I had to look for options, I always looked for all my options when I was in business and had to make an important decision. So I looked for people that I can have an honest conversation with, to help me find what options I have.

What Are Our Options? Do We Have Any?

     I've been following and conversing with some people for a few years on Facebook. Many people I follow, to see what they post, are passionate about their beliefs, most are quite outgoing and have no trouble telling you what they think about anything they think is important to them. There are also a couple people that I share thoughts with as they do with me and I find them to be quite intelligent, passionate and stimulate my intellect and thought process. I find that they share accurate information (I do a lot of fact-checking and research) and express their thoughts without being disrespectful, hateful, or immoral. I don't know if they would want me to use their names in my blog so I'll just ask them, if they want, to please comment on this post and tell me, and my readers, Why, or Why Not, should people consider, with the two bad choices we have to vote for, for POTUS, or not consider, Jill Stein, Green Party Candidate for President of the United States? In fact, I invite all readers to comment on this question. 

     
     There are two people in particular that I speak to on Facebook that I eluded to above, I find to be very intelligent and speak truthful about facts and I respect their thoughts and opinions. As to the first one, I'll call him, Knowledgeable, Insightful, Respectful, Facebook Friend #1,  We disagree on some things and that is O.K. and is normal. He has lived through some history that I haven't (he's a tad older) and can site facts, and his prospective of what happened in some situations, movements, events, and eras.  He got involved by speaking up and voicing his educated opinion. He got involved because he cared enough about our country. He witnessed the Civil Rights movement first hand. He served in Vietnam and took the time during, and after, to find out as much as he could about what it was all about. He can tell you things you wouldn't read in any media. I've just decided while I was writing this post that I'm going to ask him, both actually, if they would consider being a contributing author to this blog. I'm sure any readers I have would enjoy their contributions. Anyway, today I was talking to Knowledgeable, Insightful, Respectful, Facebook Friend #1 about the "war on drugs" as it were, and he explained how opium was actually transported by Air America, a division of the CIA during the Vietnam war. My brother who served in Vietnam also had talked about them a number of times so I had heard of them before. They had silver helicopters and were indeed part of the CIA, and there wasn't a bunch more information available about them at that time. These facts are not disputed today. He can tell you, Knowledgeable, Insightful, Respectful, Facebook Friend #1,  the motivations behind the Iran/Contra dealings and much, much more. The "war on drugs" conversation that he linked "Air America" to went on. But I digress. The reason I bring him up is that we have been talking over the course of the past couple years and we find that we are both very angry at the choices we have for POTUS. I said that I really wish we had someone else to vote for, that I really dislike the candidates. I was pretty much giving in as far as saying I can't vote for Trump, I may have to vote for Hillary. I will point out what I like and dislike about Trump and Clinton in the next section, although I can tell you now that it will mostly be what I don't like. So I asked what his thoughts were on the election.

    Knowledgeable, Insightful, Respectful, Facebook Friend #1 made it clear that knowing me, and how active I am in politics, that I would not be content "voting for the lesser of two evils," and he was right. I think a lot of people use that and actually end up voting against someone, instead of for someone. He then said I should look at the Green Party candidate, so I did. I've been looking and researching for two days and I like what I see. I have hesitation that since no third party candidate is ever going to get anywhere near the $2B of free exposure that Trump has gotten, if ANY, that votes for a third party candidate would simply draw votes away from Hillary Clinton, therefore giving the worst candidate in the history of America, for President, a win. But he said if you're not willing to even look at the candidate and try, and vote for someone you despise, how are you going to feel. How will we ever get away from the crooked, lying, disrespectful, broken, system we have now? He hit a nerve. So I started looking at Jill Stein, Green Party Presumptive Nominee for President of the United States.

Who Is Jill Stein? Why Is She An Alternative To Clinton and Trump for President?

    

     Jill Ellen Stein (G-MA) (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and politician. She is currently the Green Party's presumptive nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election. Stein was the nominee of the Green Party for President of the United States in 2012, and was twice a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts—in 2002 and 2010. She received 469,501 votes in 2012 (0.36% of the total votes), more than any other female general election candidate.^[11] On June 22, 2015, during an appearance on Democracy Now!, Stein formally announced she would seek the Green Party's 2016 presidential nomination. (From Wikileaks - Read More)

     She was born and raised in Highland Park, IL and lives  Stein is married to Richard Rohrer, who is also a physician. They live in Lexington, Massachusetts, and have two adult sons. In 1973, Stein graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, sociology, and anthropology. She then attended Harvard Medical School and graduated in 1979. After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Stein practiced internal medicine for 25 years.

     Her platform is called "Our Power to the People Plan" includes Climate Action: Protecting Mother Earth and Humanity; Jobs as a Right, and Key Support for Labor;
End Poverty; Health Care as a Right, and much more. She has actual plans unlike one of the candidates running in the "two-party" system. (Read Jill Stein's Platform here) If you are a Bernie Sanders supporter there is a lot to like here.

     Some news has been coming out and Sanders supporters are taking notice:

     Seattle Times July 28, 2016: the said "On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders urged his supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton in a prime-time speech from the Democratic National Convention stage in Philadelphia. That same day, socialist Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant — who had backed Sanders — told a crowd at a rally across town to continue Sanders’ “political revolution,” not by following his lead, but by voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein." Read More: Thinking of voting for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson? Here are their policy positions

     Politico June 19, 2016:  After an anxiety-inducing and divisive primary, Democrats are starting to breathe easier. Bernie Sanders, while not formally conceding to Hillary Clinton, has turned his fire on Donald Trump. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the darling of the left before Sanders, has effusively endorsed Clinton. So at last the presumptive nominee can hope to gather in all those unhappy Bernie voters and lead a united Democratic Party in the fall, right?
Not if Dr. Jill Stein has anything to say about it.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/2016-campaign-election-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-green-party-jill-stein-progressives-liberal-213972#ixzz4FqKxd7aC

 

Check out Jill Stein's Facebook Page 

                 Jill Stein's Twitter Page 

                 

     O.K. I started writing this post to close out my thoughts on the Democratic National Convention. It took on a whole new direction as I came to find out that we have two candidates that for numerous reasons, will NOT  do the right thing if your in the 99%. We need to look elsewhere, and that is where this post started to be about the "Other" choice, Jill Stein.

Why Not Hillary Clinton? Think About It, Carefully

     I find many, many, things that displease me with her. She is a former board member of Monsanto, and other large corporations that I despise. She has been paid $225,000 per hour to speak at Goldman Sacs on a couple of occasions. She has close ties with many other Wall Street firms, and receives more donations from them then other candidates, that I'm comfortable with. I don't believe for a minute that she will push to get Glass-Steagal put back, or get Dodd-Frank implemented, which was actually passed July 15, 2010 more than 2200 days ago and still has not been fully implemented. It calls for those TBTF banks and institutions to be broken up. Glass-Steagal was regulations put in place after the great depression, removed by George W. Bush which allowed these banks and institutions to become TBTF. Instead of those 29 being broken up they are actually BIGGER today, and to beat all, there are now MORE than 29! When the financial crisis occurred in 2008 there were 29 banks and financial institutions that were Too Big To Fail (TBTF) and the taxpayers had to bail them out. Dodd-Frank was passed after those very institutions put large sums of money (that we helped them make) into blocking it. After it passed they have put even bigger amounts of money, and lobbyist have been successful in blocking it's implementation. H.R. 4173 (111th): Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . Hillary Clinton was for the TPP but now says she's against it. She set up a personal server hidden in a closet across the country and said it was because she only wanted to use one device. It was proven beyond any doubt she used several devices. She traveled all over the world, where we have people and countries that don't like us, and have the capabilities to hack those devices, and she knowingly sent and received confidential information. WTF?! Just so she could hide her dealings with foreign nations to get money funneled into the Clinton Foundation. She acts dumb when asked why she would not only delete 30,000 e-mails but then have the hard drives professionally "wiped clean" before turning it over. Really?! And she didn't understand what she was doing? GIVE ME A BREAK! 

Donald Trump

     I find it mind boggling that so many Americans are so gullible as to believe a word of what this hateful, racist, narcissistic, ignorant (about everything a President would actually have to know and learn), misogynistic, bullshit artist has come out of his mouth. He displays his ignorance everyday and people still rally behind him. It sickens me that he says he will run this country likes his businesses. He has ripped off so many people that did business with him, and many people struggling to get by, that he had his con-artist's  at Trump University scam money from. He is a hateful, greedy, racist, narcissistic, misogynistic, reality TV host, that doesn't know the first thing of what it will take to run this country. His son, Donald Jr., interviewed Governor Kasich as part of the Vice-President vetting process. Donald Jr. asked Governor Kasich what he thought about being "the most Powerful Vice-President that ever lived?" Governor Kasich said "well, how would that be?" Donald Jr. said "because you will be in charge of all domestic and foreign policy." Governor Kasich said "well, that's everything, what would Donald Trump be doing?" Donald Jr. replied "making America great again." ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?!

     I'm done for now, I have to calm down. Please think about not voting for the lesser of two evils. Take a look at Jill Stein. Remember that our next President is going to pick probably at least 2 U.S Supreme Court Justices nominees and may as many as 4-5. Also remember that their are a lot of seats open in the House and Senate. We need to fire the obstructionists that have been holding this country hostage by not doing what they get paid for. They don't care, they know that they will get high salaries being lobbyists when they do finally get kicked out of office.

     Please respond with your comments, I welcome them.

 

Impressions of Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention

Day Two - Democratic National Convention

 

July 27, 2016 - New York, John A. Smith Founder/Editor 

So Hacked E-mails Prove the DNC was Working Against the Sanders Campaign

     You would think that the candidate that has 70% of all the people in America finding her UNTRUSTWORTHY would handle it well. So what did she do when Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign as Chair of the Democratic Nation Committee (DNC)? Well, within minutes she PROMOTED HER! WTF?! Yes, soon to be nominated (at the time she promoted DWS) the first woman to ever be nominated for President of the United States, from a major party Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) couldn't give a bigger slap in the face to Bernie Sanders (I-VT) or his supporters. If this doesn't show that she is loyal to people who help her with her lying, scheming, unconscionable, ruthlessness, nothing will. Mission Accomplished at DNC, Clinton Hires Wasserman Schultz for Top Post

How  About the Fact That She Had Mothers of Men Killed By Police But Nothing About the Cops That Were Ambushed and Killed Trying To Protect Everyone?

      Yes, HRC decided to have mothers of black men killed by police. Yes, maybe absurd, unlawful, deaths, by a few cops out of hundreds of thousands. The media never tells you about some of the reasons that some of them are "known to police." Like Alton Sterling, who the media only say "was a father a five." He was also a convicted felon for numerous violent crimes who should NOT have had a gun. He was also a pedophile who impregnated a 13 y/o girl who he raped. They don't tell you he was a former gang-banger for the "Bloods." Does that give police a reason to shoot him when they have him on the ground? No. But you are not given the full story by the bias media, just know that. As far as having the grieving mothers on the stage to be part of whatever they were trying to portray, what about the Police Officers families of the slain, ambushed, murdered, police officers that were out there putting THEIR lives on the line to protect EVERYONE? Did HRC think that they didn't deserve representation at her little dog and pony show? It disgusts me that the political campaigns politicize tragedies and those mostly affected for political gain. Just like the Republicans with Benghazi and the mother of one of the victims having to write a letter to the NY Times saying she wished the Republicans wouldn't use her son's death for political gain, in a cynical way like that.

Most Important Is That This Election Still Has Much Importance

      Even though I am so disgusted, and disheartened at the fact that our democracy is almost totally destroyed if it hasn't already been, we MUST GET OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 8, 2016!

The Republicans have been doing nothing but OBSTRUCTING since the very day President Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009. Do you realize that it's been more than 120 days since President Obama nominated Merrick Garland who has an impeccable record, and not heavily liberal, he is what they would call a "moderate" candidate? But in this unprecedented obstruction they won't even give him a hearing, much less a vote! President Obama's Supreme Court Nomination Did you know that obstructing to the point where they were actually deemed the "Worst Congress In United States History" because of simple inaction. That was the 113th Congress. But then they topped that by making the 114th Congress the "Worst Congress In United States History." Worst Congress Ever 

     There are many U.S. Senate seats and U.S. Congressional seats up for election and the Democrats need to get those seats back if we don't want our obstructionist Republican-controlled Senate and Congress to continue to destroy the country. Their greed is so blatant they don't even care to hide it anymore! They actual go the their offices and do nothing! Oh, except make deals with special interests so they will be be well "taken care of" when they leave office. How do they do that? Well there are few bills they sneak by, the ones that get the 1%er's something they want, or large corporations something THEY want. But they won't even pass bills that used to be automatic! Our infrastructure is crumbling, 85% of bridges on our roads have been declared deficient. Fixing these things before more tragedies happen don't matter to them, even though they would create good paying jobs. Why? Because on that very day that President Barack Obama was sworn in, in a hotel miles from the inauguration they made a pact to be against ANYTHING that the President was for. WE NEED TO GET OUT AND VOTE NOVEMBER 8, 2016! 

 

Impressions of Day One of the Democratic National Convention

 

 

Day One - Democratic National Convention

July 26, 2016 - New York, John A. Smith Founder/Editor 

It Looked Like Day One Was Going To Be More Chaotic Than Republicans

     Watching the first day of the Democratic National Convention unfold it looked like it was going to be even more chaotic than the Republicans convention. First, the release of over 20,000 e-mails by Wikileaks showing that the DNC was not only favoring Hillary Rodham-Clinton (D-NY) but actually working against Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) campaign. This did not sit well with supporters of Bernie Sanders and riled up Bernie-or-Bust supporters even more. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) had to step aside as Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) amid the news. The emails also reveal a close relationship between mainstream media outlets and the DNC. She initially resigned but said her resignation would become effective after the convention, and that she would still gavel the convention open and would close it as well. She addressed delegates from her home state of Florida at a breakfast and was shouted down by Bernie supporters booing her and holding up signs that read "e-mails." Donna Brazile, a veteran Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor, author, and syndicated columnist who was announced as the interim Chair of the DNC. It became clear that Debbie Wasserman Schultz would not be able to appear on stage at the convention without problems so finally she had no choice but to announce that she would not be appearing at the convention. Then it was announced that Marcia Fudge (D-OH) was to be the permanent Chair and would gavel open the proceedings. Bernie Sanders also addressed the Philadelphia delegates early in the day, possibly to allow the "steam-valve" to release some of the pressure and was himself booed by his own supporters when he said they should vote for Hillary Clinton.

The Democratic National Convention Officially Opens

     So the convention was opened by Marcia Fudge with the Bernie-or-bust supporters being quite loud  and the new Chair said she wanted to hear everyone's opinions and that she will "respect everyone and expects to be respected." A MSNBC reporter at one point said that the California delegation, who had the most, and loudest, Bernie-or-bust supporters, planned to rip up the "Stronger Together" signs when speakers asked for supporters to vote for Hillary Clinton or come together in unity. Bernie-or-bust supporters continued to heckle and distract as speakers said to come together and support Hillary Clinton. 

Speakers Who Shined and Turned it Around

     First it must be said that the first relief came in the form of comedy by Al Franken (D-MN) who showed he still has it telling the crowd that "we will have fun this week, but come Monday we must work hard." He said that people with children need to make calls and knock on doors, "the children will be fine." He said "8 year-old children know how to use a microwave, and 8 year-old children can teach 4 year-old children how to use the microwave." "They'll be fine." Then Sarah Silverman, an American stand-up comedian, actress, producer and writer, a strong Bernie Sanders supporter in the primary, from the beginning of his campaign, came out to address the convention and told the crowd "I'm with her," in requesting unity in the party. As Silverman was told to "stretch" meaning Paul Simon an American musician, singer-songwriter and actor. was not quite ready to come out and sing Bridge Over Troubled Water, Al Franken came out and joined her. The California delegation Bernie-or-bust supporters were again getting loud and Sarah Silverman was getting visibly upset and said to those supporters "can I just say to the Bernie-or-bust supporters - "your being ridiculous." A line that will surely be in the reports of the conference. Then came Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) who gave the most energetic and powerful speech of the night, bringing up a lot of history and making former President Bill Clinton smile, a lot. His speech, said Eugene Robinson, a Pulitzer-prize winner and MSNBC contributor was "reminiscent of then Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, the United States of America speech where he said "there's not a blue state America, there's not red states of America, there's only a United States of America". Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) did her part speaking about Donald Trump's (R-NY) many, many, faults and incompetence. First Lady Michelle Obama once again hit it out of the park. Talking about her, and President Barack Obama's, daughters, calling them "two beautiful black young women," and to children "across the nation," she said "don't let anyone ever tell you this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again, this right now is the greatest country on earth." When the first lady came on stage, the heckling, and loud outbursts, stopped, and the arena became quiet. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) did what he needed to do with much grace and intensity. At times sounding like his stump speech he came through and gave good reason to get on board and said "we must elect Hillary Clinton the next President of the United States. He didn't get booed as he did when he spoke to the Philadelphia delegates earlier in the day, or at least it wasn't as noticeable on this broadcast. He did say to his supporters he was looking forward to the 1800+ committed delegates voting for him today, meaning there will be a roll call of all the states voting for their candidates.

What to Expect Tonight

     The roll call votes of delegates may again cause some contention but hopefully it will again end with more unity. The schedule for tonight, reported by Politico is as follows:

Tuesday:
Democratic National Committee Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation Donna Brazile
Former State Senator Jason Carter (Georgia)
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (California) and the Democratic Women of the House
Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards
President Bill Clinton
Gavel time expected at 4:30 p.m.
Also scheduled Tuesday are Mothers of the Movement members Gwen Carr, Mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, Mother of Dontré Hamilton; Lucia McBath, Mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, Mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, Mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Geneva Reed-Veal, Mother of Sandra Bland.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/dnc-2016-schedule-of-events-and-speakers-225617#ixzz4FWIRQo00

      The Grand Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police produced a statement yesterday that said in part "We are shocked, angered and saddened the convention planners have invited the survivors of several who have tragically, died as a result of altercations with police officers to speak at the convention, while totally ignoring the survivors of brave officers who were gunned down in ambushes in places like Dallas, and Baton Rouge, and Kansas City.

     It looks like it will be another interesting night. Until then

11 Dallas Police Officers Shot - 5 Dead - 1 Civilian Injured - Enough Is Enough!

July 8, 2016, New York, John A. Smith, Editor and Founder of Get Involved For A Better America blog, and Facebook page Stop The Obstructionist Tea Party    
  
     Working in New York City's Emergency Medical Services I had occasion to come in contact with police officers immediately after they were involved in a shooting. I transported some of them, included one that had shot himself in the foot from the extreme amount of adrenaline released in your body when someone shoots at you. And yes, I transported the body of a dead police officer, Ray Canon of Smithtown, NY. who was killed by four 16 and 17 year old who were robbing Frenchie's Bike Shop on 108th St. and Flatlands Ave.

     My first comments must be that my heart and sincere condolences go out to the families and friends of those officers shot, and killed. We MUST  do some things to try to prevent the things that are happening in this country. The hatred, racism, gun violence, unjust shootings, and a host of other problems that lead to events like what happened in Dallas, Louisiana, and Minnesota.

     I came in contact with, and/or transported, at least 10 police officers immediately after they were involved in a shooting. I can tell you this, not ONE of them were "happy" to be involved in the situation. I had a partner in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) left to go to the NYPD academy. After 9 months of training he graduated and was put on the streets of New York City (NYC.) After only one month on the streets he found himself in a shoot-out. The massive amount of adrenaline released when he was shot at caused him to draw his weapon and start firing. He missed his foot but emptied the gun BEFORE he was able to raise his arm up to a level position! He quit the next day and returned to EMS.

     The officers I treated and transported were in varying states of shock, one was staring into space and couldn't speak, all were shaking uncontrollably. I was once stopped at a light at Springfield Blvd. in Queens when a car passed by rapidly with an unmarked police car right behind. The first car stopped abruptly about 100' past where we were. The driver got out and started firing at the police officer in the unmarked car. My partner and I realized the bullets had to go by our ambulance really close. That was sobering. The point is no police officer is looking forward to being in a situation where their life is in danger.

     We must ask ourselves the following questions and come up with reasonable and effective solutions. We must be honest with ourselves. Here are some questions I would like discussed along with my beliefs:

1.      Q: Are some Police Officers racist? Yes. In any profession with as many people as the police departments you are bound to have some that are racist.  Action needed: There must be better screening, action taken when an officer does things that are racist and superiors that know of a racist cop must get them out of law enforcement. As a Paramedic I treated every patient as if they were a family member. Once in awhile I would get a partner who was clearly not in the right place as far as how they treated certain patients, I refused outright to ride with them. 
2.      Q: Do police officers perceive people of color to be more dangerous and therefore a bigger treat? Yes. I believe that there are some officers who perceive people of color to be a bigger threat. I think that one reason is that out of all the most dangerous situations officers have been in a majority is with people of color and therefore feel when they are in a dangerous situation with a person of color they are more at risk. But this goes for other people as well. For instance, when PCP ( a hallucinogenic drug) was popular I would encounter someone high on PCP, they were many times presenting with eyes bulging, sweating profusely, and  often would not feel any pain, even when hurting themselves. You can bet that officers who had to deal with people in this state also perceived that the person presented a bigger threat. Action needed: There is no way stop someone from perceptions that they have or get. However, training could help officers recognize their perceptions and try to deal with them. People need to understand that police officers are often confronted with real threats and sometimes only have a split second to react. However, training might suggest that the first thing a police officer does when presented with a threat is to assess whether they have a way to back away, deescalate the situation so that they can process the situation and threat. This won't be the case in some situations. If the officer has a few seconds to assess the threat and situation there may be a different outcome.
3.      Q: Why are officers on the street after they have been recognized to use excessive force on numerous occasions? Action needed: Administration and Supervisors must also be assessed. There are indeed departments that have systemic problems where the administration itself is bad. They, the administrative personnel and Supervisors that  have to be removed if they themselves are racist or have a mentality that is not conducive to good policing.

          These are just a few questions that I have, there are many more.  We must understand that the large majority of police officers go out everyday, putting their lives on the line, deal with the most dangerous and violent people, and have the mentality that they are there to protect and serve their communities. For the families that lost a police officer in Dallas, a father, a husband, a brother, ( I don't know if a female officer was killed, if so, a wife, a mother, a sister, etc.) it's a horribly sad event that happened.

John Oliver Examines the One Proposal that Trump has Actually Shared Anything on "HOW" He would Execute

      "I'm Going To Build A Wall, A GREAT Wall, It's Going To Be So GREAT, The BEST Wall Ever, and Mexico Is Going To Pay For It"  - Donald Trump

John A. Smith, Editor/Founder of this blog "Get Involved For A Better America" March 27, 2016

People Angry At "Bought And Paid For Politicians" and "Establishment"

     Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has got people into a frenzy, and some have become violent, partly because he "says things the way they really are," according to the supporters. Granted that it has become painfully obvious that people, in general, both Republican and Democrats, are angry that politicians who accept very large donations from 1%er's and large corporations are indeed indebted to those contributors, and therefore laws are made to protect and assist them without any regard for the actual people that those politicians are supposed to be representing. Up to as many as 70% of people in polls have said they are disgusted with 1) Politicians who are bought and paid for by the rich and corporations, and 2) so called "establishment" politicians who "go along to get along" and whom just go through the motions of looking like they are representing their constituents but are actually working for their party and the large contributors. At times the obstructionists in the Republican party have threatened their own members with running someone against them in their next primary if they don't vote the way the party wants them to, which is against anything President Obama supports. With this being a fact, Trump has been able to soar in polls and get followers to vote for him in primaries. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has also inspired a number of young people to get involved in the political process because they want things to change. The number of people that show up at Senator Sanders rallies is astounding, and shows people want someone that is straight talking and for the people, not for the corporations and ultra rich. Sanders also is able to do the straight talk, and tell the truth. He is able to say what is on his mind because he has received over 6 million individual donations which average only $27 per donation. Sanders is not taking the kind of money from Wall Street and 1%er's like other candidates in the Presidential campaigns and does not have a Super PAC like Hillary Clinton (D-NY) whose Super PAC recently raised over $15M. He speaks the truth because he's not a puppet, and not beholden to 1%er's and large corporations. Sanders has been said to be organizing a "revolution" which is bringing a lot of young people into politics. That is why when there is a large voter turn out Bernie Sanders does very well. Hillary Clinton just took 5 days off her campaign for fundraising, fundraising from the 1%er's and corporations which people are unhappy about. This has lead to Trump making outrageous, unrealistic, false, statements and outright lies that he knows will get people riled up. He actually makes fun of his supporters, he has said things like "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any supporters." Not only are his proposals mostly unrealistic but are impossible to execute, unconstitutional, and require others to adhere to his ridiculous ideas  ("Mexico will pay for the wall"), which don't seem likely at all. His proposal to ban any Muslims from entering the country is just ridiculous because 1) every country that has flights to the United States would have to require Custom Agents to screen all passengers by asking them if they are Muslim. It isn't realistic to think that Mr. Trump would be able to get that kind of cooperation from all over the world to go along with his proposal. n if that happened, it never would, you would have to have the "Muslim" say they were Muslim. Who on earth thinks that an actual terrorist that is Muslim would answer "yes" to the question from a customs officer "Are you Muslim?" because the only way to know if someone is Muslim is by asking them; and 2) those passengers that were asked if they were Muslim would have to answer yes knowing that when they did they would be denied boarding! For a Muslim to say yes, he or she is a Muslim when they know they will not be able to board, especially a Muslim terrorist, is just not realistic and in fact absurd. It is truly insane to try to understand why people actually follow, and believe, Donald Trump. Knowing what we do about voters and the fact of why they are truly angry at the way things are we understand why people like to hear things that Trump blurts out, off the cuff, but to believe he could actually do what he proposes when he offers no actual ways of doing them is just dumb. Trump says all these things like his slogan "We will make America GREAT again, "the wall will be a GREAT wall," "Mexico will pay for the wall," "I will make the BEST deals and wipe out the bad deals that our leaders have made," but has rarely ever said HOW he would do any of it. Since one of the first things he said he would do is "build a wall" he has actually gotten pressed enough to give a few specifics about his idea of this wall. He said initially that the wall would cost "about $4B, they say $10B but it would only cost $4B if you know what your doing." And this is where John Oliver on "Last Week Tonight" on HBO Sundays at 10PM ET picks up the story.

John Oliver Examines the One Proposal That Trump has Actually Shared Any Specifics About - THE WALL

     Donald Trump said "the wall will cost about $4B, they say $10B but it will be $4B if you know what your doing." John Oliver started by saying "lets look at a serious proposal by a serious candidate seriously." Trump subsequently changed his estimates of what the wall would cost to: "the wall will cost about $6B; then he said the wall will cost $8B-$10B"; then to "the wall will cost maybe $12B." "Trump's margin of error is equal to the entire GDP of Moldova." said Oliver.

State flag of Moldova

     During a stump speech by Trump a child asked "what will the wall be made of"? Trump said that's a great question and brought the boy up on stage. His answer was "hardened concrete, reinforcement bars (rebar) and steel." Trump has given numerous statements about how tall the wall would be, he has answered anywhere from 35' to 90'. Actual estimates for a 35 foot wall, by experts, put the cost as follows: $10B for the concrete panels, $6B for steel and labor, $1B for footings, $2B to build roads so 20-ton trucks can get the materials to the site, and another 30% for design, engineering, and management. That puts the estimated cost at 2-6 times Trumps estimate, that's $25B. That's not worst thing. Two other factors are worse than the cost estimates, 1) The government has no buffer between the border and where the fence would be built (because a lot of the border is actually the Rio Grande river) causing the government to either have the land signed over by the property owners, or taken away from those property owners. That happened when GWB ordered a 700 mile fence. One couple was told they have to sign over 3/4 of their property, they said no, so the government used eminent domain and took their property. This same scenario happened many, many, times. 2) Studies showed that maintenance would pass the construction costs in seven years meaning the maintenance would cost more than $25B every seven years. In addition there are other problems. GWB signed a law to build the fence and allowed waived 36 laws allowing Homeland Security to ignore those laws. Laws like the "Endangered Species Act" and 35 others. While they were building the 700 mile wall the government unearthed graves, sacred burial grounds. Perhaps the biggest problem with the efficacy of the wall stopping illegal immigration is that more than half of illegal aliens entering the country do so by coming through actual controlled border points. They enter on work, and other visas and simply overstay their visas time. The next problem is that drug cartels build and use tunnels, and actually have devices to simply launch drugs over the wall, like a catapult.  

THIS IS TO RIDICULOUS TO EVEN WASTE MY TIME, THIS POST IS DONE.