Sad

   It is a sad day when the president of the United States decides he has better things to do than call with condolences and sympathy to the families of American soldiers killed in combat.
   Especially when he accuses his predecessor of not making such calls.
   Or spends the day playing golf when the coffins of the slain return to the U.S.
   And when a reporter challenged the president's claim during a press conference on the White House lawn, the current occupant of the Oval Office admitted he "doesn't know" whether his predecessor telephoned bereaved families.
   He added that he will make such calls "when I can." Or he will write letters.
   Perhaps playing golf is more important. That's what he was doing last week when the dead returned home.
   This from the same person who dismissed John McCain's status as a war hero only "because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."
   McCain was a Navy pilot who was shot down over enemy territory and spend five years undergoing torture before being released. He later became a U.S. senator and candidate for president.
   The current president got several draft deferments and did no military service because of an alleged bone spur on his foot, but later could not remember which foot.
   Other presidents have routinely telephoned families, and have gone to Dover Air Force Base to meet the flag-draped coffins of American war dead.
   Not this guy. He has more important things to do.

The Imperious Presidency

 Or is it  the impervious presidency?
 In your dreams, pal.

  Some dream quotes that reflect the attitudes of the current occupant of the Oval Office:
     
   Don't blame me, it's the fault of Congress, because they won't do as I say.
   After all, I'm the president and they're not.
   The three branches of the U.S. government may be equal, but the presidency is more equal than the others. I read it somewhere. You could look it up. On second thought, you don't have to look it up. Just believe me.
   And if you don't believe me and do as I say, I'll pick up my hair dye and go home. So there.

   It's not illegal or unconstitutional to criticize the president. Any president, any time, anywhere.
   The current president criticized his predecessor to the point of libel, insisting on spreading lies long after they were proven wrong.
   The pity and the danger to the republic is that his Devoted Followers continue to accept and believe whatever he says, no matter how foolish.

Appalling Ignorance

   In the latest display of ignorance on the part of government officials, Rep. Diane Black, Republican of Tennessee, said health care professionals should have the right to refuse treatment at hospital emergency rooms, and the proposed changes in federal health care rules will solve that problem.
   In an interview with Chuck Todd of NBC,  Rep. Black said she was speaking as a nurse who formerly worked in hospitals, adding that a return to free market principles in health care would be a good thing.
   Problem: Health care is not a free market, and if it ever was, a return to that status would mean medical help would be available only to those who could afford to pay for it.
   Health care professionals take an oath to provide help to any and all who need it. Secondly, hospitals are required by law and ethics to care for any sick person who enters an emergency room. To enable or encourage hospital personnel to turn away anyone, for any reason, would be a violation of law and ethics, as well as humanity and morality.
   Hippocrates would be appalled.
   
   Add that comment to the statement by the president that during his tour of storm ravaged Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, he met with "the president of the Virgin Islands."
   Huh? There is no such person or position. The Virgin Islands is not an independent country, and therefore does not have a president. It is a U.S. territory, as is Puerto Rico. This is another example of the president's apparent belief that the people of these islands are not Americans, and therefore are not entitled to receive help from the federal government for any extended period.

   And don't forget the president's threat to have NBC's license revoked. You can't revoke what doesn't exist. Licenses are issued to individual stations, not to the network. Better luck trying to revoke the First Amendment.
   Ignorance has gone viral in this administration.

Blowing Smoke

John Q. Public: "How stupid do these politicians think we are?"
Pug Mahoney: "Very."

   The president claimed the rising federal deficit is offset by increased stock market values.
   Say what?
   Corporate stock values have no relationship to government spending. Zero. Zip. Nothing. Nada.
   It's possible that shareholder value can lead to more tax revenue, but not if rates are cut, which is the current White House plan.
   In any case, Wall Street markets have been steadily rising for the past seven years, long before the current president took office. Therefore, this president does not deserve credit for it.

   The White House also insists that corporate tax reductions will be passed on to workers in the form of higher wages.
   Fat chance.
   Any benefits to a company from higher stock value or lower taxes mean higher dividends to stockholders and/or increased bonuses to senior management.
   
   Concluding advice to White House leaders and flunkies: Stop Blowing Smoke at the public. No matter how many times you say it, two plus two will never equal five.

Danger Signal

"It's frankly disgusting that the press is able to write whatever they want to write."

   So said the president of the United States of America today, October 11, 2017.
   Couple that with the quote attributed to him earlier today calling for a challenge to a television network's license. Keep in mind that broadcast licenses are issued to individual stations, not to networks, and not to cable television operations.
   But the biggest danger signal is the one that says someone can or should control what the press is allowed to write.
   Who decides that? Such a statement implies that the president himself can decide what an independent group, or an individual, can write.
   As if the solution to the dilemma of reducing the number of stories critical of a president would be to repeal the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment guarantee of free speech and a free press.
   Civics lesson: The Constitution does not grant any rights, but guarantees rights that Americans already have, by birth in a free society.

   Meanwhile, there are reports circulating that this president will not complete his first term in office.
   There are three ways this can happen: resignation, impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.
   Which is the most likely would be a matter for bookies to consider.
   But consider them in order.
   Resignation. Possible, but not likely, since that would mean an admission of failure. However, he could claim that he's leaving because he's not getting any support and cooperation from Congress and others in government. That would reflect his attitude that he's in charge, and Congress should obey him in everything.
   Impeachment. Possible, but very time consuming, since it would require evidence and proof presented to the House of Representatives that he was guilty of treason, bribery or some other other high crime or misdemeanor, followed by a full trial in the Senate.
   Finally, the 25th Amendment provides that the vice president and Cabinet members could get together and decide that the president was no longer fit to do the job. Alternatively, a committee appointed by Congress could take on the task.
   Any one of the three could well provide the means to remove the president from office. Which one and when is the open question.
   As to none of the above happening, the odds are against that.

Licentious

   The Chief Twit called for a challenge to NBC's license because of its reporting on Oval Office activities.
   Problem One: Broadcast licenses are issued to individual stations in metro areas around the country. Not every station in the NBC network is owned by NBC.
   Problem Two: There is a limit to the number of stations an individual company may own. To shut down NBC would be a bureaucratic nightmare, challenging each and every NBC-owned station as licenses come up for renewal.
   Problem Three: Other stations not owned by NBC would likely continue their news coverage of Oval Office activities, using their own staffs and news sources.
   Problem Four: Regulation of broadcast networks is a separate issue from station ownership.
   Problem Five: Regulation of cable TV operations is yet another separate issue. They are not broadcast operations, which is the primary responsibility of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
   Problem Six: Other networks, cable operations and independent stations would continue their reporting of Oval Office activities, especially those that criticize the president's attitudes, actions and comments.
   Problem Seven: All news operations, including those with broadcast licenses as well as print news media, which are not licensed by any government entity, will join in the protest against any attack on First Amendment press freedoms.
   Problem Eight: Attacking and threatening to shut down any news media operation critical of a president creates the question of which ones would survive. Would it be only those news media that agree with the government?
   Problem Nine: This would create a government controlled news operation, equal to a propaganda machine. So much for the First Amendment.
   Problem Ten: Even if the president were to succeed in shutting down one network, there are many other news media that will continue to report what government officials say and do.

ICE Thickens

   Headline news: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wants more immigration officers, more federal prosecutors and more physical barriers to further reduce the "influx of illegal aliens."
   "That will be money well spent!" his press release says.
   Never mind that illegal immigration has dropped sharply on its own, beginning long before the new guy took office.
   Sounds like a full employment act for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, lawyers and wall builders.

   Another headline: EPA Fights Clean Power
   Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, says he will repeal the climate policy set forth by President Barack Obama that encourages power plants to reduce carbon and air pollution by using less coal.
   
   Also: Children Become Bargaining Chips
   The president wants to trade easier rules on refugee children for more money to build a bigger wall.
   Meanwhile, the medical care program for youngsters, known as CHIP, is about to run out of money unless the program is renewed.

   Fake News Faker
   The president claims he coined the term "fake news."
   To the extent that he invented the practice thereof, he may be right.