Our Inverse Welfare State

Dutch Historian Rutger Bregman

Someone asked Dutch historian Rutger Bregman to participate in a recent World Economic Forum discussion panel in Davos, Switzerland.

Interestingly, Bregman, “…told billionaires if they want to solve inequality, all they need to do is pay their taxes.” (Please see the full article with short video clip here.)

A novel idea in Trumpian USA, and elsewhere in the dominate economies – western, eastern, emerging nations, et. al.

Obviously, no matter where in the world, profit and personal greed dominates, while the 99.9% of the “have-very-littles”, i.e. the rest of humanity, passively accepts the status quo, as the Eleventh Commandment: Thou shall remain destitute and serve the moneyed elite as the slave your ancestors were, and you will forever remain.

My guess is that whoever asked Bregman to attend will not do so again.

However, please, watch the video clip.

You’ll also hear Winnie Byanyima’s (Executive Director of Anti-Poverty NGO Oxfam International) outstanding answer to the typical Trumpian-Republican BS line that goes something like, “Stop talking about increasing our taxes because everyone in the world is better off because we’re so great” (voiced by a former Yahoo CFO).

She explained: “Don’t tell me about low levels of unemployment. You are counting the wrong things. You are not counting dignity of people. You’re counting exploited people.”

In another article, at Guardian.com, Bergman stated: “The truth (is) that we are living in an inverse welfare state.”

“These days, politicians from the left to the right assume that most wealth is created at the top. By the visionaries, by the job creators, and by the people who have “made it”. By the go-getters oozing talent and entrepreneurialism that are helping to advance the whole world.”

“Now, we may disagree about the extent to which success deserves to be rewarded – the philosophy of the left is that the strongest shoulders should bear the heaviest burden, while the right fears high taxes will blunt enterprise – but across the spectrum virtually all agree that wealth is created primarily at the top.”

“So entrenched is this assumption that it’s even embedded in our language. When economists talk about “productivity”, what they really mean is the size of your paycheck. And when we use terms like “welfare state”, “redistribution” and “solidarity”, we’re implicitly subscribing to the view that there are two strata: the makers and the takers, the producers and the couch potatoes, the hardworking citizens – and everybody else.”

“In reality, it is precisely the other way around. In reality, it is the waste collectors, the nurses, and the cleaners whose shoulders are supporting the apex of the pyramid. They are the true mechanism of social solidarity. Meanwhile, a growing share of those we hail as “successful” and “innovative” are earning their wealth at the expense of others. The people getting the biggest handouts are not down around the bottom, but at the very top. Yet their perilous dependence on others goes unseen. Almost no one talks about it. Even for politicians on the left, it’s a non-issue.”

Yes, it is.

Yet the fact remains, we live in an inverse welfare state – the .01% are soaking up the welfare.

If I Were A Rich Man - Fiddler on the Roof - 1971 (film) Broadway (1964)

Calling BS on the R Financial “Experts”

Look, don’t let anyone tell you that we don’t have the money or resources to rebuild our infrastructure. We do.

It’s well past time to call BS on the financial “experts”, especially the ones with “R” (for Republican) after their name. They are dead wrong and most likely trying to line the pockets of their moneyed, predatory capitalists, supporters.

Why? Because we can and do have the wherewithal and it’s the same as our ancestors had (and used) and the rest of the world is using right now…. publicly-owned financial institutions.

So let us call BS on the R financial “experts” and get about the work of the people of the United States.

And the good news? Congress can do this tomorrow.

Here’s the story…

Why Germany Leads in Renewables: It Has Its Own Green Bank, The Web of Debt Blog, Ellen Brown, 26 Jan 2019.

"The Green New Deal endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more than 40 other US Representatives has been criticized as imposing a too-heavy burden on the rich and upper-middle-class taxpayers who will have to pay for it, but taxing the rich is not what the Green New Deal resolution proposes. It says funding will come primarily from certain public agencies, including the Federal Reserve and “a new public bank or system of regional and specialized public banks.”


"Funding through the Federal Reserve may be controversial, but establishing a national public infrastructure and development bank should be a no-brainer. The real question is why we don’t already have one, like China, Germany, and other countries that are running circles around us in infrastructure development. Many European, Asian and Latin American countries have their own national development banks, as well as belonging to bilateral or multinational development institutions that are jointly owned by multiple governments. Unlike the US Federal Reserve, which considers itself “independent” of government, national development banks are wholly owned by their governments and carry out public development policies."

…

"The most profitable and efficient way for national and local governments to finance public infrastructure and development is with their own banks, as the impressive track records of KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau or “Reconstruction Credit Institute”) and other national development banks have shown. The (Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated) RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) showed what could be done even by a country that was technically bankrupt, simply by mobilizing its own resources through a publicly-owned financial institution. We need to resurrect that public funding engine today, not only to address the national and global crises we are facing now but for the ongoing development the country needs in order to manifest its true potential."
-more-

"Annie" (1982) - Tomorrow

Eyes to See, Ears to Hear the Choice Revealed

By Gary R. Baker and Ronald D. Baker

We are witnessing an ancient prophecy coming true.

It happened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. just the other day, played out by MAGA-hat-wearing teenagers, Black Hebrew Israelites, and singing, praying and drumming Native Americans.

As they encountered each other in front of the Lincoln Memorial, each were playing unwitting roles in bringing the ancient Seven Fires Prophecy (see below) to life before our eyes.

My brother, Gary, insightfully observed:

“The Lincoln Memorial is our national temple. It’s a sacred place in white marble. Lincoln looks down upon the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial with almost 60,000 names carved into black marble. I think of the letters Lincoln wrote to the mothers of soldiers killed in battle.”

“I don’t believe the students from the Catholic school or the people from the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) understood what Nathan Phillips was doing. Each one of these groups (young Catholic students, BHI demonstrators, and indigenous American Indians) came from a different world.”

“Nathan Phillips was using song and drums and prayer to defuse a situation – to reduce major tension – between the students and the BHI group. He was not staging a confrontation or trying to intimidate the students. He was offering a song and a prayer to calm and bless. Very few (if anyone) on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day (except the indigenous people) had a sense of what Mr. Phillips was doing. They couldn’t read it.”

“However, the Catholic students should have sensed something based on Catholic/Christian traditions – quiet witness, meditation, singing, saying the Rosary.”

Yes, indeed, I agree.

But even though we have eyes and ears, often we can neither see nor hear. Jesus Christ explained why that is so in The Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13: 1-17 (New King James Version) (below).

The Mall Encounter

When Nathan Phillips’ Native American group moved between the MAGA-hat-wearing teens and the Black Hebrew Israelites, he said they did so to try to defuse the obviously building tensions between the two groups.

When I reviewed the numerous videos and articles about the confronting groups, I was struck by the Seven Fires prophetic symbolism revealed by the National Mall encounter:

• The Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats (worn by the teens) which for many have become symbolic for all that is wrong in our culture – racism, predatory capitalism, greed, unfettered self-indulgence, hedonism; 
• The "holier-than-thou" judging  attitude, religious dogmatism, self-righteousness represented by the Black Hebrew Israelites; 
• And, the Native Americans’ attempted, peaceful effort to defuse the building hatred created by two clashing groups.

The Native Americans sang the American Indian Movement (AIM) song that day. The lyrics reference, "the seventh fire is burning" and appeal to remain strong together, to speak the language of the ancestors and to continue living well.

Few people have heard about the Seven Fires Prophecy. It is an ancient prophecy and foretells, a time of choosing which of two roads to travel. If we choose neither road, “but instead to turn back, to remember and reclaim the wisdom of those who came before (us) … then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal fire of peace, love brotherhood and sisterhood.”

I am praying we make that choice... to turn back, remember and reclaim the wisdom of those who came before us. Aren't you?

Excerpt from the Seven Fires Prophecy (more below)

“It is this time that the light skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. One road will be green and lush, and very inviting. The other road will be black and charred, and walking it will cut their feet. In the prophecy, the people decide to take neither road, but instead to turn back, to remember and reclaim the wisdom of those who came before them. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal fire of peace, love brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of the roads, then the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's people.”

The Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13: 1-17

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the [a]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The American Indian Movement (AIM) Song
Sung by Margaret Noodin

“With permission from several of AIM’s current leaders, Anishinaabe words were added by the Ann Arbor language table in 2005 so that young people could carry on the message of this song in the language.”

Maamwi g’da maashkozimi
Together we should be strong

Niizhwaasing shkode gii boodawewaad
The seventh fire has been lit by them

Boochigo Anishinaabemyaang
We have to all speak Anishinaabemowin

Mino bimaadziyaang
We are living well

Mino bimaadziyaang
We are living well

Seven Fires Prophecy

“Seven fires prophecy is an Anishinaabe prophecy that marks phases, or epochs, in the life of the people on Turtle Island, a Native American name for the North American continent. The seven fires of the prophecy represent key spiritual teachings for North America, and suggest that the different colors and traditions of the human beings can come together on a basis of respect. It predates the arrival of the Europeans, and contains information for the future lives of the Anishinaabe which are still in the process of being fulfilled.”

*Turtle Island generally refers to the early creation of the land masses over the water embodiment on mother earth. The story is told of Beaver collecting mud to create the land foundation upon the back of Great Turtle. (no reference needed, original source needs work.

**Anishinaabemowin, the language of the Anishinaabe nation, is one of the oldest and most historically important Native American languages in North America.
https://www.anishinaabemdaa.com/#/

Seventh
“The Seventh Prophet that came to the people long ago was said to be different from the other prophets. This prophet was described as "young and had a strange light in his eyes" and said:

“In the time of the Seventh Fire New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the Elders who they will ask to guide them on their journey. But many of the Elders will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the Elders will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders. The task of the New People will not be easy.”

“If the New People will remain strong in their quest the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a rebirth of the Anishinabe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.”

“It is this time that the light skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. One road will be green and lush, and very inviting. The other road will be black and charred, and walking it will cut their feet. In the prophecy, the people decide to take neither road, but instead to turn back, to remember and reclaim the wisdom of those who came before them. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal fire of peace, love brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of the roads, then the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's people.”

Devil or Angel?

(r) Nick Sandmann face-to-face with Omaha elder Nathan Phillips on the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Photo credit: The Washington Post. 
(r) Nick Sandmann as he appeared on NBC’s “Today,” Show
with Savannah Guthrie.  Photo credit: NBC.

Have you seen the innocent child photo of Nick Sandmann (r) as he appeared on NBC’s “Today,” Show, interviewed by Savannah Guthrie?

Now compare that photo to the teenage a**hole photo. (l)

The Sandman family PR company has done a good job changing Nick Sandmann's image to that of an innocent child. Don’t you agree?

It also clearly shows one of our culture’s fatal flaws, mainstream media bias and “useful idiot” manipulation.

Who are we? We are both devils and angels… and more.

The Clovers: "Devil Or Angel" — original recording (1956).wmv

East of Eden

Since the beginning, mankind has had a problem with truth.

You might recall Cain had a hard time facing truth about his brother, Abel’s death. (Please see: Genesis 4:1–16.)

By murdering his brother and not answering God’s question, Cain ended up spending his life in the Land of Nod, east of Eden, out of the “Lord’s presence”.

In our time, at least since 1963, we the people of the United States have been living in a land “east of Eden” created by “the powers that be”, the "deep state", and compliant politicos. (Please see my posting: Lies Too Big To Fail.)

We’ve been living a delusion that our government leaders have been honest with us and worthy of our respect.

Today, some truth has come to light due to Freedom of Information Act requests which surfaced some of the most heinous crimes our "power elite" leaders have committed, among them the murders of  President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Through the years, those who have sounded the alarm about our nation's crimes, have been painted with the “conspiracy nutcase” brush and ridiculed by the mainstream media.

But this week, 60 historians, journalists, lawyers, forensic experts, and members of the Kennedy and King families, signed a letter calling on Congress to reopen the investigations into the 1960's cold case murders.

“The letter is an effort to create a national truth and reconciliation commission to begin a reversal of disastrous social and cultural divisions fueled by decades of government sanctioned lies.”

I’m hopeful that Lady Liberty’s torch will shine to reveal the truth about these murders and help us find our way back to the “Lord’s presence” once again.

Zella Day - East of Eden - 2015

Ah... We Have a Challenge

Autonomous Weapons... killer robots... are the "mustard gas", the "nuclear bombs", the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (WMD) of our time.

Now, I am afraid... and you should be, too.

And, Mr. Trump, your wall is not up to this…a real terrorist challenge. 

Seriously, if I were you, I'd be worried about my personal security.

From the film Slaughterbots...

"The weapons took away the expense, danger, and risk of waging war. Now we can't afford to challenge anyone really, not even the smallest fringe group or a crank."

"Who could have done this?"

"Anyone."

So, how many trillions of dollars are we spending on obsolete aircraft carries, tanks, jet fighters, missiles, etc.?

Is someone with a brain in charge? That would be someone not on the take... someone who has not sold out to the big corporations or the "enemy"... someone who is not a coward. We need leaders who care about the people rather than their own fame and fortune...NOW.

"We’re on the verge of creating autonomous weapons that can kill without any help from humans."

"The short film ‘Slaughterbots’ depicts a dystopian future of killer drones swarming the world – "

“Nuclear is obsolete. Take out your entire enemy virtually risk free. Just characterize him, release the swarm, and rest easy.” These were some of the first words said in the short film “Slaughterbots.” A joint project between University of California at Berkeley professor Stuart Russell and the Future of Life Institute, the short gives viewers a warning about a fictional dystopian future."

Slaughterbots

Stop Autonomous Weapons

If this isn't what you want, please take action at http://autonomousweapons.org/

Photos Reveal Who We Are

*Please see Photo Captions below

Some photos stick in my mind, like the songs some people can’t purge from theirs. Baby Shark or even the Macarena are good examples.

But the photos I remember most are representative of life’s tipping points, the ones that changed our view of our world.

This past week we witnessed a modern-day tech photo, a video, of our national tipping point when Nick Sandmann, the junior from Covington Catholic High School, and Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran, ended up face-to-face near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial surrounded by what appeared to be a bunch of teens seemingly on the verge of “no good”.

I was shocked when I saw a photo and the video of the encounter because it sparked past images of terrible times in my mind.

Kara Vought, Mother Jones, assembled an outstanding report about the incident. Excerpts follow below.

The Best Articles We’ve Read So Far About the MAGA Teens Intimidating Nathan Phillips, Kara Voght, Mother Jones, 20 Jan 2019.

“A video of a group of white teenagers taunting a Native American man at Friday’s Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, DC, sent shockwaves across social media as it went viral Saturday afternoon. The clip shows a young man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat smirking at Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran, near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.”

“The scene enraged those who saw the exchange as an example of the intolerance perpetuated by President Trump. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, called the actions of the MAGA hat-sporting students, who were in town for the anti-abortion rally, March for Life, a “display of blatant hate, disrespect, and intolerance” that she blamed squarely on the president.”

“Conservative defenders, meanwhile, tried to blame the incident on Phillips, whom they say approached the teens first. Oklahoma senator and Trump ally James Lankford (R) said the teen was standing “awkwardly close” to the elder, but didn’t agree that the behavior measured up to harassment.”

“The smartest corners of the Internet have been busy offering explanations for why the confrontation drew instant attention—and why it matters. Here’s a selection of the best analysis we’ve been reading so far:

“Slate writer Ruth Graham locates the source of the moment’s disturbing virality in the legacy of white male privilege that has mocked, oppressed, and humiliated populations across American history. The current political moment, Graham says, surely played a role—after all, less than a week had passed since President Trump used the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre to make fun of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom he often derisively refers to as “Pocahontas.” For Graham, the face of the MAGA hat-wearing teen is one that’s recognizable across other hate-inspired moments: “The face of self-satisfaction and certitude, of edginess expressed as cruelty.”

“The face is in this photo of a clutch of white young men crowding around a single black man at a lunch counter sit-in in Virginia in the 1960s, and in many other images of jeering white men from that era. The face is the rows of Wisconsin high school boys flashing Nazi salutes in a prom picture last year. The face is Brett Kavanaugh—then a student at an all-boys Catholic prep school—“drunkenly laughing” as he allegedly held down Christine Blasey Ford. Anyone who knew the popular white boys in high school recognized it: the confident gaze, the eyes twinkling with menace, the smirk. The face of a boy who is not as smart as he thinks he is, but is exactly as powerful. The face that sneers, “What? I’m just standing here,” if you flinch or cry or lash out. The face knows that no matter how you react, it wins.

“Atlantic editor James Fallows also places the moment in historical context, comparing it to the intimidating faces of white young men who looked upon the black students integrating into Little Rock’s Central High School, in a famous 1957 photo. Fallows dismisses the various arguments the teenagers’ defenders put forth, arguing that the only takeaway that matters is the enduring tableau of intimidation:

“Whatever happened just before or after the three or four minutes most widely circulated on yesterday’s videos, those three or four minutes convey a reality that seems impossible to deny. For a sustained period, a large group of young men, who had chosen by their apparel to identify themselves with a political movement (and a movement whose leader uses “Pocahontas” as an epithet and recently made a “joking” reference to the massacre at Wounded Knee), act mockingly to a man their grandfathers’ age, who by his apparel and activities represents a racial-minority, indigenous-American group.

“And finally, Rolling Stones‘ Peter Wade offers insight as to why it appears Phillips might have approached the young men in the first place: Phillips’ says he was trying to stop them taunting a group of Black Hebrews who were protesting the president at the Lincoln Memorial. Wade, citing an interview Phillips did with the Indian Country Times, presents an indigenous perspective on how to combat hate in the Trump era:

“…this is the commitment when I picked up the pipe 27 years ago. It’s for the next generation. It’s when that moment comes and you got to stand your ground. That commitment that you made to either fulfill that or you don’t. I mean, I was scared and I didn’t want to. I really, I really didn’t want to, but nobody else was,” Phillips said, adding, “We’re indigenous. We’re different than that. When we see our youth going the wrong way, we will go up and say, ‘You are doing the wrong thing there nephew, or grandson. This is just the wrong way.’ I tell them, ‘This is the way you have to behave. This wrong, this is right.’”

So, who are we?

Are we the “Make America Great Again” mocking adolescents? Or, are we the hopeful adults attempting to spark tolerance and a rebirth of our ancestors elusive “American Dream” in our Trumpian age?

*Photo Captions
(L-R)
Top Row

1. Parker High School student Walter Gadsden being attacked by dogs May 1963. Photo credit, AP/Bill Hudson
2. Mary Ann Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway, kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller minutes after he was fatally shot by the Ohio National Guard, May 1970. Photo credit, John Filo.
3. Phan Thi Kim Phuc (age 9) a victim of mistakenly dropped napalm, 25 miles northwest of Saigon, 1972. Photo credit Nick Ut.

Center Row

1. Unknown protester, Tiananmen Square protest, 1989. Photo credit, Jeff Widener
2. U.S. Army torture victim, Abu Ghraib Prison, 2004.

Bottom Row

1. Charlottesville, Virginia, white nationalist, 2017.
2. Nick Sandmann, the junior from Covington Catholic High School, and Nathan Phillips, an Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran, near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Jan 2019. Photo credit, KC Noland, YouTube.

Please see past posting about tipping points and photos, What is the Price of Teacup Stupid?

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Published on Jan 21, 2019
Worlds collided at rallies in D.C. this weekend and things got real messy real fast.
Trevor Noah Jokes That He Wanted To Punch The MAGA-Hat Kid, Too.
“Trump or not, he just looks like an asshole. That’s how you look when you’re a teenager at that age,” ‘The Daily Show” host joked.

Capitol Police & Secret Service on Sympathy Strike

What will it take for Mr. McConnell to allow a vote in the U.S. Senate to fund the federal government and allow federal employees to be paid?

I’ll put my usual bet of 10 cat’s eye marbles on line and say: fear.

Yep, it will take a little fear to motivate the Republican Senate Majority Leader into action.

So what kind of fear will be the catalyst to free Mr. Trump’s hostage-hold from the neck of the USA?

My guess is the fear induced by a massive "sympathy strike", not by masses of people, but just by a few federal employees not currently shutout, namely, the U.S. Secret Service and United States Capitol Police.

Oh, my. Just think about it. The two top politicos responsible for not paying federal employees for the past 30+ days, would now be on their own, face-to-face, to answer the questions of the everyday Joes and Janes they’ve been screwing over.

Just the thought of losing his protection from the voters' questions... that's the ticket. That might just be enough to move Mr. McConnell to allow the vote to proceed.

Problem solved.

Dirty Harry Do You Feel Lucky, Punk? - 1971

Trump’s Hostage Negotiation

Did you listen to Mr. Trump’s recent presentation to the nation?

I was immediately struck with how similar his “offer” to the Congressional Democrats sounded like a criminal hostage negotiation from the TV program, Without a Trace… only with poor acting.

Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update, has it right, except for one thing: All of us are being held hostage.

Weekend Update: Government Shutdown - SNL

An Extrication Challenge

*About the hat... Please see below.

Fortunately, I don’t work for the federal government.

But if I did, I’d be an unhappy cowboy.

Further, I’d certainly not be inclined to vote for the ole boy at the top, the president. Because it has come to the attention of a few people that Mr. Trump is hunky-dory with his government employee shutout… and the longer it runs… the better.

How do I know? Well, this past Monday, he tweeted his approval of an article, “blasting federal workers, calling for a long shutdown.” Worse, Mr. Trump seems to believe that federal government workers are an undeserving lot and that there are just way too many of them.

So, about now, I’d be feelin’ pretty blue and thinkin’ that Mr. Trump’s shutout has nothing to do with builidin’ that ole wall... but a whole lot to do with punishing workers for simply bein’ federal employees… and eliminating as many of 'em as he can.

Here’s the story:

Trump shares article blasting federal workers, calling for long shutdown, Morgan Gstalter, the hill.com, 15 Jan 2019.

“President Trump on Monday shared an op-ed from a writer claiming to be an anonymous senior member of his administration who harshly criticizes federal workers as disloyal to the White House and worthy of losing their jobs.”

“The writer of the op-ed, published by conservative news site The Daily Caller, argues the partial government shutdown is an opportunity for Trump to greatly reduce the size of government.”

“On an average day, roughly 15 percent of the employees around me are exceptional patriots serving their country. I wish I could give competitive salaries to them and no one else,” the op-ed reads. “But 80 percent feel no pressure to produce results. If they don’t feel like doing what they are told, they don’t.”

-more-

Want to read the whole anonymous senior member of his administration article thing from the source? Please go here:

I’m a Senior Trump Official, and I Hope a Long Shutdown Smokes Out the Resistance, Senior Trump Official, dailycaller.com, 14 Jan 2019.

“The lapse in appropriations is more than a battle over a wall. It is an opportunity to strip wasteful government agencies for good.”

“On an average day, roughly 15 percent of the employees around me are exceptional patriots serving their country. I wish I could give competitive salaries to them and no one else. But 80 percent feel no pressure to produce results. If they don’t feel like doing what they are told, they don’t.”
…
“Due to the lack of funding, many federal agencies are now operating more effectively from the top down on a fraction of their workforce, with only select essential personnel serving national security tasks.”
…
-more-

The Truth… Please…

About the value of federal workers… this we know for certain:
At least two people in the White House have their heads up their ass because they expect the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the FBI, the TSA people, Air Traffic Controllers, Food Inspectors, …. well, you get the idea… more than 800,000 people... to come to work without pay - indefinitely.

Yardbirds - When Will It End - 1966

*About the hat... The one above is slightly modified... the real one: Your Problem Is Obvious Political Rude Head Up Ass Snapback Hats 

Sowing Pain and Chaos

Credit: Alternet

Look, it appears that one sold out to the Russians oligarchs (please see this in-depth report, The Moscow Project, Bailed Out by Russia.) and now the other has been outed for his connections with Chinese oligarchs.

Normally, I'd say, "Who cares." This is all just typical Republican corruption.

But today one of these guys is President of the US and the other is the Republican Majority Leader of the US Senate.

Together they are holding our nation hostage with their federal government shutout BS. They're sowing more and more pain and chaos with each passing day; destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, forcing government workers and suppliers into charity food banks; and driving us all closer to economic recession.

Well, then... just who are these guys working for?

One hundred cat’s eye marbles say… it’s not the people of the United States.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On - 1971

Psychopathy Enabler

McConnell (R-KY) Psychopathy Enabler

Another man, in addition to Mr. Trump, has the power to end the federal government Trump-shutdown-lockout this very moment.

He is Mr. McConnell (R-KY), the Republican Senate Majority Leader, who for the second time, has refused to allow a vote on the Senate bill which has been approved by the U.S. House.

It is likely that the measure will pass with enough votes to make it veto proof and thus allow federal workers to go back to work and receive their paychecks. Our government would be functioning once again to the dismay of Mr. Trump.

Mr. McConnell's cowardice is simply enabling our psychopath-in-chief to continue to hurt all Americans.

Here's the story...

McConnell blocks House bill to reopen government for second time, Jordain Carney, thehill.com, 15 Jan 2019.

Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed package to reopen the federal government for a second time in as many weeks on Tuesday.

Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) asked for consent to take up a package of bills that would reopen the federal government.

One bill would fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 8, while the other would fund the rest of the impacted departments and agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

Under Senate rules, any senator can ask for consent to vote on or pass a bill, but any senator can object. McConnell blocked the two bills, saying the Senate wouldn't "participate in something that doesn't lead to an outcome."

McConnell for weeks has said he would not bring legislation to the floor on the shutdown unless there was a deal between President Trump and Democrats on border security, the issue that has triggered the shutdown. McConnell has described other votes as "show votes."

"The solution to this is a negotiation between the one person in the country who can sign something into law, the president of the United States, and our Democratic colleagues," McConnell said Tuesday.

Roughly a quarter of the government has been shut down since Dec. 22 over an entrenched fight on funding for Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The Senate passed a stopgap bill late last year by a voice vote, but it was rejected by the White House because it didn’t include extra border money.

Trump is demanding more than $5 billion for his signature wall. Democratic leadership has pointed to $1.3 billion as their cap and argued that it must go to fencing.

House Democrats passed their package to fully reopen the government earlier this month and have begun passing individual appropriations bills as they try to ratchet up pressure on Republicans to break with the president and support the legislation. But those bills are expected to go nowhere in the GOP-led Senate.

McConnell sought to drive a wedge between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Democrats earlier Tuesday, characterizing the newly minted House leader as making border security “take a back seat to the political whims of the far left.”

“Here in the Senate my Democratic colleagues have an important choice to make. They could stand with common sense border experts, with federal workers and with their own past voting records, by the way, or they could continue to remain passive spectators complaining from the sidelines, as the Speaker refuses to negotiate with the White House,” McConnell said from the Senate floor.

Talks between Trump and congressional leadership are at a standstill after the president walked out of a White House meeting last week when Pelosi told him that Democrats would not consider border wall funding even if he fully reopened the government.

Democrats are trying to build pressure on McConnell to break with Trump and move legislation, something Senate GOP leadership say the careful Republican leader will not do.

Though several senators are publicly picking their own ideas, Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said on Tuesday that hasn’t resulted in much pressure from within the caucus for McConnell to change his strategy.

-more-

Our Leader is a Psychopath

Yes, it is true. For many reasons, the person who occupies the White House matters because beyond politics, this fact should give you chills, “One in 25 people can inflict incredible pain on others without feeling a pang of remorse.”

If the person in the White House has no inkling that the American people are hurting and cares nothing of their pain, well then, we are in serious trouble.

How long will you allow 800,000 federal workers to suffer without their pay, Mr. Trump?

Trump says, for a long time… until the Democrats give me $5 billion for my wall.

I submit, Mr. Trump of is one in 25 who can inflict incredible pain on others without feeling a pang of remorse.

Indeed, we are in serious trouble.

Consider these excerpts from, The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout, Ph.D.

“Imagine – if you can – not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Image no struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken.”

“You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or shame, and you are never confronted by others for our cold-bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so completely outside of their personal experience, that they seldom even guess at your condition.”

“In other words, you are completely free of internal restraints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please, with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the world.”

“You can do anything at all, and still your strange advantage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their consciences will most likely remain undiscovered.”

“How will you live your life?”

“What will you do with your huge and secret advantage, and with the corresponding handicap of other people (conscience)?”

…

“Provided you are not forcibly stopped, you can do anything at all.”

“And pretend that the concept of responsibility unknown to you, except as a burden other seem to accept without question, like gullible fools.”

“If you are born at the right time, with some access to family fortune, and you have a special talent of whipping up other people’s hatred and sense of deprivation, you can arrange to kill large numbers of unsuspecting people. With enough money, you can accomplish this from far away, and you can sit back safely and watch in satisfaction.”

“Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from other people that your psychological makeup is radically different from theirs. Since everyone simply assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you are conscience-free is nearly effortless.”

…

“Crazy and frightening – and real, in about 4 percent of the population…”

“The prevalence rate for anorexic eating disorders is estimated at 3.43 percent, deemed to be nearly epidemic, and yet this figure is a faction lower than the rate for antisocial personality.”

…

“The high incidence of sociopathy in human society has a profound effect on the rest of us who must live on this planet, too, even those of us who have not been clinically traumatized. The individuals who constitute this 4 percent drain our relationships, our bank accounts, our accomplishments, our self-esteem, our very peace on earth.”

 “Yet surprisingly, many people know nothing about this disorder, or if they do, they think in terms of violent psychopathy – murderers, serial killers mass murderers – people who have conspicuously broken the law many times over, and who, if caught, will be imprisoned, maybe even put to death by our legal system.”

“Most of us would not imagine any correspondence between conceiving n ethnic genocide and, say, guiltlessly lying to one’s boss about a coworker. But the psychological correspondence is not only there, it is chilling. Simple and profound, the link is the absence of the inner mechanism that beats up on us, emotionally speaking, when we make a choice we view as immoral, unethical, neglectful, or selfish.”

…

“The presence of absence of conscience is a deep human division, arguably more significant than intelligence, race, or even gender.”

“What differentiates a sociopath who lives off the labors of others from one who occasionally robs convenience stores, or from one who is a contemporary robber baron – or what makes the difference between an ordinary bully and a sociopathic murderer – is nothing more than social status, drive, intellect, blood lust, or simple opportunity.”

“What distinguishes all of these people from the rest of us is an utterly empty hole in the psyche, where there should be the most evolved of all humanizing functions.”


If you could predict who would become the leader you need now, would you elect him or her?

Our Leaders Are Psychopaths

Corbett Report Extras

Published on Jul 17, 2017

SHOW NOTES AND MP3: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=406 

They walk among us. On the outside. they’re just like you and me, but on the inside they are unfeeling automatons who care only for themselves. They are the psychopaths, and they are in control of our governments, our corporations, our military and all of the positions of power. Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we delve into Political Ponerology, a diagnosis of our politicians and a brief look at the bigger picture.

Forever... a Standing Ovation

Celebrating Carol Channing...
"she (will remain) most fondly remembered by audiences who over the years offered standing ovations and applause in recognition of the theatrical legend."

Carol Channing sings on 1953 TV (Two songs from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

Number One Sadist

Search Google for “evil images” and you’ll find the image of a Snidely Whiplash-like character.

Look a little further, searching for how to “identify evil”, and you’ll discover how “evil” is discussed in the Bible.

But for 800,000 Americans, and now millions of Americans, plus the "economy" as a whole, I’m betting 100 cat’s eye marbles that “evil” comes front and center, and very personally, with no paycheck deposited in their checking accounts or government services for the rest of us "Joe and Jane" Americans. No money today means a truck load of pain for federal employees and government suppliers, too, even with the Congressional promise that one day their pay will show up.

Still, perhaps, one good thing may come to pass out of this... the longer this debacle continues the more likely Trumpists will come face-to-face with their hero unmasked as the nation’s number one sadist. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s now obvious that Mr. Trump was simply Born Evil and that Trumpists are showing signs of emulating his low intelligence level, lack of empathy, soullessness, psychopathy and the myriad of his other personality disorders by continuing to support him.

Further, and ever so sadly, the mainstream media is complicit in “normalizing” these “Trump behavior disorders”, with bullying topping the list as acceptable.

Basically, at this point, isn’t obvious that Mr. Trump embodies every know evil trait known to humanity?

Fractured Fairy Tales -- Pinnochio - 1960

Who Dis?

The wave the "old men" establishment fears the most.

For many it may have gone unnoticed.

For me, well, I’m praying that we are witnessing a miracle.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) appears to be feared by “the old men” of both Democratic and Republican parties.

I say that’s a really, really good thing.

Because they are the “establishment” and, for the most part, they have failed the people of the United States. For their “30 pieces of silver” the old men of both parties have “sold out” the best interests of their constituents, i.e. we the people, to their corporate masters.

Now comes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, with her magical "wave" appeal that so threatens the "old men establishment".

She was elected, defeating the mainstream democrat, who by the way, like the other old men of the Democratic party, who could have done a lot of good for the people of his district. You may remember with me that the Democrats forgot that human rights matter. They forgot that healthcare matters. They forgot that a living wage matters. The list of the important things they forgot and continue to forget is endless.

On the other side of the street the old men of the Republican party, from the very git-go, never gave a thought to the needs of the people of the United States. They were too busy selling their souls to the devil - corporate America – and working tirelessly to dissolve the protections the people of the United States fought over 200 years to establish. It is and has always been the old men of the Republican Party who have and continue to spend every second trying to dissolve human rights; to eliminate healthcare; and cap wages at a serfdom level. The list of the ruthlessly inhumane things they have enacted and endlessly try to foist on Americans is endless beyond belief.

“Who Dis?”, was the outstandingly appropriate answer Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave former Sen. Joe Lieberman’s recent attempted put down.

We know, and she certainly knows, who Lieberman is and what the other old men of both parties have given the people of the United States - pain and misery.

It’s well past time for a change away from the “old men” establishment that has given us the current Trumpian disgrace.

Personally, since 1968 I’ve been looking for a leader to take on the “establishment”. I think we have found her, here's why... (Please see videos below.)

For more about the “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tidal wave” please go here.
Conservative Men Are Obsessed With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Science Tells Us Why, 
Laura Bassett, huffingtonpost.com, 11 Jan 2019.

Robert F. Kennedy - University of Kansas Address - 18 Mar 1968

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Stuns Crowd With Speech

Corporations Must Pay the Piper, Too

The piper made 'em pay... so should corporations.

I’ve often wondered why big corporations can perform one criminal activity after the other without facing the “proverbial music” and be broken up or dissolved and put out of business.

Yes, some end up paying fines, but, then they just go back to doing what they do best… fraud, thievery, bribery, or just their usual, everyday screwing over their customers with shoddy products, terrible customer service, usurious interest rates or… the list is simply endless.

I mean, corporations have all the rights… and more… of U.S. citizens. (The Supreme Court has made it so.) But seldom do they face the consequences of their evil deeds.

For instance, the Justices have said it’s O.K. for corporations to donate unlimited piles of bucks to political campaigns. So, now we find ourselves at the point where our government is populated with nothing more than high-paid corporate shills who only do the bidding of their corporate masters.

Frankly, I think it is time for a serious reprise of the Corporate Death Penalty. Perhaps we should set up a separate court for citizens to bring charges against corporations, no matter their size or political clout, for the sole purpose of culling out and abolishing those heretofore untouchable sleazebag outfits which have repeatedly harmed the public.

That’s why I agree with Thom Hartmann. Here’s the story…

Thom Hartmann: Bring Back the Corporate Death Penalty, truthdig.com ,7 Jan 2019

"The good citizens of California have been wondering out loud who killed 86 of their citizens in the Camp Fire, along with dozens of other Californians over the years in other fires. Now both federal and state prosecutors are focusing on a likely suspect: Pacific Gas and Electric."

"California’s largest private, for-profit corporate utility appears to have killed a number of people over the years, in many cases because of negligence apparently prompted by a desire to jack up corporate profits."

"As a corporation, they play by different rules than you or I."

"Imagine you got a holiday package delivery gig, and decided to make more money by increasing the number of packages you can deliver in a day. The easiest way to accomplish this is by ignoring state and local regulations (speed limits) and drive like a maniac."

"But what happens if, in your haste, you hit and kill a bunch of schoolkids in a crosswalk?"

"Particularly if you’d already been busted multiple times for felony reckless driving and had already killed other entire families driving badly on public streets…several different times in several different cities. And, on top of that, if you had lied to the police and the courts, saying that you’d been driving very, very carefully—all while you tried to hide or destroy the evidence."

"You’d spend many years in prison for those deaths and the cover-ups; in some states you may even face the death penalty."

"Now consider what happens when a corporation behaves like that."

"Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has already been nailed for “speeding”—ignoring laws that require them to operate in a way that’s safe—and people have already died, on multiple occasions."

"PG&E was found guilty for the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion that injured more than 50 people and killed eight. They were fined $1.6 billion and are on probation now."

"Two years ago, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California noted in a public statement that the company had continued to break that same law. “The jury found PG&E guilty of six felony counts—five willful violations of the Pipeline Safety Act and one count of corruptly obstructing the federal investigation…” As an additional penalty, they were ordered to perform 10,000 hours of community service, pay a $3 million fine, and another five years was added to their “probation.”

"In 2017 alone, PG&E’s failure to properly maintain and operate their equipment and rights-of-way caused 17 fires in California; while investigators referred 11 of those cases to prosecutors for code violations, so far there have been no new indictments."

"In December of 2018, PG&E was again busted by the California Public Utilities Commission for not only refusing to mark and warn people of the locations of their gas pipelines in a timely fashion, but, as CNN noted, they “[P]ressured workers to falsify data…”

"And the crimes of PG&E pale in comparison to those of the tobacco industry, the asbestos industry, and companies like ExxonMobil that promoted lies about global warming while continuing to profitably and massively pollute."

"The Corporate Death Penalty Is Not New"

-more-

“The prevalence of the corporation in America has led men of this generation to act, at times, as if the privilege of doing business in corporate form were inherent in the citizen, and has led them to accept the evils attendant upon the free and unrestricted use of the corporate mechanism as if these evils were the inescapable price of civilized life, and, hence to be borne with resignation.

“Throughout the greater part of our history, a different view prevailed.

“Although the value of this instrumentality in commerce and industry was fully recognized, incorporation for business was commonly denied long after it had been freely granted for religious, educational, and charitable purposes.

“It was denied because of fear. Fear of encroachment upon the liberties and opportunities of the individual. Fear of the subjection of labor to capital. Fear of monopoly. Fear that the absorption of capital by corporations, and their perpetual life, might bring evils similar to those which attended mortmain [immortality]. There was a sense of some insidious menace inherent in large aggregations of capital, particularly when held by corporations.”

—U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, 1933 dissent in Liggett v. Lee

Fractured Fairy Tales The Pied Piper - 1960

Ah... just a few liberties were taken in the above version.... from the Rocky and His Friends Show, Jay Ward Productions.

Mr. Trump, "Tear Down Your Imaginary Wall"

Abraham Lincoln, by George Peter Alexander Healy,
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

I'm guessing that Mr. Lincoln might have said something like this following Mr. Trump's TV presentation last night: "Mr. Trump, tear down your imaginary wall." And, then, "O.K. now. Let's get about the nation's business by first making sure our people have their pay checks so they can feed their children."

These observation... about Mr. Lincoln,  a man who knew a thing or two about real crises... (Thanks to my brother, Gary, for the story link.)

The Suicide of a Great Democracy, George Packer, The Atlantic, 8 Jan 2019.
"A shutdown looks like the beginning of the end that Lincoln always knew was possible."

"During the Civil War, the government never shut down—not even when the capital was threatened by Confederate troops. A shutdown would have undermined the foundation of Lincoln’s cause, which was the ability of free people to rule themselves. The paralysis and dysfunction would have told the world that the government he led was no longer fully devoted to the cause for which other Americans had given the last full measure of devotion. A shutdown would have looked like the beginning of the end that Lincoln always knew was possible."

"It makes sense that Donald Trump is indifferent to the paralysis of the government he leads, and that he welcomes a shutdown of months or even years. If shutdowns become routine, if politicians view the government in which they serve as a disposable tool, if we’re no longer capable of governing ourselves, this only reflects Trump’s contemptuous attitude toward democracy itself. Shuttered museums, federal workers who can’t pay their bills, national parks with stinking toilets: This is what Trump thinks of American republicanism. This is what the suicide of a great democracy looks like."

So, here's the real story from last night...

"Mr. President we don't need to create artificial crises. We have enough real crises. Let us end this shutdown and bring the American people together around an agenda that will improve life for all of our people." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

The President must end his shutdown now.
Bernie Sanders Responds to Trump's Oval Office Address

TheRealNews
Published on Jan 8, 2019
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivers a response to President Donald Trump's address to the nation Tuesday night on the shutdown and the President's demand for funding for a wall

Visit https://therealnews.com for more stories and help support our work by donating at https://therealnews.com/donate.


Oh, about walls... imaginary or otherwise... they have never worked anyway.
Even Ronald Reagan knew that.

Here's Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech, 1987

CBS
Published on Jun 11, 2012
From the archives of CBS News, Bill Plante reports on President Reagan's historic speech at the Berlin Wall, on June 12, 1987, where he called on Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down" the wall that divided East and West Berlin.

Courageous in the Moment

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

I thought it would be good for you to read the words said by one of the most important women of our time, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

The following quotes are from:  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Rookie Congresswoman Challenging the Democratic Establishment, CBS's 60 Minutes Overtime, hosted by Anderson Cooper, 6 Jan 2019.

Anderson Cooper: About the level of coverage she, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is getting by FOX and others, “…they are trying to make you out to be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party and with the idea being that the Democratic Party is radical and is far to the left and wants all these dangerous things. That seems to be one of the subtexts.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “I can see why FOX would consider a living wage to be a radical far left agenda when they are supporting the incarceration of children at our border. I can see how they see that us believing that people should have the legal right to apply for asylum is so vastly different than their punitive policies to build a wall and shut our borders. It is radically different from their point of view. But, we're not the ones that are advocating or defending the violation of human rights and they are.”

Anderson Cooper: What you are talking about, just big picture, is a radical agenda — compared to the way politics is done right now.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "Well, I think that it only has ever been radicals that have changed this country. Abraham Lincoln made the radical decision to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the radical decision to embark on establishing programs like Social Security."

Anderson Cooper: Do you call yourself a radical?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "Yeah. You know, if that's what radical means, call me a radical."

Anderson Cooper: How are you going to pay for all of this?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "No one asks how we're gonna pay for this Space Force. No one asked how we paid for a $2 trillion tax cut. We only ask how we pay for it on issues of housing, healthcare and education. How do we pay for it? With the same exact mechanisms that we pay for military increases for this Space Force. For all of these— ambitious policies."

About working within the Democratic Party...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "There are a lot of folks that I think sometimes want to brand me as a flame thrower. But really the truth, I think the truth of what I am is a consensus builder."

About knowing where she is going...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "I know that when the sunsets on my life I want to tell my children that we established a single-payer system, tuition-free universities, and that we saved their climate for their future because we decided to be courageous in the moment and make it happen."

and finally, this...

Anderson Cooper: These are politically dangerous tactics that you're using...

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "Yeah—"

Anderson Cooper: You've heard that?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "Yeah".

Anderson Cooper: Do you believe it?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "It's absolutely risky. it requires risk to try something new, but also we— we know so much of— of what we've tried in the past hasn't worked, either."

YES!

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a catalyst for change for the better for us the 99.9%… the average Americans, Joes and Janes...  as well as all the others... throughout the world.

Please go here for video highlights from: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Rookie Congresswoman Challenging the Democratic Establishment, CBS's 60 Minutes Overtime, hosted by Anderson Cooper.

Stevie Wonder - Faith ft. Ariana Grande - 2016

Wee-Wee Whiner

The "worst" president ever.

Tough guy dealmaker or lily-livered coward?

Well, neither. We learned that Mr. Trump is truly a wee-wee whiner after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) vented his position on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” this past Sunday.

Sen Graham said, "If you bring Dick Durbins (sic) (Sen. Richard J. Durbin [D-IL]) to the table, we'll fix this (end the government lockout). I think we'll have offers on the table when we find somebody that's not crazy… We're not going to negotiate with people who are crazy to deal with."

It’s obvious to me that Mr. Trump spent the weekend cowering in his urine-soaked-underwear, fearing confronting 78-year-old grandmother Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). She’s the lady who really does know a couple of things or so about hardball negotiating.

No doubt Mr. Trump knows Ms. Pelosi sees him for what he is, just a petulant child.

His recurring nightmare must be Speaker Pelosi outing him as a cowardly windbag and pulling him by the ear up to the blackboard and making him write 100 times: "I'm the worst president ever & everyone knows!"

Please watch the whole video clip for the real story: CBS News’ Face the Nation, with host Margaret Brennan.

Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now - 1972