Socialism, Two Brilliant Colums (Pitts and Gerson), Manafort Sentence, the Butterfly Garden and Bad Vibes from the President

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Would a Defeated Trump Give up the Office?

In a recent column, Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts wondered if President Trump, if defeated in the 2020 elections, would be willing to give up the Presidency or would he contest the election as being fraudulent, as he continues to do about the size of the crowd at his 2017 inauguration.   The Supreme Court put George W. Bush into office in 2000, and with its current make-up, a challenge of the 2020 results by Donald Trump might have the same result.  Pitts also wonders how Trump’s base, which supposedly would support him “even if he shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue,” (as he claims they would) would take his defeat?  Quietly, as Al Gore did in 2000 after the Court ruled against him?  Or violently? This is important to the President since his re-election would continue his likely immunity from indictment.

Even if you read no further in this posting, you must read this column.  To do so,  JUST CLICK HERE.  And if that doesn't work, paste this on your browser line: 

https://www.arcamax.com/politics/fromtheleft/leonardpittsjr/s-2181990

Jack Lippman 

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Take to the Hills - It's "Socialism"

I can see it now!   Any progressive legislation suggested by potential Democratic candidates for any office, including the Presidency, will be condemned by the Republicans as “socialism.”  This panders to the portion of their base (generously 40% of the electorate) which is ignorant of what “socialism” is and gullibly believes the lies spewed out by Donald Trump and his acolytes on Fox News.  

The rest of the Republican base knows the truth about “socialism” but is greedy enough to go along with Trump’s lies because they are for anything whatsoever which will not increase their taxes or better still, will reduce them or are simply unwilling to take any responsibility for those lower on the economic ladder than they are.  They are the unconscionable part of the G.O.P. which keeps the ignorant con man they nominated in 2016 in the White House.  They cease to be "respectable" Republicans when they choose to continue to support the President.  They will share his historic guilt.

Real Estate Developers are Just Like That

Trump glories in the lies and half-truths prevalent in much advertising and in the real estate development field in which he grew up.  Take a look at any advertisement for any development in any part of the country by any developer …  and then go visit the place and you will see what I mean.  The trees may be full grown in the ads but when you get there, they’re just four-foot saplings.  And the home advertised at $299,000 invariably costs another $100,000 more before you’re finished.  Half-truths are the standards they live by, the way they do business.  It’s normal for them. Buyers know it.   And laws, zoning and other regulations are the traditional enemies of real estate developers.  They believe lawyers exist to get around them and to get them off as easy as possible when they violate them.  Pick up the paper.  It happens every day in your town!  Bottom line:  These kind of people, including the President, position themselves on the opposite side of society from “law and order.” 

Donald, the Capo on Video

Saw a video clip of Trump commenting during a TV interview about imprisoned criminals “flipping” on their former accomplices and bosses.  He said that practice is wrong and should be illegal, and that means he is against convicted criminals cooperating with law enforcement to enable them to corral other criminals.  He believes, as do most “mafiosi,” that it’s synonymous with “ratting” or “snitching.”

That’s the way real criminals talk, gang!  Don’t believe me?  Check it out by CLICKING HERE and hear him say flipping "maybe ought to be made illegal."  The video includes what was on Fox with a Fox person asking the questions!  (When Fox showed this, they interspersed it with clips of the old TV show “Flipper” … a dolphin … and made a humorous piece out of it, diluting the Trump's criminal nature which it revealed.)

He has been conditioned by his dishonest business career and immoral lifestyle to automatically side with the crooks and oppose the law. (Roy Cohen, trained by Joe McCarthy, was his 'fixer' before Michael Cohen got the job.)  That’s what we have in the White House.  He knows no better.   Impeachment, conviction and exile are the obvious steps to erase this stain on our country.  But I now doubt that even Russia or the Saudis would take him.  He warrants a remote deserted island like where Napoleon ended up.   Check out St. Helena on a map.  Yeah!

Getting Back to "Socialism"  

Republicans try to paint any “ism” (except capitalism, I suppose) as totalitarian and repressive.  Examples are Fascism and Communism.  They try to extend this to “socialism” and the gullible swallow it. 

Karl Marx thought it up

“Socialism” in its fully developed stage is government ownership and operation of an economy’s means of production and distribution.  Under a totalitarian dictatorship, it is indistinguishable from Communism.  But that kind of pure “socialism” doesn’t work, as illustrated by the collapse of the old Soviet Union, today’s China (which finds it necessary to season it with capitalism) and in North Korea, where millions go to bed hungry every night.

What the gullible and the ignorant fail to understand is that “socialism” is not synonymous with day-to-day government involvement in a nation’s social and economic programs.  Examples are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, FEMA, the FDA, the FAA, the FCC and of course the IRS.  These and many other governmental entities regulate and supplement our free enterprise economy most effectively for the benefit of all Americans. Without them, foods and medicines would be unsafe, planes would crash, the airwaves, cyber and otherwise, would be filthier and more disorganized than they are now and of course, taxes could not be collected.  Where would farmers be without the government support the Department of Agriculture gives them?

Libertarians who believe that the government involvement should not extend beyond national defense needs would be happy if these agencies disappeared.  One of their economic gurus, Austrian Frederich Hayek, believed such government activities were the first steps on the “road to serfdom.”  And this is why any “progressive” ideas coming from Democrats will be condemned as “socialism.”  Hayek died a quarter of a century ago, when his ideas should have died along with him.

To deal with this situation, all registered Republicans should be offered the opportunity to drop out of Social Security and Medicare for starters.  Except for the very wealthy, this would be harmful to them, but if they truly are against “socialism,” they should do it!  Then they can join the families who chose to ignore the FDA’s “socialist” rules on childhood inoculations and whose children have come down with the measles, the flooded-out homeowners who believe that climate change is a “socialist” hoax, and the job transferees who find that their kids are a couple of years behind in their new schools because the ones they left didn’t go along with the “socialist” ‘common core’ curriculum.

  JL   
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Another Great column  

The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson (who is a Republican) wrote one last week.  READ IT BY CLICKING HERE.  I sent this on to Senators Rubio and Scott, asking them whether they agreed with Gerson or not, and pointed out that their answer would go a long way toward showing what kind of Republicans they really were and more importantly, what kind of Americans they really were.   PLEASE READ IT!  

If "clicking" didn't work, copy and paste http://mailtribune.com/opinion/columns/michael-gerson-when-trump-demeans-others-he-is-undermining-democracy  ... in your browser line to read the article.

JL
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Report from the Butterfly Garden

As I reported earlier, last year’s outside house painting project necessitated the removal or extreme pruning of many of my plants which nourished butterflies.  By now, most of them, and a few additions, are flourishing.  Not so, however, are the butterflies.

Despite the earlier appearance of a good number of Monarch caterpillars on the milkweed plants, and their devouring of the leaves, they have not successfully reached the chrysalis and butterfly stage. This is in line with whatever is harming the Monarch butterfly species nationwide.  I did see one this week on one of the milkweed plants.  Hopefully, she laid eggs which might, just might, produce offspring.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

More successful are the Gulf Fritillaries which seem to love my maypop plant (passiflora incarnata).  It is loaded with caterpillars which have devoured much of its foilage, but it is starting to produce new leaves and I have a second maypop for them to feed on.  Every day there are two or three Gulf Fritillaries flitting around that part of my garden, and hopefully, depositing eggs.  (pictures taken in my garden)

I am seeing an occasional Broadwing Zebra, and have just planted two new corky vines (passiflora suberosa) on which they can lay their eggs.  I can’t figure out, however, which plants they are calling home right now.

The Dutchman’s Pipevine is doing well and I have spotted Yellow Fringed Swallowtail caterpillars on it and occasionally, but not often, their butterfly progeny.  Same goes for the beautiful Giant Swallowtails which breed on my Wild Lime bush.   I put in a Cassia bush a few months ago too, and perhaps we will be seeing Sulphur Butterflies (the yellow ones) for the first time in the garden. They will have to find their way to my house first though since they seem to be rarities in my neighborhood.

While none of the butterflies lay eggs on them, the many old Porterweed bushes scattered around are vitally important to the garden.  Their purple flowers and aroma attract butterflies (and bees too) which hopefully decide to settle, and lay eggs, on one of the other plants.  It’s only March and I anticipate more action in the Butterfly Garden as the Spring and Summer progress.   If you’re around, come visit.

JL

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Manafort

So Paul Manafort got 47 months in the slammer, a surprisingly short sentence.  True, he faces sentencing shortly by another judge which can give him another five years on each of two counts, either consecutively or concurrently, or even concurrent with the 47 month sentence he just received for bank fraud and violating tax laws.   (Trump claims this exonerates him from charges of "collusion" with Russia which the Judge went out of the way to explain was not the subject of the trial ... but that was enough for the Presidential Idiot to claim "no collusion."  Manafort was also not sentenced for wife-beating, driving while under the influence nor selling drugs on street corners.)

Okay folks, why the short sentence.  There is something going on we don’t know about and it isn’t that Manafort’s life had been otherwise “blameless” which the sentencing judge said.  He has been doing bad things for which he should be blamed for decades.  No, there’s another reason for the unbelievably short sentence.  In some unpublicized and yet unknown way, shape or form, has Manafort “flipped” and is the short sentence his reward?  Keep your eyes, ears and antennae primed to catch hints as to whether or not this could be true.   (If you start to see the President's hair coloring fail to hide its probable whiteness, you can be sure something's amiss.)
JL
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