#Russia

#SoCS – 6/10/2017 – US Political System

/ Rosemary Carlson / 2 Comments

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I am tired of our political system in the U.S. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not tired of our democracy. I’m not even tired of capitalism. I support both. I am tired of politicians refusing to admit their real positions on issues and what they have really done. I am tired of lies and deceit in politics that are destroying the U.S. political system.

Although I am a news and information junkie, I’ve started tuning out the news as I listen while I work each day. We have no idea what the truth really is. We can’t even believe politicians as they testify under oath because they have no respect for the oath.

There are two things, and two things only, that give me hope. As I’ve listened to the hearings, I have heard just a few young politicians question witnesses. Not the rich, older, white men we are so accustomed to but some new names and faces. New and young politicians from both sides of the aisle. They have seemed sensible and not yet jaded. Perhaps they are our hope for the future?

My second source of hope is the American people. My own opinion is that we got it wrong during the 2016 election. I think I am backed up by the polls since the President only has an approval rate of around 36%. That leaves a huge percentage of the American people dissatisfied. Perhaps in 2020 one of the fresh young faces will run for office. Even if they don’t agree with my point of view, they will be steeped in the ways of government. Perhaps we can reclaim our position in the world and in NATO. Perhaps the checks and balances of our political system, wisely put in place by our forefathers, will work during the next three and a half years and too much damage will not be done. Maybe one of those fresh young faces can re-establish some sense of political sanity and dignity to the U.S. political system and get Russia out of our affairs forever.

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#SoCS – Jan. 28/17

/ Rosemary Carlson / 1 Comment

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Two things are on my mind for this stream of consciousness post. First, I am away on a trip and the place where I am is where I would like to live. The unfortunate part is that it is likely to take a while, maybe a long while, to make that happen. I don’t want to go home. “Home” doesn’t feel like home anymore. This place, this magical place, feels like home. There is very little I can do to rush the process of making my dream “place” my home. I have to wait for property to become available and it seldom does. I will wait. I would wait a long time.

Second, I am worried about the state of our country, the U.S.A. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I feel so strongly that we have an incompetent in the White House. Not only an incompetent but an egomaniacal narcissistic man. A dangerous combination for someone with access to the nuclear codes. He has been there one week and has violated the Constitution multiple times. He has also violated at least one important campaign promise. I know people whose most important requirement of the President  was that he was going to build a wall on the Southern border and have Mexico pay for it. Clearly, Mexico is not going to pay for it. Instead, he is going to tax us for it, the hard-working taxpayers. Not only that, but he has harmed the middle class by cutting the FHA mortgage insurance premiums. He doesn’t care about the middle class.

Do we let him go on and violate our Constitution and do absolutely nothing about it? The result of that will be the death of our democracy. Donald Trump may be the last President of the United States. We may be looking at a different, and less desirable, form of government. An authoritarian dictatorship, for example. If we’re lucky, a parliamentary form of government. Surely not a democratic form of government.

Then we have his and his Secretary of State’s Russian ties. Thankfully, that is being investigated.

The very most disturbing thing is the President’s efforts to stop the flow of information out of many of the federal agencies. Shades of Nazi Germany.

I’ll stop here, though I have so much more I could say.

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Threat – Trump and the Russian Connection

/ Rosemary Carlson / 4 Comments

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The Challenge here is to use your creative talent to bring light into the current distress in the world around you, in whatever form that talent takes. Please remember that we are reaching out to a world that is facing upheaval and possibly a great number of changes. Let us reach out to that world and bring it the lessons we have learned by becoming artists and writers. “The word for this challenge is Threat.”

As both a writer and a U.S. citizen, the word “threat” has been in my vocabulary lately. I think many Americans have had that word in mind in recent weeks and even months when we think of the political situation in our country. The current administration has found out that Russia hacked the 2016 Presidential Election communications which may have affected the results of the election. Even if it did not affect the results of the election, it is alarming that Russia could have such easy access to computer records in our country.

The question is how do we know this is true and how is it a threat to the U.S.? That Russia did, indeed, hack into the computer records of those who had access to private election records. That Russia is a threat to the security of the U.S.

U.S. intelligence agencies were able to get evidence that Russian agencies tried to hack into the White House and the State Department. They also tried to hack into campaign  officials for the Clinton campaign. They did this by sending out thousands of phishing emails and hoping someone clicked on them. John Podesta, campaign manager for Hilary Clinton, did. They targeted Clinton because they thought if Trump won the election, he was more likely to lift sanctions against Russia.

What is President-Elect Donald Trump’s connection to Russia? Trump has sold many high-end condos in New York and Florida. Russians seem to like Trump’s condos. He and his children have also traveled to Moscow to discuss building condos and other business dealings in Moscow. Nothing much came of that. Trump did make many powerful friends in Russia, including the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, since he has been not only interested in Russia but very complimentary of the country.

How is this a threat to the U.S.? First, U.S. President’s, according to the Constitution, are not supposed to profit from their relationships with other countries. There is a definite conflict of interest here. Second, if you factor in Rex Tillerson’s appointment to the position of Secretary of State, it appears that a foreign country has captured a number of U.S. interests given that country’s relationship with the man soon to be our President and with the man  soon to be our Secretary of State. Rex Tillerson is a former Chairman of Exxon/Mobil and possesses much insider information about our oil and gas industry.

We must understand why this is so serious. Russia is another superpower like the United States. They do not have the same value system as the U.S. It is an authoritarian society while ours is a republic. World War II ended in the 1940s. It is now 2016. Generations of Russia’s have lived under Communist rule . They do not understand a market economy or a republic. Putin is a former KGB (Secret Police) officer.

The entire explanation for the animosity between Russia and the U.S.deserves its own blog post. But, briefly, after World War II, a Cold War began between the two superpowers. There were no diplomatic relations. There was constant fear, on both sides, that someone would push the red button. But, the Cold War eased in 1989 and gradually diplomatic and trade relationships between the two countries were established. There is, and has never been, trust between the governments and no understanding between the people.

If it is true that Russia has American secrets and did, indeed, try to throw the American election to Donald Trump, it is alarming and a threat to our country. Vladimir Putin does not wish us well. He wishes Russia well. Chances are, he considers those concepts mutually exclusive. If Donald Trump is either ignorant of this or complicit, that, in itself, is a threat.

 

#amblogging #amwriting #writing #Russia #politics

*This post is in response to Creativity Challenge 26