T P O

T   P   O
The Patient Ox (aka Hénock Gugsa)

G r e e t i n g s !

** TPO **
A personal blog with diverse topicality and multiple interests!


On the menu ... politics, music, poetry, and other good stuff.
There is humor, but there is blunt seriousness here as well!


Parfois, on parle français ici aussi. Je suis un francophile .... Bienvenue à tous!

* Your comments and evaluations are appreciated ! *

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Scapegoating and Misdirection - by Hénock Gugsa


Jack Nicholson ("A Few Good Men")

Scapegoating and Misdirection 
- by Hénock Gugsa -
~~~~~~~ // ~~~~~~~
Mel W. on Facebook today (3/25/16) :-
" Why are Independents and Democrats registering as Republicans? I'm independent and I'm fed up with massive debt, Illegal getting benefits before veterans, 22 veterans commit suicide a day, lengthy wait for Hospital Appointments, over 3 year wait for benefits, illegals get them immediately. If you have a low paying job or do not have a job the cause is illegal immigration. This country is on the verge of bankruptcy. They'll be a time when this country cannot borrow any more money and the Federal Reserve can't print anymore. Top 20% of earners pay 84% of income tax. Top 1% Pay 24% income tax. What would you do when they leave the country or businesses leave? Or should I say along with the business that has left due to government regulations. That will be the end of the free stuff. "


My Response to Mel W. on Facebook
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I see a lot of scapegoating and misdirection in the arguments given above.  You do not provide any actual statistics of how many "illegals" take advantage of benefits here in the United States.

==> What benefits are easily (freely) gotten or given in this country?  If "stuff" were free, why then do we see so many homeless people and unattended veterans?!  
==> Why do "illegals pour into this country" ?!  It's certainly not because they are given dirt-paying jobs by exploiters who are not paying employer taxes or employee benefits to these "illegals". 
===> On the other side of the equation, there are bureaucratic inefficiencies, and there is  the big, big problem of "waste, fraud, and abuse" of government whether it is run by Democrats or Republicans.
===> What about the unjustified, never-ending military adventures in foreign lands that have so far cost us 3 or 4 trillion dollars?!
===> And about the tax-paying sectors in this country ... are the top 1% really paying income tax? .... And are they really investing in corporations that create jobs right here in the U.S.A??  Have you seen any proof of wealth trickling down to the lower rungs of society? 
===> Wasn't the relaxing of regulations the main cause behind the recent Wall Street crisis? 
===> You talk about "the end of free stuff".  For the majority of Americans, free stuff has been a thing of the past for a long, long time.  At the same time, I am sorry to say that nothing has ever really ended for the very well-to-do in this country!!


 

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Trump ... not an idiot ! - by Hénock Gugsa


Trump ... not an idiot ! 
- by Hénock Gugsa -

=== "This man [Donald] is an idiot."  ===

I disagree, Donald Trump is not an idiot.  But, anybody who follows him is.

Trump is a very clever, dangerously clever sociopath who knows what he is doing every step of the way.  He comes from a marketing background, where public sentiments are gauged and also guided to certain desired goals of the marketer.  Everything is calculated, everything  is business, and morality or conscience have no place in the general scheme of things. 

What is the main product Donald Trump is peddling? -  R a c i s m !!!
 
And what is racism? ....  It is a virulent social sickness not unlike alcoholism.  It can be passed from generation to generation thru familial and societal nurturing. There are merchants of racism just as much as there are liqueur salesmen or bartenders.  There is absolutely no question that Donald Trump is an unabashed practitioner and salesman of racism. 

To date, no one has yet challenged Donald Trump with serious and concentrated effort.  He is being dismissed or underestimated by the media and those with political power or influence.

The war on racism needs to be waged anew.   Battles must be fought on all fronts daily and without letup.  We should never give in to fatigue or despair.  In particular, the battle with Trump must be fought with focus because he is not an idiot!
Viggo Mortensen - Lord of the Rings