if I was in that chair... the world, our nation, the people, the community, and then my family, .. in that order.. and then me. would be the order of importance.
Some people do
indeed have a funny sense of the order of priorities in life.......When your own kind / family (add wallet to the list in the last few moments) shows up
last on a list of personal priorities, I really have to scratch my head and wonder about such fools.
Some people (even those entirely unfit for office, like
Dan)
can somehow manage to grasp, by simple intuition.....That if you take good care of the entire system in the approximate sequence listed above........
All parts of the system will benefit
from the system; And all parts of the system can then provide benefit
to the entire system.
Try to reverse the order of priorities by very much, and (nearly) all parts of the system suffer. (But as long as it isn't my part that suffers, who cares?)
While I could always stand to be better informed, it's certainly not any meme I'm basing my opinions on.
And I'm not one calling trump "un-American", I suspect he is perhaps almost as proud an American as I. But I personally feel that he represents the tiny fraction of the very worst of "America" the part we (
should all) be deeply ashamed of; Blown up to ridiculous proportions, and somehow held up as a hero, for inexplicable, shameful reasons. It is exactly because of how grateful I am for all that this country is, and the opportunities that it has offered me, that I do willingly "capitulate" once a year, and pay my taxes. trump
really has people in his back pocket, when they are willing to stand up and say he shouldn't pay "money that he
doesn't owe to the federal government". Remind me again where the line between fact and opinion is please; Because someone must have a particularly privileged insight into trump's finances to make that judgement..... What is and is not owed.......With such great authority.
Obviously, I take every possible deduction, and look for every opportunity to shelter money where it will serve me best. While I'm sure there are people who could help me do even better with my finances; I get a little queasy when I see the tactics they gleefully volunteer, because I "stupid"ly draw the line between right and wrong in a different place from others.
And let's not forget, it's very difficult to be "well informed", if the subject of your interest also has the ability (and lack of moral compass) to "wisely and shrewdly" conceal his activities.
Look into David Fahrenthold's reporting on trump's "charitable organization."
As a general rule, (I'm sure you already know): Concealment goes hand in hand with an implicit understanding that one shouldn't be seen doing the activity in the first place. (Just because you can get away with something, doesn't mean you should). And it doesn't make it OK when you do; And feeling superior to others after you have gotten away with it.......
Really puts a fellow into a special category of sociopath.
But the tax documents of trump's "charitable organization" are thankfully public documents; That's where Fahrenthold's reporting started. Where it went from there, should come as no surprise to anyone; Neither will it be seen as anything to be concerned about, by the sort of people who might eagerly conduct themselves in a similar manner as trump, given half a chance.
The internet is a largely toneless environment, you don't really much know me; I'm not nearly as angry an individual as you evidently think, and I bet you (
@random username) would be quite surprised at just how much
more we have in common than you currently suspect, if we met on the street. But there are definitely a few things I have very,
very very little patience with. Injustice is at the top of the list, hypocrisy is a close second. And it is the occasional instance, when one or the other (or both) is pointed out in
my own behavior....That gives me a welcome opportunity to grow as a human being........ And then embrace #3 on the list..... Intellectual (dis)honesty.
Willful intellectual dishonesty sucks.
And in a great many trump supporters, I see a willingness to fully embrace injustice, hypocrisy, and most of all, intellectual dishonesty. Without even being aware of the fact that they are doing it.
Displaying a reflexive disdain for charitable organizations, because they might be seen as corrupt, is a good starting place. The Clinton Foundation(s) and trump's (clever tax dodges) shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. And when one mentally transfers all of the (verifiable and provable failings of the one), onto the other(s), as an excuse to be suspicious of them all.......'C'mon, get real.
I can easily respect a wide variety of views and philosophies. This guy, however, I can't respect on any level, AND he is dangerously close to unimaginable power. Let him be a reality TV show host, a country singer, a hair club for men spokesperson, a local NFL quarterback.....Heck, let him be the charming, admirable, oh so sexy head of a TV "news" network, for all I care. Anything but an elected official.
Look into Brian Walsh. He's a Republican strategist, who is displaying great intellectual honesty. He openly states that he has no desire to see Hillary in the white house, but freely points to the areas where he does agree with her on certain issues.....And at the end of the day, he openly says he will
not vote for her, under any circumstances. But neither will he vote for donald; Not because of his own personal story, which he freely acknowledges is ancient history....... But rather because he doesn't see him to be a fit leader. Full stop. And he feels his time is better spent working on House and Senate races, in favor of Republican candidates which he does admire and support.
Those who give me "I don't really like trump at all, but I'm gonna' lie back and swallow it, 'cause......"
I got no use for them; Work
for something, punch back, or get out of the way.
Brian Walsh saw his father screwed by trump in the mid 1980's. Just because it helps to prove my point doesn't make it the final word; But it's a nice example of the kind of intellectual honesty, and of the kind of man I
can respect. And if it were a single isolated story, that would be one thing. But this isn't, it's part of the overwhelming mountain of evidence many deplorables choose to not see.
In short, the guy's father, (like others) did a lot of work on one of trump's early projects, then struggled for a very long time to get paid, ultimately accepting a fraction of the money owed to him. (Sound familiar, anyone? Golly, what a "wise and shrewd" business man, is your hero, not paying a sub; Wish I figured out how to get away with that...... Or paid someone else to figure out how to figure it out for me.) The father jumped through one trump hoop after another, in an effort to do what was necessary to meet the next questionable, trumped up demand.......But ultimately "capitulated", only to be told by the heroic worker bee donald minions in his office, who "structure his life" in the very manner that lets him "maximize every loophole and opportunity" to take advantage of the system.......It's gonna' cost you more to litigate, so you really should just take this.
One man's clever is another man's contemptible.
One man's "loophole and opportunity" is another man's
dinner. ( But screw him, if he doesn't have the horsepower to take it from me.)
Makes me even
more proud to be an American.
And P.S: Vin Scully for President, yo.
Unfortunately, a guy actually contending for the office comes in for significantly less scrutiny.
