Fireside Chat:

Election 2016: Hillary vs. Trump Corruption

by Donald Frye on 11/06/16

Election 2016: Corruption

I was trying to keep silent on the process of America’s campaign season, which has gone on longer than any in history. But, with the rise of an unprecedented vitriolic presidential race for the White House, I feel compelled to weigh in on what has been a continuation of divisive party politics in our Democracy.

I don’t know if people realize the seriousness of what could happen to this country if Donald Trump is to become president of the United States. It is incomprehensible to me why Trump has been able to manipulate and persuade so many Americans that he is the answer to their problems when it is he himself who has helped contribute to their demise. I hear his supporters say that he can bring jobs back to the country and help spur growth in their communities. Are they not aware that Donald Trump does everything in his power to skirt the American system by having his buildings built using steel made in China and have his clothing lines produced and made in other foreign countries? Some of the very people who support Trump are the ones paying the taxes that allow him to continue his abuse of corporate tax loopholes. The reason in my opinion why Donald Trump has not and will not release his tax documents is that it would show that he has not paid taxes in almost 20 years. How can anyone who is struggling to makes ends meet, but continue to pay taxes on their own income support such a hypocrite?

I also hear the people who think that Hillary Clinton is just as bad as Donald Trump. I am keenly aware of the Bill and Hillary Clinton history. I know that Bill Clinton’s omnibus crime bill in 1994, which included the federal “three strikes” provision is responsible for the incarceration of more African Americans and other minorities than anything else in the country. I hear peoples’ frustration that there may be improprieties within the Clinton Foundation of meeting with foreign leaders and other wealthy people of note in securing funding for the foundation. Well, quite frankly, that is how funding is acquired by anyone seeking to build an infrastructure that can support the cause for which it is established. I do know that there have been exhaustive investigations into the allegations that there was a pay to play agenda by the Clintons, but there has been nothing found to substantiate those claims.

I also know that this is a “loud” talking point made by Donald Trump. What is also true is that the good done by the foundation heavily outweighs any proposed criticisms that the foundation faces. And when, it comes to tying the Clinton’s together in this campaign, remember, Hillary is running for president, not Bill as the Trump campaign would have you believe.

Look, I am in no way saying that Hillary is as clean as a dove, but I am saying that she is in no way as dangerous to this country as Trump is.

The anger and divisiveness that has engulfed America didn’t just happen during this past campaign season. It began after America elected its first black president, Barack Obama, and has continued to fester because for the entirety of his two terms in office, Republicans in Congress have continued to do everything in their power to discredit President Obama and diminish the office he holds. The continued rhetoric of Obama taking the country in the wrong direction, that he was somehow not truly American and not born in this country (lead by Donald Trump), and that he was weak and responsible the woes that the country faces have been the mantra of republicans since day one. Those misrepresentations fueled by a dysfunctional opposing party gave rise to unwarranted hatred and division within the country that is evident today. There should have been no reason for republicans not to work with President Obama in trying to recover from the “great recession” and move the country forward after such a tumultuous downtown. Instead, their hatred for him and continued lies led to this point… the fall of the Republican Party… and the rise of Donald Trump.

The decency that used to exist amongst the two major parties in the US has eroded to lies and deceit - powered on by an out-of-control news media. Their efforts to garner higher ratings have allowed to go unchecked the lies and rhetoric that we see today. And with those very outlets dictating the format for debates where they aren’t allowed to correct on the spot the lies told by candidates - serves no ones purpose but their own.

Voting:

The importance of your vote during this election has more significance than usual, as it is indeed a referendum on where we want this country to go. Do we want to continue to build upon the successes that Obama has garnered? Or, do we want to reverse the progress and go back to fighting the same battles we’ve been fighting since the 60s and before?

I ask those questions because of what has happened over the past year and a half on the campaign trail and because of what has been said and done during this same period. The significance of what FBI Director James Comey has done during the investigations of Hillary Clinton this election cycle has a few concerning aspects to them. It was unusual for the FBI to hold a press conference after an investigation to explain its ruling on a case as was done after he found no viable evidence of wrong doing by Clinton in her email situation. It was even more suspicious that Director Comey would hold a news conference so close to the end of an election to announce the possibility of a Clinton involvement with a computer belonging to Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The suspicion of FBI interference in an election is raised because Comey had no evidence whatsoever that there was a link to Clinton before he made his statement. Also, his actions went against the request of Attorney General Loretta Lynch to not release a statement at this moment because it was so close to election time and might influence the election.

These actions make it appears that the FBI is in cohorts with Donald Trump and the Republican Party to sway this election. And if that is the case, then welcome to Fascism. When democracy is high-jacked and the true vote of the American people is compromised by voter suppression, governors across the country making it harder for the average person to vote, weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, and authoritarian interference (FBI), then we have an obligation to go to the polls and vote.

We not only have an obligation to vote for those who have fought so hard for equality and for the right to vote, but for the future generations who should not have to refight the battles already won.

This false equivalency of Hillary Clinton being as corrupt as Donald Trump has been perpetrated by the media for continued coverage and by the Republican Party who knows that they cannot win a fair race because of their own dysfunction.

And for those reasons, as a supporter of Hillary Clinton, I strongly urge anyone who is still on the fence or is choosing not to vote because of all the rhetoric of the past year, to please get out and vote for Hillary.

We can hold her accountable to the promises being made to move forward as a unified country, to help create more jobs for the poor and middle class, to make the Affordable Care Act better (not repeal it), to help lower the cost of college (if not make it tuition free), to go back and overturn the omnibus legislation passed by her husband, and to hold true to continue to unify the country and not divide it further.

Remember, Donald Trump supports building a wall, is supported by the KKK, and has Andrew Breitbart and the Alt-Right as his surrogates. He also disrespects women and brags about groping them, has led the campaign against President Obama, fought to have 5 innocent black boys in New York (the Central Park Five) executed, and has run a campaign of lies and deceit.

The choice is quite clear. We move forward together with Hillary or we go backward with Donald Trump.

Donald Frye

November 6, 2016

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Republican Party Woes!

by Donald Frye on 05/04/16

With Donald Trump having "Trumped", pun intended, the establishment of the Republican Party to secure the Republican Party Nomination for President of the United States, America may have said good-bye to the GOP as we've known it? With the final two Republican Candidates dropping out of the race and pretty much paving the way for Trump to secure the nomination and lead the party in a different direction, I would have to conclude that the decades of Reaganomics and the near decade of Tea Party obstruction have finally come to a head.

This conundrum that Republicans find themselves in can only be summed up as the result of party rhetoric and division that was created by the total uncompromising attitude and actions that the party took in order to defeat and destroy President Barack Obama. When the Republican Party became derelict in their duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and actually do the work that they were sent to Congress to do, did they lay the groundwork for a complete and utter disavowing of the Party Leadership. In other words, while the Republican Establishment allowed the Tea Party to be ushered in as a means to discredit Obama and his agenda, they instead laid the foundation for dysfunction within the Government to a degree that we've not seen before in our history. And as a result of allowing the insults and outright lies to fester for what seems the entirety of President Obama's two terms, the GOP now finds itself on the outside looking in, with a Presumptive Nominee of Donald Trump! How fitting!

The change that is taking place in American Politics right now seems to be a continuum of the change that took place 7 years ago, when America voted in the first African American President, Barack Obama. And it is the unwarranted actions that followed by some in our country that have led to a resurgent racism, bigotry, hatred and divisiveness that threatens the very strength of our nation.

Let's not forget what dire circumstances the country was in when President Obama took office. And at a time of such travails did the Republican Party decide to stop governing, or work with a President to insure recovery and progress! Instead of allowing members of their own party to work to accomplish a path back to stability, Republicans signed pledges and met in back rooms to affirm party unity that they would do everything in their power to make sure that Obama did not succeed! They wouldn't even approve the President's Jobs Bill, which would have kick-started job growth on roads and bridges 6 years ago. They wouldn't even allow the President to fulfill his Cabinet Positions with needed personnel to effectively run the Government. Well, those and many other actions have led to this day and the price to be paid may be a Trump Presidency. I wonder if Kazakstan has a room I can rent????

The time for change in this country has surely come. And the "Change You Can Believe In" should've been appreciated over the past 7 years!

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SCOTUS vs. People

by Donald Frye on 06/30/14

The Supreme Court of the United States, today, furthered their Citizen's United ruling by granting Corporations even more freedoms. In it's previous ruling, the Court granted corporations the rights of people. Today, the court said that Hobby Lobby, and similar corporations did not have to abide by the Affordable Care Act to grant contraception to its employees, based on religious beliefs.

I truly believe that this activist court has gone beyond the imagination of most americans that it is fair an impartial. The tide has shifted, the lid is off, Pandora's Box has been opened, whatever way you wish to classify it, this opens the door for many more litigious people and corporations to press for even more freedoms, and with this current court, who knows where it will end.

I still believe that a person should be defined as an entity that is born and has blood running through their veins, capable of emotions, eating, sleeping, etc... A corporation is not able to have feelings, or know what impact it has on individual lives when a bad decision is made, therefore, it should not have the ability to have the benefits of being human, when it cannot suffer any consequences as a result of bad behavior.

When a corporation can reap all of the benefits of being a corporation by avoiding taxes and seeking every possible loophole in the law, yet, fight vigorously to avoid paying taxes, taking care of it's employees and abiding by laws that all other humans are subjected to, then how a corporation is defined, should be revisited by our activist Supreme Court.

If ever there was a time for Americans to take outrage at what is happening from our highest court, now is that time. The direction that this country is headed, benefits none of us, and, we as citizens must begin an effort to reverse these bad laws and elected officials who thrive on division and greed. Wake up America!

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Republican Benghazi-gate

by Donald Frye on 05/05/14

Republicans are on another witch hunt to procure their Benghazi-Gate! When we don't have any other political angle to nail the President and Hillary Clinton on, let's bring out the smoking gun - Benghazi... again, and again, and again, and again!!! House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman, (R-Calif.) Darrell Issa, and Speaker of the House, John Boehner, along with (R-S.C) Sen. Lindsey Graham's constant barking of Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi has led to another attempt to secure blows against the Obama Administration. And, to blemish unannounced democratic frontrunner for 2016 Presidency, Hillary Clinton.

A newly released email from the White House on Benghazi has led to Republicans salivating at the mouth that they have found the smoking gun that Hillary didn't do her job efficiently, and that Susan Rice lied to America in her statements after the attacks. Rice, by the way, spoke directly to the intelligence gathered at the time by the CIA. Also, remember, that Mitt Romney and Republicans tried to nail the President as not classifying the Benghazi attack as terrorist related, but was publicly humiliated after Candy Crowley corrected that lie nationally, during the 2012 Presidential debates that, in fact, the President did say Terrorist Acts the day following the Benghazi attack that killed, Ambassador, Chris Stevens.

It is the utmost hypocrisy for Darrell Issa and John Boehner to constantly belabor the Benghazi incident as this Administration's fault, when there were twelve to thirteen similar attacks on U.S. Consulates and Embassies during the George W. Bush Administration. Some of the attacks had more casualties, though any casualty is tragic. Moreover, Republicans voted to decrease spending by over 100 million in 2011, when the President was requesting an increase to shore up security for our embassies around the world. So, who is really the blame for the Benghazi attack I would ask? While conservatives are so busy fighting every issue raised by Obama, they can't see clearly, or choose not to see at all, the threats that America faces everyday from abroad.

On March 2, 2006, American Diplomat, David Foy was killed in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan. There has not to this day been an investigation of the George W. Bush Administration's failing to protect David Foy by either Republicans or Democrats.

Bottom Line: Republicans are trying to stop the freight train that is President Barack Obama, and trying to tarnish Hillary Clinton in advance of the 2016 elections.

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Changing Guard: Racism

by Donald Frye on 04/29/14

Once again, America is faced with another revelation of bigoted racist views. Over a two to three week period have we been privileged to discover the views by two wealthy people, one whose businesses are made up of and supported by minorities, and the other who believes that our government is invalid and cannot enforce laws against him.

Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team went on an angry rant with his mistress or girlfriend regarding her association with black people, even though, she herself, is half black. The Clippers owner chastised his girlfriend for posting a photo of her and NBA Legend, Magic Johnson on Instagram. He stated that she shouldn't broadcast to the world that she associates with black people.

Cliven Bundy, a ranch owner in Nevada, whose cattle have grazed federal land for over two decades, refuses to pay grazing fees to the government for use of that land, created a stir when he went on a racist rant about black people being better off as slaves. Bundy feels that black people picking cotton were happy because they had a job and didn't live off of government subsidy. But, I guess it's okay for him to get subsidies from the government and use tax payer land for free.

The new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed down a stiff punishment to Donald Sterling of a lifetime ban from the NBA and any activities associated with the Clipper organization, along with a 2.5 million dollar fine, which is the maximum allowed by the NBA Constitution. The league will do everything in it's power to ensure Sterling's selling of the team and disassociation with basketball.

As for Cliven Bundy, the jury is still out on what will become of him after supporters like Rand Paul, Sean Hannity, and Dean Heller ran for the hills when Bundy made his racist remarks.

I believe any and all racism should find a swift and speedy demise, and for those who feel the need to continue racist views and actions in a country whose demographic is multi culture, multi racial and united in it's quest for equality, should find another country in which to live, preferably - the moon!!!

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