PRESIDENTIAL BOMBER

At least 10 Democratic politicians and supporters received packages mailed to them that contained pipe bombs that may or may not had been made to explode (two people received two packages).  Normally I would decline to write about the matter because the investigation is still in an ongoing preliminary stage, but this bomber did something unique in American political history. .

I believe to be unique among former presidents,  one of the pipe bomb packages was addressed to former President Barack Obama.  Although many presidents have had attempted assassinations while President (including President Trump) this is the first case I know of , of an assassination attempt on a former President

Former Presidents, until now, have been surprisingly exempt from assassination attempts to the degree that proposals have been made to remove their lifetime Secret Service protections.  I guess those proposals were premature.

So we have the continuation of the Decline of American Politics.*  Perhaps it is Newt Gingrich who started the decline with his intemperate language, but a very serious major step was made by Mitt Romney when he politicized the Benghazi attack while he was running for president as it was the first time the political parties didn't come together on an event that happened beyond the American shores or boundaries.

The turn from words to physicality began in President Donald Trump's run for the presidency:
During Donald Trump's run for President, he spoke of "get 'em outta here" about protesters in which they were shoved and yelled at in a Kentucky rally.  At an Arizona rally, a protester was punched and kicked as he was being led out of the rally.  Then there was Trump's comment at a rally in Nevada about a protester,"I'd like to punch him in the face, I tell you."  And " They's be carried out on a stretcher, folks." in the old days.*
and There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell—  I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much ’cause the courts agree with us **

The verbal violence turned to shootings by a fanatic Bernie Sanders supporter with the very serious wounding of Rep. Scalise and others on while practicing on baseball on a  ball field.**

And now we add attempted bombings even of a past-President.  What next?
...................................................................
The authorities have a suspect in the multiple mail bombing cases (now maybe more than 12) by the name of Cesar Sayot, Jr. Age 56.  He has a van with all sorts of pro-Trump stickers showing he is a fan of him.  He also has quite an arrest record dating back at least 20 yrs.

Note added 10-30-2018): The what next was an attack on a Jewish congregation in which 11 were killed and 6 wounded plus two African Americans were killed at random in Kentucky after trying to enter a Black church on Sunday, October 28th that turned out to be locked after the service.

You also need to look at the references in these cited postings.
* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/06/decline-of-american-politics.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2017/06/rep-scalise-shot-now-what.html

REP. SCALISE SHOT. NOW WHAT?

I assume we have all heard of the shooting spree in which the House Whip,  Republican Rep. Steve Scalise was shot in the hip and is in serious condition.  Yes, others were injured also.  The shooter seems to be a deranged follower of Bernie Sanders who has expressed his horror of the event  This shooting overshadows the murder of three white men in Fresno California at the same time, so maybe we are getting used to terrorism to a certain degree?*

After the shooting we have had a lot of politicians saying that we need to "tone down the political rhetoric."  There was Kumbaya the next day at the annual congressional baseball game, won by Democrats, who had the trophy put in Scalise's office as a show on unity.

Will this attitude stick?  Remember I am a lifelong pessimist and I fear I think it won't.  I'm not sure what can turn things around.  I remember Reagan being shot and his press secretary James Brady being turned into a vegetative state.  There too was a coming together for a short while.  I was sure that some meaningful gun control would result by Republicans from the injuries to their own (Republicans).  Yet, through an incredible effort, a temporary Brady Bill was passed requiring background checks for purchase of firearms, but it was rescinded by the Supreme court that ruled that requiring local law enforcement officials to pursue background checks is unconstitutional.  Most local police officers, however, voluntarily pursue background checks.**  In addition, gun shows and mail order were always exempt in the Brady Bill.

How did all this intemperate language in politics start.  I now believe it goes back to Newt Gingrich, in the early 1980s as suggested by conservative David Brooks and forward who even published a list of combative words to use (Included in the references are several articles in addition to lists of words to use.).***   Just a few words from Gingrich's list are betray, corrupt, and hypocrisy.

No matter who started it all, this is where we are today.  President Donald Trump used much violent language during the recent presidential campaign:  An example is:
There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell—  I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much ’cause the courts agree with us too.  http://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-supporters-clash-with-blacklivesmatter-protester-at-campaign-rally-2/
Of course, Trump loves to use belittling nicknames for people like "Crooked" Hillary" or "Little" Marko or insulting Ted Cruz's wife's appearance, among many others.

Though I am sure there are some liberals using pugnacious language, they are not common.  In fact I don't personally know one such person, though I have heard occasional liberals use the words, "Worse than the Nazis" against people saying temperate things about asbestos and other dangerous things.  I agree that is pretty bad.  Now even conservatives use the phrase, e.g. Sean Spicer saying even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons in contrast to Bashar Assad..

So we will see what happens.  Some day, some year a turnaround may happen.  It has happened before, e.g. Sen. Charles Sumner was beaten on the Senate floor to near death by Sen. Preston Brooks using a cane in 1856.****  Of course the Civil War came later as the polarisation in American politics increased.

* http://www.latimes.com/newsletters/la-me-ln-essential-california-20170419-story.html
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brady_Handgun_Violence_Prevention_Act
*** http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4443.htm
 http://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/gingrich-language-set-new-course/O5bgK6lY2wQ3KwEZsYTBlO/
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/newt-gingrich-greatest-rhetorical-hits/2/
https://www.quora.com/Which-U-S-political-party-is-more-pugnacious-during-elections-Democrat-or-Republican
**** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Charles_Sumner

I'M BEGINNING TO FEEL SORRY FOR ....

Megyn Kelly, the pretty 45 yr old commentator for Fox News who was bullied by Donald Trump last August 6th in the first Presidential election debate after she said to Trump. “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”  Trump later said, during the primaries, that there was "blood coming out of her wherever" *

After a few peaceful months, a second  member of theTrump "Elderly W omanizer  Triumvirate" Newt Gingrach bullied her again on Tuesday night (Oct. 25)
"I mean do you want to go back through the tapes on your show recently?" Gingrich asked. "You are fascinated with sex and you don't care about public policy."*

To which Mz Kelly responded, "You know what Mr. Speaker, I'm not fascinated by sex but I am fascinated by the protection of women and understanding what we're getting in the Oval Office."*

When is Megyn Kelly going to learn that pretty women are ornaments and exist for the pleasure of men?  Maybe now it is the other way around.  When are Elderly Male Womanizers going to learn that modern women can't be bullied?

Can Rudy Giuliani, the third member of the Elderly Womanizer Triumvirate, be far behind?  Oh, he has confessed his sins and says he is reformed.  I like a redemption story as much as the next guy, but I hope there is no recidivism.

* http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/history-donald-trump-megyn-kelly-feud/story?id=36526503

OH NO, NOT MEAT INSPECTORS

One problem with the Sequester is that it is "across the board," which means that every program in every agency must be cut a certain amount.  Another is that the fiscal year of the Federal government is more than 5 mo. old so a good deal of Federal money has already been spent, which means that the amount to be cut is cut from a smaller pot.  Thus those who say that the Sequester is nothing are wrong.  For example, consider just meat and poultry:

The inspection and grading of meat and poultry are two separate programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Inspection for wholesomeness is mandatory and is paid for with public funds. (Emphasis is from the reference)

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/Inspection_&_Grading/index.asp

So it is the law that meat and poultry MUST be inspected.  Inspection is almost entirely manpower so, if the budget for meat inspectors is cut (which it must be if the budget is across the board), a certain number of meat and poultry inspectors must be laid off in some way (If not some number of pay periods, then some number of days of the week.).  What this means is that no meat and poultry inspection, no meat and poultry in the market for you to buy.  In fact, it will probably be that less meat and poultry will be available for consumption because of fewer inspectors per work week.  What do you think that will do to the price of these commodities?

Budget cutters have tripped over this problem before, most notably when Rep. Newt Gingrich shut down the government which meant NO meat or poultry inspection so NO meat and poultry to the stores.  Fortunately, the shut downs were short enough to that there was no meat or poultry crisis.

The DoD apparently is going to get around this problem from a national security problem to some degree by just furloughing civilian employees.  One is already hearing cries from governors against this.  How in the world does anyone think you can cut the Federal budget without cutting employees?

REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES

It still seems to me that the most qualified Republican candidate for president is Jon Huntsman. He was an outstanding governor of a Red state and balanced the budget, he is pro life, pro guns, and has been Ambassador to Singapore and , more importantly, China, our biggest rival and creditor. I think he faces several problems. This is his first time running so I think he lacks name recognition. He has referred to himself as a center right candidate, but he is a true conservative. His Abassadorship to China was under president Obama, and he made the mistake of saying some nice things about him. And of course, his Mormon religion probably counts against him. He has thrown his full effort into New Hampshire. If he should win, he might take on some steam. He is gaining in the polls.

I think Iowa is wide open and the caucuses are only a few weeks off. I don't know of any poll that has ranked candidates by their likelihood to go to the caucuses. As Gingrich doesn't have much of an organization in Iowa, I doubt he will win in Iowa. But right now, the "red meat" Republicans are in charge and like the idea of someone who can beat up on Obama. Eventually, I believe saner heads will prevail.

What has happened to Machele Bachmann? She has sounded rational for a few weeks now, even if I don't agree with her views. I do agree with her that the payroll tax cuts are a bad idea. It just makes the funding of Social Security and Medicare that much harder in the future. How many will she fool? Iowa is her place. It's there or never.

Ron Paul is doing surprisingly well in the polls in Iowa, but I have a hard time seeing him as the winner. He is just too much. Though some aspects of his foreign policies are well taken, others are just nutty. It is interesting that libertarians side with the Republicans because it is the Democrats that are social libertarians. Apparently it is fiscal libertarians that take precedence.

I'm sorry, but I can't stand Rick Santorum. He lost big in his run for a third term in the Senate. His stands against things like masturbation (of all things), oral sex (even for heterosexual couples), and homosexuals are just too far out. (http://www.americablog.com/2006/06/rick-santorum-its-all-about-sodomy.html) I'd like to see him take a lie detector test on personal masturbation and Justice Scalia too. He is also opposed to contraceptives in health care plans. (http://www.ricksantorum.com/pressrelease/senator-santorum-launches-“faith-family-and-freedom-tour”). Also see: http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2009/12/in-end-liberalism-wins.html He sure wants to get into our bedrooms. It is not a surprise to me that he is doing poorly in the polls.

I still guess that in the end, the Republican nominee will be Mitt Romney. One thing I think we can count on if he becomes president is a large downsizing of the Federal government employees. This was his business career - downsizing. What else he will do is uncertain to me, but I'm sure he will try to be remembered as a great president. After all, this guy has excelled at everything he has done, except possibly campaigning. Why would we expect differently of him as president. So he might be better than anyone expects.

For an earlier assessment of Republican presidential candidates see:http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2011/07/republican-presidential-candidates-for.html