Summerton S.C. Blog: politics

Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

24.4.19

Download and Read the 'Mueller Report' for Yourself

Download and read the full Mueller Report for yourself rather than listening to political spin by either political party. Go to https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf

To help get you started, the following are key excerpts from the Executive Summary of the actual report which is entitled: Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election

The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Evidence of Russian government operations began to surface in mid-2016. In June, the Democratic National Committee and its cyber response team publicly announced that Russian hackers had compromised its computer network. Releases of hacked materials-hacks that public reporting soon attributed to the Russian government-began that same month. Additional releases followed in July through the organization WikiLeaks, with further releases in October and November.

In late July 2016, soon after WikiLeaks's first release of stolen documents, a foreign government contacted the FBI about a May 2016 encounter with Trump Campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos had suggested to a representative of that foreign government that the Trump Campaign had received indications from the Russian government that it could assist the Campaign through the anonymous release of information damaging to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That information prompted the FBI on July 31, 2016, to open an investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump Campaign were coordinating with the Russian government in its interference activities.

That Fall, two federal agencies jointly announced that the Russian government "directed recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including US political organizations," and, "[t]hese thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process." After the election, in late December 2016, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. By early 2017, several congressional committees were examining Russia's interference in the election.

Within the Executive Branch, these investigatory efforts ultimately led to the May 2017 appointment of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III.

* * * The report on the investigation consists of two volumes:

Volume I describes the factual results of the Special Counsel's investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and its interactions with the Trump Campaign. Section I describes the scope of the investigation. Sections II and III describe the principal ways Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Section IV describes links between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign. Section V sets forth the Special Counsel's charging decisions.

The Special Counsel's investigation established that Russia interfere~ in the 2016 presidential election principally through two operations. First, a Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Second, a Russian intelligence service conducted computer-intrusion operations against entities, employees, and volunteers working on the Clinton Campaign and then released stolen documents. The investigation also identified numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign.

Volume II addresses the President' s actions towards the FBI's investigation into Russia' s interference in the 2016 presidential election and related matters, and his actions towards the Special Counsel' s investigation. Volume II separately states its framework and the considerations that guided that investigation.

The investigation found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian-interference and obstruction investigations. The incidents were often carried out through one-on-one meetings in which the President sought to use his official power outside of usual channels. These actions ranged from efforts to remove the Special Counsel and to reverse the effect of the Attorney General ' s recusal; to the attempted use of official power to limit the scope of the investigation; to direct and indirect contacts with witnesses with the potential to influence their testimony. The President' s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests.

Again, download and read the Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election - Go to https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf

23.7.17

Spotlight on Dictators Around the World Today

What exactly is Dictator? Even though they have been with us since the beginning of time, why are there still so many around the world today? We have learned about past dictators like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Fidel Castro, Gaddafi, Noriega, and Saddam Hussein in our history books.

Dictator - A political leader who wields excessive power. Like the terms ‘tyrant’ and ‘autocrat’, the label ‘dictator’ has come to be used to describe oppressive or abusive rule. In modern usage, the term ‘dictator’ is generally used to describe a leader who holds and abuses an extraordinary amount of accumulated personal or political power. See Wikipedia

Today we look around and see similar examples in North Korea, Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, Turkey… Somehow, dictators still continue to emerge and somehow grab power over countries around the world. So, it’s time to briefly revisit the topic in this blog and look at just some of the many ‘lessons learned’.

Dictators will attempt to rig the election process early and get all the help they can to win office.
Dictators will talk about popular Democratic reforms, but will stay away from specific action.
Dictators will attack, neutralize, or take control of the country’s news media.
Dictators will attempt to stack the courts with supporters to uphold their questionable decisions.
Dictators will attempt to seize control of the election machinery to control future election outcomes.
Dictators will avoid the use of overt violence before taking power, then all bets are off.
Dictators will attempt to distract citizens and win support by focusing people’s attentions on internal and external enemies.
Dictators will repeatedly declare that the people have spoken, take power, and try not to ever look back.
Dictators will follow up and consolidate power by taking control of the government bureacracy, military, justice department, and legislature.
Dictators demand pledges of personal loyalty to themselves versus the country they serve.
Dictators tend to move towards isolationism and disengage from global treaties and activities.

Selected Links

People must remain ever vigilant to deter the emergence of future dictators in countries around the world. Freedom and Democracy are at stake and must always be protected. It’s amazing how quickly things can change.

18.10.16

Major Differences Between Democrats and Republicans in 2016 Election

Every so often, we need to revisit the following question - “What are the major differences between the Republicans and Democrats?” As we head into the final weeks of the 2016 national elections in the US, each of us ought to take a few minutes to revisit this question once again.

While Republican and Democrats have much in common, there are many differences between the two groups that primarily revolve around 'How' they choose to move the country forward and continue to keep America to be a world leader.

Take a few minutes to read some of the following articles and see where the two groups agree and where they differ:

Finally, if you want details on Donald #Trump's position on the major election issues, go to his web site at www.donaldjtrump.com/issues. If you want on #Hillary Clinton's position on the major election issues, go to www.hillaryclinton.com/issues

Get to know what the individual candidates and political parties currently believe before you cast your vote. Remember, even national elections can be won by a small handful of votes, as witnessed by the Presidential Elections of 2000 between Al Gore and George Bush.

* Also, check out the links to the political parties, their platform, and other key information on the web site called America's Future: 2020-2050.

22.3.16

Editorial: Both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are Right

Editorial: Voters in the 2016 election are have been energized by both Sen. Bernie Sanders and businessman Donald Trump. Many issues and ideas being pushed by both candidates make a lot of sense.

On the left, voters are attracted by Senator Sanders' attacks against the growing inequality of wages and wealth in our country. It's a no-brainer. It's obvious that the emergence of the wealthy class composed of 1% of the population owning more than the other 90+% of the population does not square with the 'American Dream' and the people's vision for our country.

On the right, Donald Trump's position against unchecked immigration of refugees at this time from self-destructing regions of the Islamic world makes reasonable sense, e.g. Syria, Iraq. Especially in light of the never ending stream of terrorist attacks around the world by Islamic extremists.

Some of the other interesting issues and ideas raise by these candidates that resonate with voters include:

Providing some form of free college education for our citizens to help create a more educated and competitive workforce.
Further improving border controls to further reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.
Providing some form of healthcare to all Americans that is acceptable to both parties by incrementally modifying existing laws.
Maintaining a strong military, while exercising restraint in using it whenever any crisis breaks out around the world.
Continue to move the country towards energy independence by further encouraging job producing alternative clean energy industries, e.g. wind, solar, nuclear.
Ensure all entities pay their fair share of taxes, including large US corporations that take unfair advantage of every loophole available to avoid paying taxes.
Implement laws to help stop the 'off-shoring' or outsourcing US companies and jobs to other countries.

There are a lot of other good ideas coming out from both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump's campaigns. Whoever finally wins the election needs to pick the best ideas from these two competing campaigns that have energized the American people, then get to work ensuring our country remains a strong, shining example to the rest of the world.

It's not about citizens strictly aligning behind the Democratic or Republican Party – its about doing what's right for America. What we shouldn't do is keep going down the divisive road we are currently on. We can do better.

31.8.15

US Presidential Election 2016: Primary and Caucus Schedule

Primaries and caucuses are the mechanisms used by political parties to choose candidates for public office in states across the US.

There are three forms of primaries, the direct primary, indirect primary and caucus. In direct primaries, party members vote for their preferred candidates, while in an indirect one, the ballots are for delegates who will in turn vote for their favored candidates.

Unlike state-run primaries, caucuses are party-organized political forums which are usually held behind closed doors. Primaries and caucuses are typically held before each state or national level election.

The first ever direct primary was organized by the Crawford County Democratic Party in Meadville, Pennsylvania, back in 1842. The practice was soon emulated by other political parties in other states across the nation. All fifty states, the District of Columbia, as well as the nine US territories, now depend exclusively on primaries and caucuses to determine a party's election nominee.

Election 2016 Primary and Caucus Schedule by Date [Some Dates Still Tentative]

Monday, February 1st, 2016 - Iowa Caucuses
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 - New Hampshire Primaries
Saturday, February 20th, 2016 - South Carolina Primaries and Election
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 - Nevada Caucuses
Super Tuesday - 12 states will hold primaries or caucuses on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

From that point on, there are primaries or caucuses almost every week through June 2016.

To see the complete schedule of primaries and caucuses across the country, go to http://2016.primary-caucus.org

23.8.15

Religious Leaders: Speaking Out on US Politics and Public Policy

Editorial: Religious leaders from all faiths should consider taking the opportunity to speak out on a wide range of public policy issues currently being raised and debated by politicians running in the upcoming 2016 Presidential Elections. It could prove enlightening. For example:

Immigration - Finding a reasonable solution to this issue. Do we want to build a wall? Send all illegal immigrants home, including their children who were born in the US? Providing a workable plan for many of them to become legal residents... The candidates for President are currently all over the board on this issue which effects millions of Hispanic people already living and working in our country. What would be the most acceptable solutions for the Christian and other religious communities to support?
Womens Rights - What is the right position Christians should take with regards to womens rights in the US? The political candidates are currently all over the map on the issues. Do we think candidates ought to be free to publicly disparage or show disrespect to women? Do we want to curtail healthcare services for women? Do we want government to tell a woman she can never get an abortion under any circumstance? Do we think women's pay across the US is not an issue? What is the role of a woman in US society today? Tomorrow? Religious leaders should probably speak out more about women's rights and their role in our society.
Environmental Issues - Stewardship of the planet seems to be an issue of prime importance to Christians and other religious believers. The Pope has spoken out forcefully about the environment, but many politicians supported by Big Oil promptly attacked him. What about practices that are leading to destructive Climate Change? Its impact on our weather, food, water, life... Should we encourage drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean and off our coasts, continue widespread fracking for oil and gas... We could use clear guidance from religious leaders on this crucial issue. It now appears our survival depends on it.

Like many others, I generally stop reading an article when it runs past 1 page. So let me just list some of the other major issues politicians are raising and taking a stance on heading into the 2016 Election. What are our religious leaders advising with regards to sound policies the community should support with regards to:

Foreign Policy - Sending US troops into wars around the world? Use of drones by the US to kill people in other countries? ...
Healthcare - Providing access to healthcare for all Americans, including the poor, the elderly...
Voting Rights - Current efforts by many states to curtail voter registration?
Gay Rights - Their civil rights with regards to marriage, restricting their access to certain government and businesses and services ...
Political Campaign Funding - Allowing unlimited campaign funding by billionaires and major corporations to support their candidates?
US Justice & Prison System - Unfair treatment of black citizens by police; the world highest rate of imprisonment of citizens ...
Family Values - Sanctity of marriage, adultery run amuck, disrespectful behavior, unchecked greed, immorality in so many forms ...
Equal Rights - Corporate welfare vs. welfare for poor individuals and families; Big corporations and billionaires owning 90% of all wealth; excessive pay of bosses vs. workers.

It could help many people to make a better choice in the upcoming election if religious leaders spoke more to some of these major policy issues and the public positions and behavior of the current crop of political candidates. They don't necessarily need to talk about particular political parties, but should focus on public policy issues and the type of characteristics and behavior we ought to look for in political candidates from all parties.

What do you think? Should religious leaders speak out or remain quiet?

7.8.15

Democratic Party: An Overview and Links to Key Web Sites

The national Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. It was founded back in 1828, making it the oldest political party in the U.S.

Politics is defined as the art or science of government. In other words, it encompasses a wide range of activities that relate to influencing the actions and policies of governments and its use of its resources.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for overseeing and promoting Democratic campaign activities. This includes managing the process of writing the Democratic Party National Platform. The DNC also organizes and supervises the activities of the Democratic National Convention.

The South Carolina (SC) Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the national Democratic Party. It is headquartered in Columbia, S.C.

The SC Democratic Party dominated state politics from 1880 through 1948. It was the 1948 Presidential Election that marked the beginning of the winds of political change in the state when Senator Strom Thurmond broke away from the national Democratic Party and ran for office as a State's Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrat) candidate. The shift in political climate continued with President Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This led to the current domination of the state's political landscape by the conservative Republican Party.

The Clarendon County Democratic Party is the local county affiliate of the SC Democratic Party. Within the county, there are 26 precincts.

2016 Democratic National Convention - The gathering at which delegates of the U.S. Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for President and Vice President of the United States of America. The convention will be held July 25–28, 2016, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

No matter what your political party affiliation, it's time to start getting ready for the next nation-wide elections. Pay attention to the candidates and their stance on the major issues facing the US. Also, check out the political platforms of both major parties.

* Visit America's Future: 2020-2050 web site to learn more about the political parties in the US.

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