And the Presidential #Oscar goes to...

What traits would make the Best #President?

What do the people - ALL of the people - want in a president (or a Prime Minister or any state leader)? I can see why Trump appealed to many people and to the shock of many, beat Hillary Clinton. I have stated this many times. People wanted a change from predictable, political Washington - all talk and no action. Trump with all his insults and lofty claims appealed to those against status quo Washington. Donald J. was just the wrong agent of change.

Many pondered people like Oprah Winfrey or a well known sports person. Once upon a time it was Lee Iacocca - a respected business leader who had turned around the misfortunes of Chrysler and made the Ford Mustang famous. He would have been far better than Trump whose claims were all phony. The problem with all of these is lack of traditional public leadership - knowing your way around Washington. Shaking up the establishment did not go well for Trump in the end. It will take a while to retire the old guard but many of them must go.

How about these traits for starters and I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions as candidates:

1. Honesty. It is sad but in their personal lives not many people practice this although they want it in their leaders. Let's face it - they are paid by and spend the money of the taxpayers.
2. One of us. It would be nice to know that a President did indeed come from common folk and not from a privileged family. Many like Biden talk about their parents being commoners and hard workers - true but ideally the candidate himself/herself has gotten their own hands dirty and had to do without. Middle class is probably right.
3. Youth. Part of the problem with "the establishment" is age. Many young voters now want to be heard. They do not have any bias against minorities whatever the type. This is a fact of life today and the best leader has to accept it.
4. Transparency. This is always a fancy buzz word but the top gun needs to constantly let the people know what's going on.
5. Management skills. This is one that many of the past lawyer types lacked and most corporate executives should possess. However a corporate figure needs a well-known stellar reputation of being liked and respected by the firm's employees and the business community.
6. Sense of Humor. This is not vital but it certainly helps. They must be both firm and light hearted at the appropriate times.
7. Great speaking skills. This is very important. When speaking they must exude confidence. The language does not have to be eloquent - in fact speaking at the level of the majority of the electorate is key. Speaking clearly and without double speak or spin is a true skill. Obama was a great example.
8. Neutral. Another tough one but I believe a candidate who is neither a Republican nor a Democrat is just what the doctor ordered - independent. Politically it would be extremely unlikely given the rules are stacked against this but so were they against Obama. This would make existing parties shape up.
9. Tough. Always necessary. There will be times when this is needed both at home and abroad.
10. Pro-military. America has to be strong militarily or it is doomed. The latest weaponry both offensive and defensive are must haves. The leader must be known to support this but should never use it to strike first. Deterrence to others is the key.
11. Team Leadership. POTUS is just too big a job for one person - Trump is a good negative example. A great President has to delegate to trusted colleagues and be capable of letting them do their job. As well, such people must toe the line or be fired if they make huge mistakes or disobey.
12. Finally cool. Charisma is a winner. Obama was cool. Clinton was cool. Reagan at times, was cool. I am Canadian. Pierre Trudeau was cool. People who do not follow politics relate to cool.

Does such a person exist? Does anyone have at least the majority of these characteristics? I'd like to see some of your ideal candidates and traits in comments.

#thebrewsterblock

Pardon Me Mr. President

Time to Reconsider Presidential Pardons

Isn't it time for the whole idea of Presidential pardons to be re-examined? The alleged request from Matt Gaetz for a blanket pardon from Donald Trump is just the most recent example of the potential abuse of such a tradition. Thankfully it was not granted. Look at Trump's other pardons for more examples. 

His approach to pardons resembled his tossing MAGA hats out to a crowd. He pardoned friends and allies. Thankfully he did not attempt one for himself. He is not the first President to abuse this power - far from it.

There is certainly a place for such a last chance option in the system. The problem is giving this absolute power to one person. It was intended to right what were generally accepted as injustices, especially when a party had served a substantial percentage of their sentence. The idea is to give an otherwise deserving or remorseful person a second chance at some form of normal life again, when many years have already been lost.

So what constitutes an abuse of this power by a President? Here are some examples in my opinion. Pardons for:

1. Himself/herself
2. Members of his/her own family (to be defined) 
3. Cases in which he/she or any party, group, company, or association stands to benefit financially or in any other material way from the pardon
4. Cases where it can be proven that the President already received a benefit as outlined in 2, above.
5. Cases which have not yet been tried in a court of law. 

Here are some recommendations, even if changes to the Constitution are required:

1. The pardon is invalid and can be reversed when it is proven that a President only agreed to the pardon because of physical threat or duress
2. At present a list is compiled for the President's consideration which would remain. The President may add to or remove from the list. 
3. This list must then be reviewed by a small, special committee of current congressional representatives or senators from any official party. There must be at least one member from each party and its representatives are appointed by Congress. There would be an even number of people on this committee and a simple majority would be needed. The President could only vote to break a tie. 
4. The granting of such pardons would occur every two years. There would be a maximum number on each list (10? 20?). This allows those who might have been waiting a long time more opportunities for consideration
5. A list of the most egregious crimes (updateable) would not ever qualify for pardons. This list would have to pass in both Congress and the Senate.
6. If for any reason a President has to be replaced then any existing list must remain in place before the new President acts on any other new pardon list.
7. If the pardon involves an entire class of people such as draft dodgers then it would only count as one pardon
8. A guilty verdict must have been found before any pardon can be granted. Accusations do not qualify

These changes will not be easy. At present the process can make a mockery out of an otherwise decent system of government and justice.

Pardon me for bringing up the issue. I'm sure many others brought up after DJT's long list. Some of his predecessors' lists were shorter but just as wrong.

#thebrewsterblock

Easter Parade in America

Sing like Bing (Crosby)

This time of year you are liable to hear a classic oldie which - perhaps - even young folk know. This is the White Christmas of Easter - Easter Parade (written by Irving Berlin). Someone changed the original lyrics to a be more suitable for the current political environment.

In my red Trump bonnet, with "MAGA" written on it,

I thought I'd be The Lady of the Easter Parade.

Who's that wench in navy? With that blonde hair so wavy?

And what does "BBB" mean in my Easter Parade?

On the avenue, Penn' Avenue, when photographers do snap us

That brat will scat when I show her my Uzi

I believe The Big Lie, so where is Trump our Big Guy?

And why are all these guardsmen in my Easter Parade?

In the next election, there'll be a big correction,

We'll whoop these left wing Commies and their social charade.

Look around you lady. Your own State votes are shady.

And soon there'll be just whites folks at the Easter Parade.

Not so fast lass. Hold your ass. Voters Rights Act will trump Trump

And you'll find that you're up the creek in manure.

When The Donald's locked up, we'll see how bad he screwed up,

Then red and blue can hold hands at the Easter Parade.

#thebrewsterblock

Somewhere Over the American Rainbow

The Dreams That You Care To Dream Really Don't Come True

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high

There's a land that was once so free before the Big Lie.

It was served by two parties, red and blue,

And the dreams that they all did dream now will not come true.

Won't waste my wish upon a star 

Up where ideals and truth are far behind me. 

Where honor melts and pledges drop

And lies are broadcast from the top

That's where I find me.

There's a Statue of Freedom, way up high

And The Statue of Liberty both now wear a sigh.

They once stood tall and made us strong

Now there's no rainbow, what_the_hell_went_wrong??

#thebrewsterblock

 

Georgia on my Mind - and Everyone Else's

Georgia Not So Sweet After All

There is no logical or reasonable explanation for Georgia and its governor signing SB202. He says it will make it easier to vote and hard to cheat - RIGHT (extreme right)! If you believe that I am not parking my sleigh on YOUR roof next year.

Replacing the secretary of state as chair of the state election board? Remove and replace ANY election official for poor performance? Photo ID in order to vote is reasonable except you can bet your bottom dollar that if you are black or not white enough, hell will freeze over before you get that ID for the next election. What is next? Even with a valid ID your name is conveniently not present on the local voting list when you do show up to cast your ballot? That would be easy to do - clerical error naturally but still delay your vote until it is too late.

Since it is now published, just read the first page. If an election is not going the way they want it to go, the government can effectively replace, terminate, introduce, restrict etc., etc. anything and anyone they want. They say that they are fixing problems. The word is correct - FIX. The FIX is now in for sure.

Amazing! After spreading the Big Lie about the last election being rigged, they are now trying to publicly rig all future elections in Georgia. This is like all of the umpires calling a time out, and meeting in center field during a ball game to change the rules themselves in favour of the home team.

As some have already said, this is the GOP choosing the electorate it wants to vote instead of the citizens choosing who they want to run their government. It must be overturned.

It is time to call in world bodies to monitor and oversee American Presidential elections. Perhaps it should be Russia, China, or The Philippines.

#thebrewsterblock

I Love You - is it Overused?

I Love You, a Much Diluted Phrase

Many people will disagree with me on this but that is what writing opinions is all about. Take "I love you". Love in its true sense is not yet taxable or forbidden (but who knows what the future holds?) and that is to be celebrated for sure. But what does LOVE really mean? THAT is the question.

Is it really just me and my generation - baby boomers - or has the phrase "I love you" or the more common "Love you" become just an automatic and almost compulsory utterance? In my family none of us felt unloved (2 brothers and a sister) while at home. The hard work and sacrifice on the part of my parents to give us a decent life - the best they could - went hand in hand with family love. I don't recall any frequent "I love yous"  but also didn't feel deprived since my friends' families were similar.

Today I hear the phrase everywhere and every day from almost everyone. People can't leave home or hang up the phone without saying it. Preponderance of phones is probably a factor here adding to the frequency but it seems now like nothing more than "See you"; "Bye". Just like "How's it going?" and "How are you?" - you don't really want to hear someone tell you how they are for ten minutes. It is simply a traditional greeting. In the same way "I love you" has become both traditional and expected.

I am not criticizing here - if those who follow the practice feel that their family is better off for it so be it. Good for them.

To me however, it begs the question what is left for expressing special feelings for that very special person - often your physical partner - if you say the same thing to everybody else? Do they merit "I really love you?" "Double love you?" As well the word is used in everyday language way too often. My wife watches many designer / renovation shows. Every day I overhear "I just love that colour!"; "I love that lampshade!"; "I just love that toilet!"

In the heat of passion with the speaker if I were to hear "I love you" or "I love it when you do that" I would have to wonder "Yeah but more than the toilet" I heard you admiring this morning?

I think we need new expressions for those moments. Keep the "I love you" for departures and hang-ups but let's have something better for the warm glow of cuddling after lovemaking. Any suggestions?

Maybe you should just say "Oh by the way, I bought you that lamp!" and hand it over while you are both still in the mood! Save the toilet for something REALLY special!

#thebrewsterblock

Children and the Mexican Border

 Child Immigration - What Do You Do?

This is a tough one. We all remember pictures of children who were kept in cages after crossing the Mexican Border, during Trump's years. Some were without their parents; some were taken from their parents. It was easy to do the Dump on Trump thing but now the same thing is happening by the hundreds every day. What is the Biden administration going to do?

They can't keep building temporary shelters but that seems to be what is happening. Are there enough volunteers to adapt or find foster care for them? That too is an administrative nightmare since the true parents might show up some day. Pressed as they are, how do those responsible for the kids prevent possible abuse of the children by those foster parents? It happens too often already in foster care with American born kids.

Whatever means are taken, who is going to pay for this? Most Americans are already strapped for cash and the government is up to its neck in COVID debt on top of everything else. There is no magic bullet. However like a sinking lifeboat you have to stop the leak. In this case the flow is the stream of desperate kids.

With news coverage and social media these days those who have not yet left their country of origin will see that hundreds of kids are still being accepted daily despite the "rules" saying not to come.

One thing could be done in the meantime - teach them English while they wait - it can only help with their futures. Maybe the U.S. government needs to appeal to the public for ideas. Awards could be given to those with the most novel and promising ones. This would not be politically attractive and would take guts. Perhaps tax incentives to existing reasonably well off families would be an incentive to offer foster care until real parents are located.

I have to wonder if those opposed to Biden are surreptitiously encouraging more families to come north knowing it is now Biden's Achilles heel rather than Trump's. If the current administration does solve the problem reasonably they will be heroes. If they keep placing it on the back burner it will sink them along with the kids, just like that lifeboat.

Get after it Joe. Delegate it to Kamala the way Obama handed things to you. Your future depends on it.

#thebrewsterblock

Ranting Rand Paul vs the ever cool Anthony Faucci

 Forget the mask Rand. Get a muzzle.

What a mouthpiece! Ophthalmologists are one of the higher paying professions. Why is he now a Senator? It seems apparent that he can't see straight when it comes to issues - maybe it goes beyond that.

Ophthalmologists and Optometrists deal in daily routine for the most part - only what they have been taught UNTIL scientists discover new things and pass them on to the practitioners. Dr. Faucci deals with the unknown and the undiscovered and has been doing so most of his working life. I would trust Faucci over Paul any day of my life.

Rand Paul is also a professional politician. Faucci is not. What more of an explanation do you need as to which one to trust? Rand deals in hindsight and destructive criticism. There is nothing easier and more worthless. It has now become the disease of the GOP.

Take a bow Anthony. Take a hike Rand.

#thebrewsterblock

Has Human Evolution Reversed?

Human Beings - Still Acting Like Animals

When I learned about the Theory of Evolution, I was sold. It was simply a more logical explanation than any religious one. I probably just lost half of my audience but there it is.

So what distinguishes us from our evolutionary forefathers? I came up with the following and your list would likely be similar:

- Humans have complex spoken languages. Ditto for written communication
- Humans can theorize, postulate, test theories and solve complex problems
- Humans can reason - I think some of that happens in animals also
- Humans can self-criticize, albeit reluctantly
- Humans laugh and cry. Perhaps animals do but we fail to recognize it
- Humans only possess 2 legs but our other 2 appendages are more dexterous

If we are so advanced over animals then why do we often revert to acting like them - some of the dumbest and the most vicious? Given the opportunity I suspect many animals would love to trade places - or would they? Permit me to point out some of the more admirable traits of animals. I will leave you to use your advanced brain to infer whatever you wish from them.

Animals do not:

- Eat more than they need to survive
- Kill for pleasure or fashion
- Stab each other in the back - only in The Lion King (a human creation)
- Plan and conduct wars on their peers as a power grab
- Create any waste that is not organic
- Breed humans to slaughter and eat
- Practice polygamy for sheer pleasure based on "religious" justification
- Keep humans as pets or for deadly sport
- Lie
- Expand their habitat beyond their needs at the expense of their peers

- Create weapons and poisonous substances to eradicate their peers 

Animals do:

- Kill for survival alone
- Practice polygamy but without knowing they do so
- Grow to be the largest living creatures on earth as complete vegetarians
- Remain totally loyal to their human friends and keepers
- Die horrible deaths from products created by humans
- Manage to live and coexist without religious or political leaders
- Rely on the female to maintain the home and do the child rearing
- Keep fit enough to exist through their daily routines

Here is one more I could have included in both. Animals are not knowingly condemning the earth to an early destruction. Animals would - if they could - do something about that immediately.

Isn't Evolution great?

#thebrewsterblock

 

OPINION: Public Profanity, Potty Mouth, F Bomb, Swearing

 Can You Control Your Swearing?

In my last post I discussed my belief that some people show their true colours when they lose their temper. This is likely true for all of us to some degree. Do you make an effort to use discretion before dropping the popular "F" bomb in public in any of its popular forms?

I do but sometimes it seems that I am in the minority. To me you leave that behind in the school yard or at least at high school or college/university. There is a time and a place but I would prefer they are not anytime and anyplace. It is a matter of self-discipline and there is the problem. That is tough for many people as it applies to swearing, dieting, saving for the future, exercise and many other things. It is as though once they escaped any parental influence or "rules" they have to rebel and take pleasure in doing all things which were forbidden in the past. Personally I don't get it. Grow up. We all know that as adults we CAN swear - I just choose not to do so.

In my youth we were chastised for even saying "hell'' or "damn". Only once or twice did I ever hear my father drop the F-bomb and he was alone at the time - probably thought he was out of earshot. Not once did my mother ever use it.

The problem (OK, to some it is NOT a problem) is that unless you look around, you never know who is within earshot when speaking or shouting in public. Also public figures in modern media have no idea who their audience might include. Such language is offensive to many seniors and inappropriate for young kids to hear in my opinion. It makes me wonder whether people who don't seem to share my concern use such language at home in front of their kids and permit them do the same regardless of age.

It is one thing when I am with friends in a small group drinking beer, playing golf or whatever. It is quite another however, every morning at a favourite coffee shop when I hear it in every other sentence or in public places like stores and buses. I find it to be completely out of place for leaders in our government especially when being broadcast.

Think of some of the funniest people on TV over the years both male and female. Not once did they rely on swearing to try to get laughs. Perhaps they might have relaxed the discipline a bit at a private club but not in front of the world stage. Also their networks would not have allowed it. Today even that has changed.

If this makes me a prude or an elitist, so be it. I slip but rarely in public. There again I do use religious references in vain more frequently and that probably offends some people. When I am alone I use the word all the time in self-anger: stub my toe, break a dish etc. My spouse hears it unfortunately and even more rarely she might say it in anger herself - never in public.

I recognize this is a personal choice but like all morals and standards, this is yet another area of decorum that is disappearing.

Please comment below.

#thebrewsterblock