Friday, July 17, 2020

July, 2020, Update: “The Horrors And Destruction That Donald Trump Has Imposed On America...Just Kidding!”

We are in the middle of our monthly “Political Class Insanity” stream but wanted to take time out from that craziness before continuing with the current insanity running through the American political class. Over the past three years we have been running an occasional series sarcastically called, “The Horrors And Destruction That Donald Trump Has Imposed On America...Just Kidding!” During those multiple posts we have tried to take an objective view of Trump’s administration and its accomplishments.

Having never voted for a Republican President in my life (I am 67 years old) and thus, having not voted for Trump, I think I have somewhat of an unbiased view of the Trump Presidency. The purpose of these posts has been to get down below the liberal hate and venom they have for Trump, and everything else in this country that is not supporting of liberal causes, views, and craziness, and get to the bottom of what his accomplishments, if any, have been.

In doing so, we easily came up with hundreds of positives that the country has experienced under the Trump Presidency that most Democrats and liberals will deny but what reality will say are true, including:
  • Reducing the African-American unemployment level to record lows.
  • Reducing the Hispanic unemployment level to record lows.
  • Reducing the non-high school graduate unemployment level to record lows.
  • Reducing the female unemployment level to record lows.
  • Reducing the overall unemployment level to record lows.
  • Increasing household income steadily since taking office.
  • Raising the income levels of the lowest earning Americans faster on a percentage basis than any other income level.
  • Reducing the country’s carbon footprint by 140 million metric tons even though he withdrew us from the useless Paris Climate Agreement.
  • Forcing NATO partners to finally fulfill their financial commitment to defending Europe from a military budget perspective.
  • Keeping gas prices near record lows for a long time on an inflation adjusted basis.
You get the idea, it has been a very good Presidency so far along any number of perspectives. To see the hundreds of other accomplishments, enter, “The Horrors And Destruction That Donald Trump Has Imposed On America” in the search box above.

So let’s review some of his accomplishments that we have already discussed and add some new ones, using the same format that we used for the previous reviews of his Presidency:

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Before we start today’s discussion, let’s review my voting history: 
  • I have never voted for a Republican for President in my life.
  • Thus, I did not vote for Trump. 
  • I have rarely voted for a Republican for national office in my life. 
A little over three years ago, many liberals, Democrats, and millennials were besides themselves with grief and fear because their pre-ordained queen, Hillary Clinton, was not elected President. Instead, Donald Trump was elected, an individual that these same people despised, hated, and feared, an individual they felt would endanger and possibly destroy the country and our democracy. For the past three plus years they fretted, worried and lashed out at anything or anyone that even remotely smelled of Donald Trump.

Given that Trump has been in office for over three years, I thought, that as someone who did not vote for him, it would be a good idea to review the horror, trauma, and terrible things that Trump has subjected the country to in just eighteen month’s time. This is obviously a very sarcastic comment when you take an unbiased look at what has happened during the Trump Presidency. The many previous posts we did on this topic identified hundreds good things that have happened to America and Americans since Trump became President, including, but not limited, to the following:

* Trump recently signed 3 bills to benefit Native American people. One gives compensation to the Spokane tribe for loss of their lands in the mid-1900s, one funds Native language programs, and the third gives federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana, three things Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump finalized the creation of Space Force as our 6th Military branch.

* Trump signed a law to make cruelty to animals a federal felony so that animal abusers face tougher consequences, something that Obama never got accomplished.

* Violent crime has fallen every year he’s been in office after rising during the 2 years before he was elected.

* Trump signed a bill making CBD and Hemp legal, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump’s EPA gave $100 million to fix the water infrastructure problem in Flint, Michigan.

* Under Trump’s leadership, in 2018 the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil.

* Trump signed a law ending the gag orders on Pharmacists that prevented them from sharing money-saving information, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA), which includes the “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” (SESTA) which both give law enforcement and victims new tools to fight sex trafficking, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed a bill to require airports to provide spaces for breastfeeding Moms, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The 25% lowest-paid Americans enjoyed a 4.5% income boost in November 2019, which outpaces a 2.9% gain in earnings for the country's highest-paid workers.

* Low-wage workers are benefiting from higher minimum wages and from corporations that are increasing entry-level pay.

* Trump signed the biggest wilderness protection & conservation bill in a decade and designated 375,000 acres as protected land, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed the Save our Seas Act which funds $10 million per year to clean tons of plastic and garbage from the ocean, something Obama never got accomplished.

* He signed a bill this year allowing some drug imports from Canada so that prescription prices would go down, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed an executive order this year that forces all healthcare providers to disclose the cost of their services so that Americans can comparison shop and know how much less providers charge insurance companies.

* When signing that bill he said no American should be blindsided by bills for medical services they never agreed to in advance.

* Hospitals will now be required to post their standard charges for services, which include the discounted price a hospital is willing to accept.

* In the eight years prior to President Trump’s inauguration, prescription drug prices increased by an average of 3.6% per year. Under Trump, drug prices have seen year-over-year declines in nine of the last ten months, with a 1.1% drop as of the most recent month, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.

* VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.

* Because of a bill signed and championed by Trump, In 2020, most federal employees will see their pay increase by an average of 3.1% — the largest raise in more than 10 years, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed into a law up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for millions of federal workers, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump administration will provide HIV prevention drugs for free to 200,000 uninsured patients per year for 11 years.

* All-time record sales were attained during the 2019 holidays indicating a very robust economy.

* Trump signed an order allowing small businesses to group together when buying insurance to get a better price.

* President Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act that provides funding for states to develop maternal mortality reviews to better understand maternal complications and identify solutions & largely focuses on reducing the higher mortality rates for Black Americans, something Obama never got accomplished.

* In 2018, President Trump signed the groundbreaking First Step Act, a criminal justice bill which enacted reforms that make our justice system fairer and help former inmates successfully return to society, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The First Step Act’s reforms addressed inequities in sentencing laws that disproportionately harmed Black Americans and reformed mandatory minimums that created unfair outcomes.

* The First Step Act expanded judicial discretion in sentencing of non-violent crimes.

* Over 90% of those benefiting from the retroactive sentencing reductions in the First Step Act are Black Americans.

* The First Step Act provides rehabilitative programs to inmates, helping them successfully rejoin society and not return to crime.

* Trump increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by more than 14%.

* Trump signed legislation forgiving Hurricane Katrina debt, something Obama never got accomplished.

* New single-family home sales are up 31.6% in October 2019 compared to just one year ago.

* Trump received the Bipartisan Justice Award at a historically black college for his criminal justice reform accomplishments.

* The poverty rate fell to a 17-year low of 11.8% under the Trump administration as a result of a jobs-rich environment, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels since the U.S. began collecting such data.

* President Trump signed a bill that creates five national monuments, expands several national parks, adds 1.3 million acres of wilderness, and permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump’s USDA committed $124 Million to rebuild rural water infrastructure.

* Consumer confidence and small business confidence is at an all time high.

* More than 7 million jobs have been created since Trump took office.

* More Americans are now employed than ever recorded before in our history.

* More than 400,000 manufacturing jobs have been created since his election.

* Trump appointed 5 openly gay ambassadors, something Obama never accomplished.

* Trump ordered Ric Grenell, his openly gay ambassador to Germany, to lead a global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality across the globe.

* Through Trump’s Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team (ACTeam) initiative, Federal law enforcement more than doubled convictions of human traffickers and increased the number of defendants charged by 75% in ACTeam districts.

* In 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) dismantled an organization that was the internet’s leading source of prostitution-related advertisements resulting in sex trafficking, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump’s OMB published new anti-trafficking guidance for government procurement officials to more effectively combat human trafficking.

* Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arrested 1,588 criminals associated with Human Trafficking.

* Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services provided funding to support the National Human Trafficking Hotline to identify perpetrators and give victims the help they need.

* The hotline identified 16,862 potential human trafficking cases.

* Trump’s DOJ provided grants to organizations that support human trafficking victims – serving nearly 9,000 cases from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.

* The Department of Homeland Security has hired more victim assistance specialists, helping victims get resources and support.

* President Trump has called on Congress to pass school choice legislation so that no child is trapped in a failing school because of his or her zip code, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The President signed funding legislation in September 2018 that increased funding for school choice by $42 million, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The tax cuts signed into law by President Trump promote school choice by allowing families to use 529 college savings plans for elementary and secondary education.

* Under his leadership ISIS has lost most of their territory and been largely dismantled.

* ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed.

* Trump signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump issued an executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.

* Trump issued an Executive Order prohibiting the U.S. government from discriminating against Christians or punishing expressions of faith.

* Trump signed an executive order that allows the government to withhold money from college campuses deemed to be anti-Semitic and who fail to combat anti-Semitism.

* Trump ordered a halt to U.S. tax money going to international organizations that fund or perform abortions.

* Trump imposed sanctions on the socialists in Venezuela who have killed their citizens.

* Trump negotiated and finalized new trade agreement with South Korea.

* Trump made a deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.

* Trump withdrew the U.S. from the job killing TPP deal.

* Trump secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.

* Trump okayed up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.

* Trump got over a dozen US hostages freed, including those Obama could not get freed.

* Trump signed the Music Modernization Act, the biggest change to copyright law in decades, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump secured billions that will fund the building of a wall to secure our southern border.

* The Trump Administration is promoting second chance hiring to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment.

* Trump’s DOJ and the Board Of Prisons launched a new “Ready to Work Initiative” to help connect employers directly with former prisoners.

* President Trump’s historic tax cut legislation included new Opportunity Zone Incentives to promote investment in low-income communities across the country.

* 8,764 communities across the country have been designated as Opportunity Zones.

* Opportunity Zones are expected to spur $100 billion in long-term private capital investment in economically distressed communities across the country.

* Trump directed the Education Secretary to end Common Core.

* Trump signed the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund into law, something Obama never got accomplished..

* Trump signed measure funding prevention programs for Veteran suicide.

* Companies have brought back over a TRILLION dollars from overseas because of the tax reduction bill that Trump signed.

* U.S manufacturing jobs are growing at the fastest rate in more than 30 years.

* The stock market has reached record highs during the Trump years.

* Median household income has hit the highest level ever recorded.

* Women’s unemployment rate is at a 65-year low.

* Youth unemployment is at a 50-year low.

* The Pledge to America’s Workers has resulted in employers committing to train more than 4 million Americans.

* 95% of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future— the highest ever.

* As a result of the Trump tax bill, small businesses will have the lowest top marginal tax rate in more than 80 years.

* Trump has eliminated a record number of unnecessary regulations that hurt small businesses.

* Trump signed welfare reform legislation that requires able-bodied adults who don’t have children to work or look for work if they’re on welfare.

* Under Trump, the FDA approved more affordable generic drugs than ever before in history.

* Trump reformed the Medicare program to stop hospitals from overcharging low-income seniors on their drugs—saving seniors 100’s of millions of $$$ this year alone.

* Trump signed Right-To-Try legislation allowing terminally ill patients to try experimental treatment that wasn’t allowed before, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.

* Trump signed VA Choice Act and VA Accountability Act, expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care, something Obama never got accomplished.

* U.S. oil production recently reached all-time high so we are less dependent on oil from the Middle East.

* The U.S. is a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957.

* Trump has his circuit court judge nominees being confirmed faster than any other new administration.

* Trump got his Supreme Court Justice’s Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh confirmed.

* Trump moved U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

* Trump negotiated a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada that will increase jobs in this country.

* Trump reached a breakthrough agreement with the E.U. to increase U.S. exports.

* Trump imposed tariffs on China in response to China’s forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft, and their chronically abusive trade practices.

* Trump signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by Trump doubled the maximum amount of the child tax credit available to parents and lifted the income limits so more people could claim it.

* It also created a new tax credit for other dependents.

* In 2018, President Trump signed into law a $2.4 billion funding increase for the Child Care and Development Fund, providing a total of $8.1 billion to States to fund child care for low-income families, something Obama never got accomplished.

* The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) signed into law by Trump provides a tax credit equal to 20-35% of child care expenses, $3,000 per child & $6,000 per family + Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) allow you to set aside up to $5,000 in pre-tax $ to use for child care.

* In 2019 President Donald Trump signed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act (CARES) into law which allocates $1.8 billion in funding over the next five years to help people with autism spectrum disorder and to help their families, something Obama never got accomplished.

* In 2019 President Trump signed into law two funding packages providing nearly $19 million in new funding for Lupus specific research and education programs, as well an additional $41.7 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the most Lupus funding EVER, something Obama never got accomplished.

* Trump will soon likely be signing the first major anti-robocall law in decades called the TRACED Act (Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence), legislation that will extend the period of time the FCC has to catch and punish those who intentionally break telemarketing restrictions. The bill also requires voice service providers to develop a framework to verify calls are legitimate before they reach your phone, aloof which Obama never did accomplish.

*Trump did all of this while fighting flagrant and fake Russian collusion and ridiculous, politically driven impeachment charges.

Another set of reasons to add to the previous hundreds why the first three plus years of the Trump Presidency has not wrought disaster on the country.

For those of you that have hated on Trump since day one, and given your obvious gross error in judgment relative to Trump, let me ask that you to do us all a favor by implementing the following changes in your behavior and attitude:
  • Chill out, tamp down your TDS affliction. No matter how much you hate Trump on a sexist, personal basis, get over it. He is the legally and duly elected President, so refocus your hatred on more constructive issues and matters. You will live a lot longer if you take your hatred out of your heart and soul and devote it to something positive.
  • I would really appreciate it if some of you would apologize to the Trump voters you have disrespected in some of the grossest terms possible over the past year. You have called millions of voters racists, ignorant, stupid, Nazis, KKK members, and other horrible names simply because you disagreed with their voting choice. No American should be called such disgusting names simply because they exercised their Constitutional rights to the best of their abilities. Plus, slandering over 60 million Americans is no way to unite the country and get it focused on the real issues facing us all.
  • More personally, I would like, no I am demanding, an apology from some of you for your slanderous and disgusting name calling because in doing so, you insulted and disrespected my sister, my family members, my friends, and my co-workers who simply voted their conscience. I will defend their right to vote anyway they wanted and will not put up with your childish and vicious venom and bile directed at them, very important people in my life.
  • And finally, I challenge you to read the following blog post, a post that shows quite clearly that it was hateful people like some of you and your silence during the Obama years that actually caused Trump to be elected. Thus, the people you hate for voting for Trump are actually looking back at you in the mirror:
https://loathemygovernment.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-american-liberals-and-washington.html

If you were silent in the dozens of instances listed in this post then you were responsible for the very thing you hate: a Trump Presidency. Or put another way, a so far successful and productive Trump Presidency. Hundreds of accomplishments in just over three years is not too shabby despite many of you wanting both Trump and the country to fail.

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Great review of what has actually gone down in this country on the positive side of the ledger during the past three years, a reality that most of the country’s mainstream media refuse to acknowledge.

Our book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at:



 

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