The Path To Trump's Re-Election: Start a War With Iran

Is that what is going on?  The Trump administration has been bullying and name-calling and insulting and poking at the Iranians quite a bit lately.  Are they trying to goad Iran into a war?  Is this part of a strategy to help Trump win the 2020 election?  The American people have been very reluctant to put a new President in office while we are at war.  Perhaps the Trump 2020 team believes that is their best, or even only chance to keep Trump in power for four more years.

I hate to think that anyone would push our country into a war just to maintain their grasp on power, but there are a lot of signs that this may be happening.  The Trump administration is certainly putting pressure on the Iranians but not giving them any way to respond.  And they are jumping on any shred of information to sensationalize and publicize any minor disagreement or conflict with Iran.  It appears they are trying to stir up the American anger against a country that has primarily been staying out of American affairs.  It is difficult to see why the U.S. is more antagonistic toward Iran than toward Saudi Arabia, or Russia, or even North Korea.

Let's hope the Republicans don't drag us into another trillion dollar war in the desperate attempt to win an election.  A war with Iran will likely be much more difficult for the U.S. than our war with Iraq because Iran is much better organized, has a more competent military, and the U.S. is unlikely to have much support from any allies because we have been antagonizing all of our allies in the past few years.

Is Trump the Only Bully We Have Had for President?

I don't know much about the personalities of most American presidents from the past, I am only familiar with those from my lifetime, starting with Gerald Ford.  No president from the past has been such an obvious bully as Donald Trump.  I assume he is the first, only, and hopefully the last bully that we elect as president.  Although there are many examples, probably examples every week, I point to this recent tweet as an example:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1135499002626154496

I feel this tweet alone should be enough to disqualify from Trump from being president of any country.  When the person in the most powerful position in the country encourages economic retaliation against businesses within his own country simply because he disagrees with their opinion, you should know he does not have the best interests of the country and the founding principles of this country in mind.

A leader that punishes someone simply for disagreeing with him is no leader.  And our country desperately needs a leader.  In this case, Trump wants to punish CNN because CNN will not propagate his lies.  He tells blatant lies and expect people to accept his lies.  Such terrible character flaws should lead to the termination of his presidency or for any role that was created to serve the people and the general public.




Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/business/media/trump-att-boycott-cnn.html
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trumps-call-for-a-bad-news-boycott-ignites-first-amendment-worries
https://deadline.com/2019/06/chris-cuomo-cnn-donald-trump-closing-arguments-endangering-livelihoods-spite-1202626588/

Shameful and Blatant Propaganda From Steven Winberg, Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy

Steven Winberg will now go down in history as a blatant propagandist advocating for the increased production of energy from fossil fuels long after the world knew the terrible damage these fuels wreak upon humanity by causing climate change.  Everyone needs to drop all the "spin" on their opinions and justifications and just come clean.  We know that Steven Winberg is trying to rebrand Natural Gas as Molecules of Freedom because he is making a lot of money directly by increasing the production of Natural Gas.  This is all about personal profit, and it is a shame that a member of the U.S. government puts personal profit above serving the people.

It is shameful that so many officials in powerful positions oppose science for the sake of profit.

Washington Post article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2019/05/30/the-energy-202-trump-administration-s-molecules-of-u-s-freedom-come-with-a-cost/5ceec6061ad2e52231e8e855/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6bbbd610a998

The direct quotes:
https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-authorizes-additional-lng-exports-freeport-lng

Steven Winberg:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Winberg

A Good Short Video Explaining How Climate Change Threatens Our Extinction By 2050

This video provides a good 9 minute explanation of how climate change is having severe consequences and threatens humanity.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-climate-change-report-human-civilization-at-risk-extinction-by-2050-new-australian-climate/

Perhaps now is the time to say, "There are those in this generation who will see these things come to pass."

Free Science-Based Health Tips Delivered to Your Email

You can get free health tips from the Center for Science in the Public Interest by signing up on their site: https://cspinet.org/  The tips provide dietary and exercise guidance based on the best solid science we have.

Why Are Federal And State Governments Suppressing Science?

We've all seen the stories in the news proving that state and federal governments are trying to suppress the use of science in the United States.  We now have a resource online dedicated to tracking the abuses by our government agencies.

The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. It is intended to record reports of federal, state, and local government attempts to “silence science” since the November 2016 election.

We define “silencing science” to include any action that has the effect of restricting or prohibiting scientific research, education, or discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information.

http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/resources/silencing-science-tracker/about/

Why I believe Trump has never told a lie

I once told a friend that Shanghai, China was the largest city in the world.  I was wrong, but I didn't know that.  Tokyo was the largest city at the time.  I was not telling a lie.  And I was not providing "alternate facts".  I was simply wrong.  I admit I made a mistake.

What about Donald Trump?  He lies all the time, right?

Well, I'm not so sure.  Just like I wasn't lying when I said Shanghai was the largest city, I don't think Trump is lying when he says things we know to be incorrect.  And the reason I say this is because I don't think Trump treats sentences and statements the way most people do.  Trump speaks to try to convince others to like him and to persuade them to do what he wants them to do.  Toward that end, the truth of the words he speaks is irrelevant.  For Trump, the goal of speech is not to learn, educate, or even to seek common ground.  The only purpose of speech is persuasion.  What do you want to be true?  What do you think those you are trying to persuade want to be true?  Say those things.  Give no thought to whether or not the words you speak are actually true or not.  Persuade!  Get those people on your side.  Get them to believe in you.  Say the things they want to hear so they will put their trust in you.

You might think a strategy like that would not work today, in the Age of the Internet.  But obviously it is working for him, largely due to the Industry of Republicans desperate to keep Republicans in power at all costs.  They will spread disinformation attempting to dilute Trump's lies and change the topic by creating a new crisis to turn national attention away from other lies.  Given that the Industry of Republicans have been working since the Reagan Era to instill blind loyalty in Republicans to their leader, the strategy is working well enough to keep Trump in power.

So, is Trump telling lies?  By the definition of most people, "YES!".  But by his own definition, "no".