Let me tell you about trust...

Trust that we'll do the right thing after 241 years? Let me tell you about trust. I was betrayed by my party, my candidate, my president, my Congress, my government, and now my country... and the way things are going, it won't be long until I lose trust in the Constitution. The one that I donned a uniform for and took an oath to defend against all enemies both foreign and domestic. So don't lecture me about trust or my country. I think I got this one.

It's America's Birthday...There's a lot of people not very happy...

It's the day before we commemorate our independence from Great Britain 241 years ago. Yet, the mood of the nation is one that calls out for impeachment, charges of treason, collusion, financial crimes, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. We have conservatives voting on tax breaks for the rich disguised as a health care bill, that will ensure millions lose their health care putting their very lives in peril. We have enough problems to go around.

However, if we are to evade the embarrassment of another impeachment and a triggering of the line of succession, our only hope is that the scope of Mueller's investigation is wide and encompasses a strategy of simultaneous, multi agency and multi jurisdictional operations.

It is this citizen's concern that in the case of the United States vs Donald Trump, President, the Constitutional line of succession may contain possible persons of interest in several ongoing investigations, or worse, defendants in Federal prosecutions. Let the fire works begin.

When Darkness Fades With Daylight

If Congress works for us, If we pay them very well, and give them the best health care plan available and a very good retirement for life plan, they should be doing what we pay them to do. The work required of We the People, and if they don't, we should be able to fire them. We shouldn't have to wait for elections to have them removed from office. They should be able to be pink slipped just like the rest of working America. It is a job that they spend billions to get, but we're the ones giving it to them and they work for us. It is my belief that the Constitution was purposely ambiguous about this matter and therefore left it to the interpretation of we the people. Again I must reiterate, they work for us, therefore we determine their fate by vote of confidence or otherwise. It is NOT in their power to ignore or override the will of the people. Oh, they think they can, but they can not by virtue of the Constitution.

Our government and Congress claim they operate with oversight, with checks and balances. We should be the check and balance for Congress and government. We elected them, we didn't make them gods. When was the last time government actually asked us what they should do before they do it? And I don't mean naming a post office. I mean what they should do about crime, government corruption, war, and most obvious, health care for all Americans? When they do ask us and we respond, they don't listen to us anyway. They believe they are untouchable when in actuality, they've become impervious to reason, common sense, and conscience.

What has become abundantly and painfully apparent, is they can not be left to their own designs nor to police themselves. Simply too much corruption and impropriety have been exposed to the point that we the people, our foreign allies and indeed the world, now see us as a disgrace to the ideal of America. Oversight of Congress can not be a circumstance in which the "foxes oversee the hen house". Americans are deeply concerned with the behavior and direction of our government. Many feel it's out of control and has become authoritarian by design. Some say it's broken beyond redemption, others, bordering on just plain lunacy.

Are We the People, prepared to make the hard choices, to do what is necessary to reclaim the helm of America? What ever actions that may entail, or circumstances we will face because of those actions, only history will tell. Now is the time for America to make history.
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"When darkness fades with daylight, and the sheep are able to look upon the wolves, only then can they survive."
~ George Legeros

Health Care; The Bankrupting of a Nation

Dear America (and Congress),
Haven't they screwed around with health care long enough? Harry S friggen Truman had the right answer...But no! Health care in America was sold to the highest bidder, and they've been slowly but surely bankrupting America ever since. Hasn't America gone broke on health care long enough or fast enough for you?

If you are considering a solution other than universal health care, which is not universal for profit insurance, you're either woefully dimwitted or willfully blind and compromised. I'm going with the latter.

It's time to raise taxes on everyone a few percent to help pay for everyone's health care. Notice I said raise taxes on everyone to pay for everyone's health care. I don't want to hear you don't want to pay for this or that, or his or her health care because of your greed or your religion. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. We're Americans, health care belongs to everyone. Who are we to deny the right to health care, the right to survive illness to any American? We must be fair to all. We can not allow some to have health care and some not because of politics or bureaucracy.

Universal health care can only be achieved on a national basis. It must be implemented in every state of the union, unencumbered by layers of bureaucracy and without hesitation or hindrance. It is after all a matter of national security. We as a nation can not be truly secure if we as a people are unhealthy physically, or mentally.

Along with a slight increase in taxes, we must also initially appropriate and divert $400 Billion Dollars from the defense budget over 10 years, in the name of National Security, for start up and operating expenses. It's money we already have. We'll just be using it to help save American lives instead of spending it on weapons and bombs that we sell to and drop on other countries.

We need to improve the Medicare formula and expand on it. Negotiate for medication and required medical services but don't give the farm away. Only the vastness of the US government has the buying power to drive medical/health care costs down. It can't be done by the private sector because they operate on a for profit business model. If you don't believe me, then please explain how one can purchase a medication for $10 in another country, yet we in American, must pay an exorbitant amount for the same medication. That's just greed.

We need to break the chains of for profit health insurance and the greed in the pharmaceutical and medical industry in general, that have been holding this country slaves to stock markets, board room bonuses, and denial of claims. We need to let insurance companies do what they do best. Insure houses, cars, boats and air planes, that kind of stuff. They're good at that. But they've had their chance at insuring health care. They've been killing us with their health insurance business long enough. The end effect of their profits-over-life business model either kills or bankrupts their customers, or inflicts enough sorrw and grief to last them a life time.

Universal health care will eliminate the profits-over-life drivers of the medical industry from the mix. The quality of your health care and the relationship between doctor and patient will produce better results because it will be based directly on individual patient's needs and not on corporate bonuses or stock market ticks. The best part, the minimal tax increase will be less for everyone (notice I said everyone) than monthly insurance premiums. And, it will end the faux hand wringing of those we elected who don't care as much because we the people pay for their health care. And finally, for those die hard health insurance bean counters, if you're going to argue that coverage determines premiums, you already lost the argument.

Continue At Your Own Peril

America may never require another election in the foreseeable future. If this Republican death sentence known as the AHCA passes in it's present form, and people start realizing they've been had because they're going broke, they've lost access to health care, and folks are actually dying from it, I am loath to say I predict a very brutal and bloody insurrection.

If you back the poor and middle class into a corner, if you push people who have nothing left to lose to their limit, you better be prepared for the worst because it can't get any worse than insurrection.

So when we get there, and people start asking themselves how we got there, their answer will be Donald Trump and his Republican Congressional charlatans who have little concern for those who elected them. They may think they're safe in their castle on Capitol Hill, but I predict they will be the first to go. There will be no place to run or hide from the fate they wrought on themselves.

"A country born out of insurrection will do what is necessary to save the republic from pirates, blaggards, and robber barons disguised as patriots" ~ George Legeros

Our Elections and National Security

Today I listened intently to Jeh Johnson, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, testify on Capitol Hill related to his knowledge of alleged Russian cyber intrusion, and it's effect on the 2016 elections. As someone who has held a security clearance, I am appalled by what I heard. Here's why. From everything I was able to understand, the operation of our elections by private, political, non governmental organizations, has national security implications and therefore are a matter of national security.

Reports of a foreign and domestic election improprieties demand investigation. Yet these private organizations would deny access to a plethora of agencies whose job is to protect our national security detect. I am reminded of a TV commercial I'd recently seen about a security company that only provided security monitoring services to a bank so when the bank got robbed, they weren't actually able to do anything about it. Something is very wrong with this picture.

If we are in agreement that fair, free, open, elections are the life blood of democracy, they must remain untampered, free and safe from fraud and cyber manipulation. Our election are a matter of national security. How is it that these private, non governmental political organizations, entrusted with the election of the President of the United States, are allowed to deny access to their system by national security cyber specialists and are allowed to continue to operate when a reported 17 intelligence agencies insist our election system was compromised by person or persons who may be actors of foreign nations. Those agencies have provided public testimony that it was Russian interference. I'm guessing for matters of national security, we're going to have to take their word for it. My thing is, if we don't allow government officials to operate in a manner that would jeopardize national security, why would we allow political parties to do so?

If we are serious about the integrity of our election system, and we agree that our elections are a matter of national security, we can no longer continue to allow private, non governmental organizations, (political parties), the responsibility of ensuring the integrity of our election systems against cyber intrusion and/or manipulation. Normal civilian, nongovernmental protections and off the shelf software is inadequate. Our political parties have demonstrated that they do not have the requisite capabilities, nor the knowledge required to ensure the integrity of elections from a national security standpoint, and they should not get to do a do over in the same manner. It is after all, the election of the President of the United States and definitely a matter of national security.

The fact that the political parties were approached by national security agencies, and they were outright refused access after proof their IT network was compromised is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue. The security of our elections is at stake. This is a monumental failure and one that Congress, the American people, and every alphabet agency tasked with national security should mandate a remedy to be immediately implemented to ensure these kind of activities cease and it's must be implemented before the next election. To allow this nonchalant approach to national security and election integrity to continue is tantamount to having a counter terrorist swat team surround a suspected terrorist strong hold, then pack up and leave because they heard a voice from inside say "there's nobody home".

Is America Politically Enfeebled?

There's just something about the mentally ill possessing firearms...It's bad enough everyday idiots have them but the mentally ill? Seriously? If there's a lesson to be learned from life, it has to be that people have been killing each other since the dawn of man for one reason or another. Isn't it time we at least make that harder for some? The notion that untenable government is responsible for one's suffering isn't a new one, and it's not unique to the United States. But when the obsessive political divisiveness and odious discourse of our elected, enfeebles a populous to the point of violence, it's time to take a hard look at the politics. Because if you allow the politically enfeebled the freedom to own a gun, they're going to shoot someone eventually.