Washington's New Reality TV

I am a big fan for evening TV drama's. I was in love with the hit show "24". It was about an patriotic intelligence agent named Jack Bauer, who in one day had to save America from a nuclear terrorist plot. Jack did all sorts of undercover operations, some of which were not very ethical, but the need for results outweighed the means. I also liked it because it gave us our first "black" President. President Palmer, was a good and ethical man, leading our country against the forces of evil, even while others in the government worked against him. Great action and drama. Later on in life we got a real black President in President Obama.

Other dramas have followed like The West Wing, Scandal, Madame Secretary, The Sole Survivor, and others. As I watched these I always felt in the back of my mind that these were just fictitious scripts, developed in the minds of talented writers, and this stuff could never really happen. However, the more I watched and the more I watch real life news, the more it appears that these shows are born from events that can and to some extent do occur. I watched the series Tyrant, and it reminds me more and more about the middle east and Syria in particular. The U.S. is portrayed in a different manner, and we also have an immigrant to America, who returns to his homeland to try and make a change. However, the inner workings of the show is quite believable.

Scandal was one of my favorites. It deals with the powerful influencers in government and at the highest levels. The actions of the President and his staff, as well as clandestine agencies and activities. e At the center of it is a love story as well as how to get a President elected. The acting parts could be interchanged with  the accusations that are swirling around our current President and his cabinet. We now have a reality tv star and international billionaire businessman running the country as President. He somehow beat out the establishment in an historical fashion, with what some believe was help fro our enemy Russia. Such mystery and intrigue.His family is in the white house and running his multinational business empire. He is vowed to the American people that he is working for them and plans "To Make America Great Again". This can only be done under his leadership, and those that oppose his ideas or idiots, spreaders of fake news, and are after revenge because of their loss.

I don't have to watch the evenings soaps anymore because now I get the same type of drama from watch CNN or FOX to stay up to date. Just like the daytime soaps, you can miss a few episodes and still catch up with the plot later. I hope that I don't end up watching something like Sole Survivor in real life, where a group of so called patriots, "drain the swap" by blowing up the capital and killing off all the players, and we have to restart government from scratch. Or that the real Jack Bauer comes out of retirement to fight off the next terrorist attack. 

Can You Dig It

Our new President is in office and people are losing their minds over the things that he is doing in his first days in office. They include approval for repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), removing the US from the TTP trade agreement, approving the continuing of two inter-continental oil pipelines, placing a ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries, approval for pulling back federal aid to any country providing abortions, and the appropriation for funding to build a wall along the Mexican border (which he says Mexico will reimburse us☺). 

Now these people and myself included feel that this policies are mean spirited, based of unproven facts and bigotry. They may be unconstitutional based on the idea that the United States moral compass is based on freedom for all and a spirit of unity and religious freedom. We are a country of laws that cannot be established by one man or party, but by the people. Trump supporters will argue that we need to look out for the white Judaeo Christian society which has established this great nation, and go to war against anyone one or thing that  stands in the way of their superiority. So just like during the Civil War era, America has come to a crossroads. One side against another, trying to pull the country right or left. It was America that decide to divide our world into the Old world, the New world, and the Third world. Now our President, who will be President for at least four years under the law, will take us down a path that will surely shape our future for years to come.

While I have a strong disdain for Trump, one thing I can give him, and I an not surprised by, is that he is doing exactly what he said he would do, if elected. He is being true to himself and his followers. It will now be up to our members of government to work for workable and reasonable solutions to our problems to hold this country together, out of war, and not end up as a third world and third rate  country ourselves.

Forest or Trees

I just came back from a trip to Aruba, a tiny Dutch  island off the coast of  Venezuela with great weather, beaches, and tourist attractions.It was very interesting to me that this small island would be the first country to use technology to speed up their customs process. They use a kiosk that a passenger can go to, insert their passport for review. Then a photo is taken of the person and they are allowed to proceed. The countries authorities now have an electronic copy of each persons passport information as well as an up-to-date photo of the person.  They now have several of these kiosk which have replaced the tedious chore of standing in line waiting for a customs agent to ask you the mandatory script of questions to allow you to enter the country. Each person turns in their entrance form which they receive on the plane, and they are free to proceed to retrieve their luggage if they have any. I just wondered how this would improve the process for places like Atlanta, Chicago, etc. It seems strange that they can get it done and we here in America can't.

The other thing that struck me as odd was the fact that when I went through security they relieved be of my manicure scissors. These are the little scissors that come in travel kits with a file and nail clippers. These scissors do not have a blade portion even an inch long, and would be a laughable weapon. But rules are rules. What is interesting is that I just read about a shooting at the Ft. Lauderdale airport where a passenger was allowed to check a gun and "ammunition" in their luggage. When the person arrived, they got their checked bag, went to the restroom, removed the gun and loaded it, and then went out in baggage claim and began shooting people. He killed several innocent individuals. Is it just me, or is this just a crazy policy? The.

gun rights people would say they have the right to do this, but in this day and age it just seems like someone could figure out that this policy had a potential for disaster.

I guess as they say, some people can't see the forest for the trees.