Donald Trump's one truthful quote about "5th Avenue"

Donald Trump keeping his word- when lies are his only truth.  Trump is incapable of giving sworn testimony during impeachment proceedings, under oath, because he can only verify lies, while he denies truth. But, out of the huge pack of lies he has told to his cult followers, there is one truth. Unfortunately, he has proven that he can shoot somebody and not lose voters. Pathetic!

Opinion letter published in Texas, the Dallas Morning News.

The patriotic people who testified in the Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry did so under oath. They saw a problem and reported it. They answered questions and had facts to back it up. They were willing to be held accountable for what they said. 

On the other hand, those who are trying to defend Donald Trump are not under oath so they can and have blown smoke and lied, as they do not expect to be held accountable. He shot that letter and phone call to Ukraine right down Main Street, just like he said he could (“I could shoot somebody in Times Square and it would be OK”) and just as he said they would, his less-than-patriotic cult said oh that’s OK. Shame!

Mary Veasey, McKinney Texas

William Barr and his fake position on the Mueller Report

Included in the Donald Trump "no government" administration, Americans now have a "no attorney general" or a #fakeAG.  

A past MaineWriter blog described this leadership in a post link vacuum here.

Echoes about the particular leadership void in The Justice Department was expressed in the Dallas Morning News:

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2019/04/21/letters-think-release-redacted-mueller-report

Don't be like Barr

The release of the Mueller report on Thursday, even in its redacted form, makes three things abundantly clear:

1. Barr is a shill for President Trump, not the chief law enforcement officer for the United States. Barr should never have been confirmed, he needs to be removed or at least removed from oversight of anything related to Trump or his associates.

2. Trump was not exonerated, but deeply implicated in conspiracy, obstruction and national security threats.

3. Mueller could not, through the confines of a narrow Department of Justice framework, criminally indict Trump, but the conclusion was for Congress to exercise its Article 1 duties to address Trump's corrupt, unethical behavior.

It is Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Rep. Lance Gooden's duty to agree to public hearings and participate in a way to protect our country, not be gutless partisan shills like Barr.

Kimette Glenn, Terrell Texas

Americans must be angry about this- listen to the truth!

The Mueller Report confirmed what all of the intelligence agencies found: The Russians interfered in our electoral process and attempted to sway the election to the candidate of their choice. Let's just forget the possibility of collusion. I want to know why there is no sense of outrage from our government?

The most precious privilege in a democracy is the right to choose our leaders. A foreign government actively interfered with this privilege. One could argue that this is an act of war.  Donald Trump, however, has refused to condemn Russia. As a result, he is endangering our nation. Yet his followers refuse to admit this and simply swallow everything he says as the truth. If this is what our nation has come to, maybe our democracy does not deserve to survive.

Robert Mueller and the United States Office of Special Counsel

Russia if you are listening link here

There is an apocryphal quote attributed to Ben Franklin who, when asked after the Constitutional Convention what sort of government had been formed, answered, "A republic, if you can keep it." I fear we will not be able to "keep it" much longer.

Scott Kimball, from McKinney Texas

MaineWriter post script - America desperately needs a real Attorney General.  William Barr is a #fakeAG

Trade Wars ~ negative impact on the economy

Published in the newspaper "Daily Mississippian"

Referred to as “the biggest trade war in economic history,” the trade war between China and the United States is shaping up to be as real as the critics are fearing. 

Donald Trump announced $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports in the beginning of July, with $34 billion already imposed and another $16 million expected in the coming weeks.

The administration threatened China on July 10 with $200 billion in additional tariffs in response to Chinese trade policies seen as a national security threat to the United States, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The administration has said that maintaining the tariffs will pressure China to address trade complaints from the U.S., which include intellectual property theft.

On the campaign trail and now in office, Trump has put an emphasis on his ubiquitous slogan, “Make America Great Again.” What he is doing with this latest trade war is the exact opposite of making America great. In reality these tariffs between the two largest economies will have a lasting impression on his supporters and ultimately on rural America — otherwise known as “Trump Country.”

China’s biggest agricultural products in this deal are soybeans which are one of Mississippi’s top exported products and the largest U.S. agricultural export — this means that there will be dramatic changes in soybean shipments.

The United States Department of Agriculture reported that Mississippi exported a total of $109.7 million in soybeans in 2017 to China. According to Mississippi Today, days after Trump imposed the tariffs, soybean prices plummeted to a nine-year low as China sought to buy the crop from other countries. In fact, the country started to shift its purchases from U.S. farmers, and toward Brazilians. Other countries such as Thailand, Egypt and the Netherlands began increasing their purchases of U.S. soybeans.

Farmers will not be the only ones hurting from this deal as tensions between China and U.S. grow. The tariffs could also affect American manufacturers. The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates that 85 percent of Chinese imports hit by Trump’s initial tariffs are machinery made in the United States. Because of that, U.S. manufacturers, will have to pay additional prices for parts and equipment.

In brief, it’s a trying time for U.S. farmers, with effects reaching coast-to-coast, as China has already turned to other soybean-producing countries. Right now, the damage is little, but in the long run, the tariffs will be hurtful for both economies if they continue to escalate. Furthermore, with a cost increase in products already, additional taxes will hurt supply chains. If demand in crops drop, then jobs will be in jeopardy and this could potentially lead the country into a recession.

Ethel Mwedziwendira is a journalism and political science major from McKinney, Texas.