Rational Nation USA

The following excerpt is taken from Springer Link   . It provides a brief description of the Buddha's, and by extension Buddhism's, view on politics. The historical Buddha's view on social, political, and economic philosophy was quite liberal, rational, and humanistic, as well as democratic. It would be a very effective model on which to build international harmony and peace. Hope springs eternal. Buddha on Politics 1 Early Buddhist literature 2  addresses several political, economic, and international issues. While the primary purpose of Buddha’s teachings is the liberation of individuals from pervasive suffering, his teachings also acknowledge the interdependence of the individual with society, polity, and economy. Buddha’s teachings sought to mediate these relationships constructively. Although largely unknown in the West, Buddha was an original and important social, political, and economic philosopher, and a rationalistic, humanistic, and democratic one at t...

“I don’t know why Republicans are afraid of the truth.” “Every member should support the American people hearing the facts for themselves. That is what this vote is about. It’s about the truth. And what is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.” Nancy Pelosi, 10/31/2019 America will enter the next phase of the impeachment process, public hearings. Affording all Americans the opportunity to hear the facts and the truth for themselves. As the Washington Post accurately points out,  democracy dies in darkness. Why the GOP is afraid of letting the American people hear and know the truth is indeed puzzling. Authoritarian and dictatorial regimes around the world have always engaged in propaganda and disinformation in support of the regime leader's agenda and interests. But we are a  democratic republic,  not a monarchy or a dictatorship. We question the motives and patriotism of the secretive GOP . Full story  BELOW the FOLD

Even the Russians know Trump is a morally bankrupt vessel. The America I Knew as Russia’s Foreign Minister Is Gone But by impeaching Donald Trump, it can become a beacon of moral truth again.                                      Andrei V. Kozyrev, Russian foreign minister from 1991 to 1996 Russians with moral integrity know that for America to return to a position of MORAL authority Trump must go. Looks like some Russians have a much higher bar to clear than many Americans. The United States has often played a pivotal role in my political life, beginning 50 years ago when I was a student of international relations at a Moscow university. At that time, Soviet propaganda was well-practiced at denouncing Richard Nixon for rejecting the Kremlin’s dogma that in politics, the ends justify the means. Mr. Nixon had argued during his 1960 presidential campaign that the American ...

I was once a republican. I believed that maintaining the national debt at a manageable sustainable level is important. The Republican party said they did as well. I believed that annual budget deficits were often unavoidable during recessionary cycles but knew that during grow cycles budgets needed to be balanced in order to be able to sustain a manageable national debt level. I thought te Republican party believed the same. I was wrong on both counts as the Republican party has been most responsible for our national debt explosion every since Ronald Wilson Reagan was our president. It continues under Trump unabated and NO ONE   in the Republican party is even talking about the national debt or budget deficits any longer. It’s like no one cares anymore. Likely that is because they don’t. The Republican Party aversion to raising taxes during growth cycles is stuff of legendary proportions. Even though that is how debt control works. Reducing taxes to “stimulate economic...

Something About Enemies both Foreign and Domestic

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth America is f**ked. We now have a certifiable lunatic as President of our once Great Nation. A man who is severely lacking in diplomatic skills, lacks a basic understanding of our constitution, has shown disdain for America’s most cherished tradition, sees himself as infallible, sows bigotry and hate, has ignited protests at home and across the globe - the result of his knee jerk executive travel ban, is a known to be a conspiracy theorist, travels in and spreads alternative facts – in other words lies frequently, and now what you see directly below. WASHINGTON — The whirlwind first week of Donald J. Trump ’s presidency had all the bravura hallmarks of a Stephen K. Bannon production. It started with the doom-hued inauguration homily to “American carnage” in United States cities co-written by Mr. Bannon, followed a few days later by his “shut up” message to the news media. The week culminated with a blizzard of executive orders, mostly...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Today, just a few interesting links. Applied for Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare online today (easy but more time consuming than advertised), and now it is time to celebrate. First I'm putting up what I think are a few interesting articles and then off to Iron Duke Brewery for the best brews in Western Massachusetts. Of course the drinking will be responsible and the conversation lively. The end of Sarah Palin is here FINALLY! Mexico's Vicente Fox to Trump: We are 'ready for the trade war' Who could've guessed? Trump and the Republicans Are on a Suicide Mission Together REALLY? Mikhail Gorbachev: ‘It All Looks as if the World Is Preparing for War’ It sure does look that way Mikhail. Throttle down with trump's foot on the gas pedal. New U.S. U.N. envoy warns allies: back us or we'll take names Here it comes, the bully threatens! Have a great weekend all.

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Another day passes as Trump continues his flurry of executive orders (remember the hoopla over President Obama’s use of executive orders) and moving on his promises to reshape USA politics and government. He is not only shaking up this country he has the global community on pins and needles as well. Our hope is he doesn’t create a shell the size of which only we can fit in. Then there is the danger that truth and our civil liberties will disappear under a Trump administration as we approach realizing a Orwellian dystopia. More on that later. Trump press secretary says the administration is considering a 20% border tax on Mexican imports to help pay for the wall Kellyanne Conway Defends Trump on Border Wall and Unsubstantiated Voter Fraud Claims Mexican president cancels visit to Washington as tensions with Trump administration intensify Trump: I have settled on my Supreme Court pick. Probably Trump administration asks top...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth As we enter the era of Trump, or as we prefer to say here at Rational Nation U S A , The Era of Trumpspeak, the new administration continues its unfounded claims of voter fraud, begins to make good on his border wall promise and cracking down on refugees entering the US, is preparing an executive order to re-open “black sites” where terrorist suspects were detained and tortured prior to President Obama closing them down, is preparing orders to reduce funding of the UN, and has given instructions to pull the page on climate change from the EPA website. Read the full stories on all by clicking on the links below. Trump’s voter fraud claims undermine the democratic process and his presidency Trump Orders Mexican Border Wall to Be Built and Is Expected to Block Syrian Refugees Trump Poised to Lift Ban on C.I.A. ‘Black Site’ Prisons Trump Prepares Orders Aiming at Global Funding and Treaties Trump administration tells EPA to cut climat...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth President Trump is on a feverish pace to implement his personal agenda. From rolling back regulatory controls to repealing the ACA (ObamaCare), as well as his apparent desire to bring to life a government like Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, President Trump is digging into dismantling DC as we’ve known it. Just as he promised to do. This weblog owner hasn’t the time or the desire to comment on the President’s efforts at changing America into something the majority of its citizens do not want. Going forward from today we will be simply posting the linked bylines of 3-8 articles we feel have merit for our readership to consider. Trump hangs portrait of inauguration crowd in WH press hall   Special Observances: National Day of Patriotic Devotion (Proc.  9570) Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote in Meeting With Lawmakers Trump Administration Imposes Freeze On EPA Grants and Contracts Senate Democr...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Our nation's new President is lacking in many qualities generally found in a President of the United States, and glaringly so. President Trump has been identified by many professionals as having traits unbecoming of a leader of the free world. He is seen as a narcissist, a misogynist, a xenophobe, a bigot, a con artist, and one without a clear vison for our country or a real plan as to how to guide over the next four years. To a greater or lesser degree all of the above may be or may not be true. Our nation and its people are going to have to wait to see how President Trump performs in office before we as a nation can know for certain. All indications are it won't go well, but, we can always hope for the best. Really, that's all we can do for now. Yesterday I ran across the following article in The New York Times that really hit home. It defines one of President Trump's weakest character traits. He lacks the capacity to ...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Fact check on Trump's press conference 1/11/17. Excerpts from The Washington Post . President-elect Donald Trump finally held a news conference, but as is typical, he often made claims that have been repeatedly debunked or discredited. Here’s a guide to 14 of his more notable statements, in the order in which he made them. “It’s very familiar territory, news conferences, because we used to give them on an almost daily basis.” Exaggeration. While on TV constantly he generally held news conferences only following primary contests. “You saw yesterday Fiat Chrysler; big, big factory going to be built in this country as opposed to another country. Ford just announced that they stopped plans for a billion-dollar plant in Mexico and they’re going to be moving into Michigan and expanding, very substantially, an existing plant.” False. “When we lost 22 million names and everything else that was hacked recently, they didn’t make a big dea...

Rational Nation U S A Purveyor of Truth Republican congressional critters moving to gut the congressional ethics watchdog really should come as no surprise. Less oversight of their dubious activities is just what the authoritarians would desire, yes? The move by Republicans in Congress to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics will cut down on “overzealousness,” incoming counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway said Tuesday morning, while leaving in place a “mechanism” with which to address ethical complaints. Although Conway stopped short of saying the GOP move came with the blessing of the president-elect, she told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Republican majorities in the House and Senate mean “there's a mandate there for them to make significant change.” She said she had not spoken to President-elect Donald Trump about the move. “Let's make clear that you're still going to have an Office of Complaint Review. In other words, it’s not like ...