Essays From The Edge - Where East Meets West

trump has a history of violating laws.  He is not bound by any moral or ethical compass.  In that regard, he is outdated the the historic norms of any previous American President. Opinion: Will Trump administration defy the Supreme Court? https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/10/opinions/will-trump-administration-defy-supreme-court-gans/index.html

One can only hope that the co-conspirators are identified and prosecuted.  " According to Julie K. Brown, a  Miami Herald  investigative reporter who has broken  multiple stories on the Epstein case , numerous high-profile people may have been involved with Epstein’s crimes. “I’ve felt a lot of pressure,”  Brown said on MSNBC  Sunday. “Needless to say, these are very powerful people and I think that they’re sweating a little bit, especially today. We don’t know how much, how deep this went, how far-reaching it went in government, but there have been a lot of names that I could see on these message pads [listing clients] on a regular basis as part of the evidence. These message pads where they would call and leave Epstein messages, such as, ‘I’m at this hotel.’ Why do you do that, unless you’re expecting him to send you a girl to visit you at your hotel? So there are probably quite a few important people, powerful people, who are sweating it out right now. W...

Thanks to whoever leaked the British diplomatic messages, but really this criticism should be publicly made.  It would encourage other nations and political figures to report their no doubt similar misgivings for trump. The full extent of the opposition to this historically bad president would then be known. Opinion: President Trump, don't kill the messenger https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/07/opinions/leak-secret-cables-us-uk-relationship-opinion-vinograd/index.html

Read the article, get upset and then do what you can to change our system of jurisprudence and end undue influence of the oligarchs and 1%-ers.   Vote for candidates who will remove the tax loopholes, and jack  up the tax rates. Entreat local DAs to target the white collar thugs. https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/robert-kraft-prostitution-jeffrey-epstein-sex-slavery-trump-20190224.html

The US government needs to put a priority on funding programs regarding climate change.  Shut down some military weapons programs and close most of the100s of overseas military bases, and money appears, almost miraculously... Honeybees hit by Trump budget cuts https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/06/politics/honeybees-study-usda-donald-trump-budget-cuts/index.html

The defense portrayed Gallagher as an "old-school, hard-charging warrior" who was targeted by younger "millennial" SEALs who harbored "personal animosity" toward him. ....... Translation:  the younger SEALS were constrained by a moral standard.  Our justice system has not totally caught up. Gallagher is a straight up military thug. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/02/politics/eddie-gallagher-navy-seal-trial-verdict/index.html

A Kentucky teen sued to attend school without a chickenpox vaccine. He just lost in court -- again. And he should have lost. There needs to be legal rules put in place to stop these frivolous suits. In the particular case of American Christians, they need to suck it up and endure hardness and persecution, as the Bible instructs us to do. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/02/health/kentucky-chicken-pox-injunction-denied/index.html

By killing whales, Japan seeks to revive a dying industry.  If you read the article, you will find there is no rational reason for Japan to resume whale killing.  The taste for whale meat is in great decline and any commercial venture can only succeed with government subsidies.  Tradition and culture are no excuse for this action. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/02/asia/japan-resumes-whaling-hnk-intl/index.html

Trump's July 4 spectacle just keeps getting more and more absurd https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/02/politics/donald-trump-july-4/index.html Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel (Samuel Johnson).    Very few Americans would choose to live in the environment of freedom that existed on July 4, 1776,    when freedom was only truly enjoyed by propertied white men. Thank God for latter day Founding Fathers such as Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr, others, who have done some of the necessary repairs on the tragically flawed initial work of Washington, Jefferson, et al.    It’s a work in progress.  More remains to be done.