Lies, Deceit and Ignorance Displayed in the Republican Candidates Debate By Terry Amrhein author of Democracy on the Edge
The Republican candidate’s debate last week was a hallmark of spin, deceit and ignorance on the part of America’s potential future presidents. Here are a few examples. The debaters claimed that if the Iran nuclear agreement was signed, it will result in the US giving Iran $100 billion dollars (Whow, that’s a lot of money). This is a lie! The US is not giving Iran anything! The $100 billion was oil money confiscated by the international bank as part of the sanctions on Iran. It is Iran’s money which the United Nations is returning to them as part of the nuclear agreement. Some of the debaters stalwartly support a very strong show of power against the Iranian government. They seem to think that if America was stronger and shows more strength, that Iran would cower in their boots and accept whatever deal the US dictated. It’s incredible! Haven’t they learned anything from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars! The US tried to force Iraq into a democratically elected government and it failed. Do they think they can now do better with Iran? After all these years and all these lives lost, haven’t they learned that the US cannot use military strength to force its well upon another nation? A better approach is negotiations and economy sanctions to which a rogue nation has no recourse, i.e. you can’t shoot or bomb economic sanctions. To this point, Dr Ben Carson voiced a much more reasonable approach. Now abortions. Carly Fiorina described the horror of how aborted babies lie on operating tables after an abortion. This is a total misrepresentation. The abortions can only be performed legally within the first trimester (3 months) of a pregnancy. This is the law. At that point a fetus is more like a baby fish than a baby human. There are no arms and legs as Fiorina described. While many may find abortions appalling, there are good reasons for a mother to abort a fetus, rape or incest being two reasons. If a mother decides to take the horrendous step of having an abortion, it is always after serious consideration. No one decides to have an abortion willy-nilly. Some people though feel that they have the right to force their opinion upon others. Apparently they have forsaken the “Golden Rule.” But even if the mother elects to have an abortion, there is good that can come from fetus’ tissues. The tissues can be used in stem cell research that can potentially find cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and many other illnesses. Donald Trump, the “Donald”, the “Great Satan” of all illegal immigrants, wants to build a wall between the US and Mexico. This is an idea worthy of Dr Seuss, “Build a wall and they will fall”. Trump characterized illegal immigrants as rapists, murders and thieves. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Illegal immigrants are not criminals. By and large, they are really hard working people who will work for a pittance and do a good job. They keep their mouth shut, work hard and stay low key largely because they live in fear of being discovered and deported. And really, if you want to truly stop illegal immigrants, then utilize and enforce E-verify, a national data base of all immigrants that have legal work status. But the “Great Wall of Trump”, has other flaws in its design. Who the hell going to pay for this great wall? Are we going to raise taxes? Are we going to reduce military spending? Or is it coming from the backs of the working people who can hardly make a living now. Republicans seem welling to spend hundreds of millions on a futile wall but not one dollar to help the poor. Oh! Oh! I have an idea; let the “Donald” pay for it. The praise that the “The Donald” receives that he is not beholden to anybody in this campaign, that he is paying for the entire campaign by himself, is ridiculous! This is another way of saying that he is trying to buy the Presidency of the United States of America. A truly democratic process might be that the nominee received 100 million donations to support his candidacy, sort of like Bernie Sanders i.e. the people supporting the candidate. So here we are, looking into the future. Are we going to believe these lies, deceits and ignorant philosophy of the conservatives or are we going to wake up?
By Terry Amrhein author of Democracy on the Edge
The Republican candidate’s debate last week was a hallmark of spin, deceit and ignorance on the part of America’s potential future presidents. Here are a few examples.
The debaters claimed that if the Iran nuclear agreement was signed, it will result in the US giving Iran $100 billion dollars (Whow, that’s a lot of money). This is a lie! The US is not giving Iran anything! The $100 billion was oil money confiscated by the international bank as part of the sanctions on Iran. It is Iran’s money which the United Nations is returning to them as part of the nuclear agreement.
Some of the debaters stalwartly support a very strong show of power against the Iranian government. They seem to think that if America was stronger and shows more strength, that Iran would cower in their boots and accept whatever deal the US dictated. It’s incredible! Haven’t they learned anything from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars! The US tried to force Iraq into a democratically elected government and it failed. Do they think they can now do better with Iran? After all these years and all these lives lost, haven’t they learned that the US cannot use military strength to force its well upon another nation? A better approach is negotiations and economy sanctions to which a rogue nation has no recourse, i.e. you can’t shoot or bomb economic sanctions. To this point, Dr Ben Carson voiced a much more reasonable approach.
Now abortions. Carly Fiorina described the horror of how aborted babies lie on operating tables after an abortion. This is a total misrepresentation. The abortions can only be performed legally within the first trimester (3 months) of a pregnancy. This is the law. At that point a fetus is more like a baby fish than a baby human. There are no arms and legs as Fiorina described. While many may find abortions appalling, there are good reasons for a mother to abort a fetus, rape or incest being two reasons. If a mother decides to take the horrendous step of having an abortion, it is always after serious consideration. No one decides to have an abortion willy-nilly. Some people though feel that they have the right to force their opinion upon others. Apparently they have forsaken the “Golden Rule.” But even if the mother elects to have an abortion, there is good that can come from fetus’ tissues. The tissues can be used in stem cell research that can potentially find cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and many other illnesses.
Donald Trump, the “Donald”, the “Great Satan” of all illegal immigrants, wants to build a wall between the US and Mexico. This is an idea worthy of Dr Seuss, “Build a wall and they will fall”. Trump characterized illegal immigrants as rapists, murders and thieves. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Illegal immigrants are not criminals. By and large, they are really hard working people who will work for a pittance and do a good job. They keep their mouth shut, work hard and stay low key largely because they live in fear of being discovered and deported. And really, if you want to truly stop illegal immigrants, then utilize and enforce E-verify, a national data base of all immigrants that have legal work status.
But the “Great Wall of Trump”, has other flaws in its design. Who the hell going to pay for this great wall? Are we going to raise taxes? Are we going to reduce military spending? Or is it coming from the backs of the working people who can hardly make a living now. Republicans seem welling to spend hundreds of millions on a futile wall but not one dollar to help the poor. Oh! Oh! I have an idea; let the “Donald” pay for it.
The praise that the “The Donald” receives that he is not beholden to anybody in this campaign, that he is paying for the entire campaign by himself, is ridiculous! This is another way of saying that he is trying to buy the Presidency of the United States of America. A truly democratic process might be that the nominee received 100 million donations to support his candidacy, sort of like Bernie Sanders i.e. the people supporting the candidate.
So here we are, looking into the future. Are we going to believe these lies, deceits and ignorant philosophy of the conservatives or are we going to wake up?
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