Trump Does Not Want Presidency

Trump Does Not Want Presidency By Chris Freind Trump Does Not Want Presidency

Virtually no pundit believes Donald Trump will win the GOP nomination, let alone the presidency. Half think he’ll fall short because he doesn’t get it, and the others think he can’t sell it.

They’re both wrong.

Trump absolutely gets it, and, more than any other candidate on either side, he could sell it.

The reason he won’t win is far simpler: He doesn’t want it.

Trump’s ideas are resonating, and not just with Republicans. From common-sense border security to exiting the Middle East to taking on political correctness, his bold vision is exactly the kind of leadership people have been seeking. So with a roadmap for success, why would someone deliberately deviate from a winning course, jettisoning any chance to occupy the White House?

Trump wants the best of both worlds, coming oh-so-close, but just short enough that he doesn’t inherit the awesome responsibilities and frustrations that come with the Oval Office.

Trump’s outrageous statements show him to be serious, but as a world-class headline grabber and conversation piece, not a bona fide presidential candidate.

Let’s analyze The Donald and his candidacy:

1. For starters, running for office while not really wanting it is nothing new. Mitt Romney’s son Tagg told the Boston Globe, “(Mitt) wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life … if he could have found someone else to take his place, he would have been ecstatic to step aside.”

And it showed. Romney never caught fire because people sensed that his heart wasn’t in it. Similarly, George H.W. Bush lost re-election because he demonstrated utter disinterest. Trump supporters are starting to see him in the same light, since people will not give blood, sweat, tears (and money) to a candidate who doesn’t appear to fully believe in what he’s doing.

Voters don’t want someone to do them “a favor” by running; they desire a leader with the passion and energy to see it through to the end — all effort, no excuses. Trump’s not doing that.

2. The “How” of the Trump Explosion: Say what you will about Trump: Arrogant, egomaniacal, even nasty. Maybe. But one thing is unquestionable: he’s an extremely smart man. Trump speaks intelligently without talking points because he has core beliefs, and, while not knowing the minutiae of every issue (and no president does), he is able to articulate his positions with clarity and charisma.

More important, he eschews the boring and often politically correct approach of his colleagues. Rather than tiptoeing, he tackles tough issues head-on, taking the bull by the horns and calling out those too afraid to speak their minds. That refreshing approach has bolstered Trump’s support, even among those who don’t agree with many of his positions but respect his candor.

All of which makes his crazy statements seem all the more calculated. Granted, anytime one has the guts to speak off the cuff, there will inevitably some hyperbole and misstatements. But that’s why God invented whiteout — so we can rectify our mistakes, clarify our points and move on. But Trump has never done that.

Instead, he constantly doubles down on his controversial positions, making even faithful followers question him. Banning Muslims; calling Mexican immigrants rapists; insulting debate moderators; engaging in feuds with TV networks; and stating John McCain wasn’t a war hero — these are just a few examples of Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric. But it’s his refusal to admit he misspoke, let alone was wrong, which makes it almost impossible to believe that such as savvy as he could be so inadvertently bumbling.

Bottom line: Donald Trump knows exactly what’s he doing, and he’s in control, all the time.

3. The “Why.” The presidency isn’t for anyone. An effective president must exhibit immense patience and restraint, have the ability to work with adversaries and allies, employ grace under pressure, and hone the skills of diplomacy and tact. That doesn’t mean the Commander-in-Chief can’t be tough as nails, as both Roosevelts and Ronald Reagan proved. But they had qualities that made them suitable for the office — attributes that Trump probably has, but doesn’t want to display.

The Donald, in his businesses, reality TV career, and campaign, has a simple rule: His word is first, last, and immutable. Fine. As boss, that prerogative is eminently his. But that would not be the case at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Obviously, as head of the executive branch, the president wields enormous power, and many serve at his pleasure. But Congress and the government bureaucracy is a whole different animal. A strong leader can help influence Congress, but push too hard, embarrass them too much, and they’ll make you pay — even those from within his own party. And that’s particularly true for someone viewed as a “Washington outsider,” as Trump would be.

It’s one thing to insult rivals, excoriate the media and blast foreign heads of state on the campaign trail. But try that as president, and your demise will be clocked with an egg timer.

For someone used to sycophants jumping whenever he enters the room, Trump would be in for a rude awakening. Presidents come and go, but the Washington culture is slow to change. Trump is smart enough to realize that, and knows his frustration level would quickly go through the roof, begging the question if gaining the presidency is worth what he would have to give up — namely, being himself.

Donald Trump, who was world-renowned before his candidacy, has seen his profile skyrocket. Unquestionably, he is enjoying every minute as flamboyant flamethrower, a role he will continue to embrace as the primaries approach.

It’s not inconceivable that his plan is to fall short, blame the media and political establishment for their institutional corruption, threaten to run as an independent, and, being the master performer that he is, storm out, leaving the world in suspense as to how he will top his campaign exploits. And make no mistake: Trump will surely not disappoint.

Donald Trump relishes one thing above all else: The swagger that comes with being one of the most successful and brash leaders in the world. About the only thing that could knock him off that pedestal is a stint in the Oval Office.

So with all the benefits — and no responsibilities — of being “almost” the victor, it seems clear that Donald being Donald trumps being Donald being President.

And you don’t need a casino to make that bet.

Trump Does Not Want Presidency

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-17-15

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-17-15

Brazil once tried to sell an aircraft carrier on eBay.

Kathleen Kane And Media Failure

Kathleen Kane And Media FailureKathleen Kane And Media Failure — Kathleen Kane is an historic figure. She is the first woman and the first Democrat to be elected Pennsylvania’s attorney general. She is also the first Pennsylvania attorney general to have her law license suspended.

Truly a unique legacy.

The law license suspension came after she was charged with multiple counts of obstructing administration of law  and official oppression, along with perjury and false swearing relating to leaks from the grand jury investigation  the Jerry Sandusky child abuse matter.  She had been implying that then Gov. Tom Corbett had handled it inappropriately, something for which Corbett has since been conclusively exonerated it should be noted.

Leaking grand jury information is a big no-no in our judicial system and rightfully so, but it’s not as though that was the only questionable thing she did in her short career as the person responsible for enforcing Pennsylvania’s laws. She refused to refused to defend Pennsylvania’s gay-marriage prohibition in court declaring it unconstitutional — a declaration that was not in her purview to make — and shut down a corruption investigation into Philadelphia politicians which was subsequently re-opened by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams who managed to obtain several guilty pleas.

With all this grief falling on her head, our princess fought back. She said it was all a conspiracy by powerful men who spent their days sending pornography and racist jokes to each other via email. Quick quiz: did any of you gentle readers ever send or receive something a tad inappropriate via email? Of course not. However, it now appears that Ms. Kane certainly received them herself and her twin sister, Ellen Granahan, who heads her child predator unit, not only got them but passed them on.

So what was this woman thinking when she made her counter-charges and  hurt the lives of others who were just trying to do their jobs? How can a person of such character end up with such a powerful and important job?

Well, she was sort of pretty and that’s not to be discounted, but so is Sarah Palin.

The real reason is that Ms. Kane’s claims and character were never questioned by the media gate-keepers who we trust to do such things. Maybe they were afraid of being called sexist. Maybe they actually supported her philosophy that traditions are foolish and government is the greater good. Maybe both. Regardless, they  took her at her word when she said that she cared, and would look out for children and the little guy, and fight corruption.

It should be noted that the same thing dynamics were in play with Barack Obama and are in play with Hillary Clinton.

That should make us all afraid.

Kathleen Kane And Media Failure

Equal Opportunity Dog Story

Equal Opportunity Dog StoryEqual Opportunity Dog Story — A sign was placed in an office window that read: “HELP WANTED – Must be a speed typist and have computer skills. Successful applicant must be bilingual. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.”
A short time later a German Shorthaired Retriever dog trotted up to the window, saw the sign and went inside. He looked at the receptionist, wagged his tail, then walked over to the sign, looked at it, whined and pawed the air. The receptionist called the office manager. He was surprised to see a canine applicant but as the dog looked determined he was shown into the manager’s office.
Inside, the dog jumped up on a chair and stared at the manager expectantly. The manager said, “I can’t hire you. The sign says you must be able to type.” The dog went to the typewriter and proceeded to quickly type a perfect business letter. He took out the page and trotted over to the manager, gave it to him, then jumped back up on the chair.
The manager was stunned, but told the dog, “That was fantastic, but I’m sorry. The sign clearly says that whoever I hire has to be good with a computer.” The dog went to the computer and proceeded to demonstrate his’ expertise with various programs, produced a sample spreadsheet and database, and then presented them to the manager.
The manager was dumbfounded! He said to the dog, “Look, I realize that you are a very intelligent applicant and have fantastic talent, but you’re a dog. No way could I hire you.” The dog jumped down and went to the sign in the window and pointed his paw at the words, “Equal Opportunity Employer.” The exasperated manager said, “Yes, I know what the darn sign says. But the sign also says you have to be bilingual.”
The dog looked him straight in the eye and said, “Meow.”

Hat tip Pet Place

Equal Opportunity Dog Story

State House Budget Vote Looms

State House Budget Vote Looms — Leo Knepper of Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania tells us that the Pennsylvania House will be voting on the  senate’s budget framework tomorrow. State House Budget Vote Looms

Let your representative know not to get squishy. The hardworking little guys and gals are not the ones who should have to pay to get Pennsylvania out of the fiscal mess that was created by those who betrayed their trust.

Especially not until these people make the appropriate sacrifice.

You can let your representative know that you expect him or her to stand strong using this link: http://www.empowerpa.org/action/?vvsrc=%2fcampaigns%2f39308%2frespond

State House Budget Vote Looms

 

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-16-15

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-16-15

You know the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty? It never says he’s an egg.

Harrisburg Shareholders Report Is Bleak

Harrisburg Shareholders Report Is Bleak  By Sen. Scott WagnerHarrisburg Shareholders Report Is Bleak

I would like to give everyone an end of year report on Harrisburg and some observations I have made since I joined the PA State Senate in April of 2014.

My belief as a private sector business owner is that it is critical to tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

In other words, this is my report to the shareholders of PA.

I have 35 years experience in the private sector so I feel I have a high level of common sense.

I tell people I have been in the Harrisburg sausage factory for 20 months.

I have searched high and low to find the health department inspection report to tell me when the last health inspection took place (I think it has been some time since the last health inspection – possibly over 25 years ago).

Sausage routinely drops on the floor in Harrisburg.

The standard practice is to pick up the sausage on the floor and put it back on the packing line.

What the heck…. no one will notice.

For almost 40 years things have been done in Harrisburg the same way – so why change?

Or more simply put…..Harrisburg is a rudderless ship without a real captain.

In the private sector business world the owner is usually in the building – this is not the case in Harrisburg.

I want to be clear to everyone……people from both political parties are responsible for the current mess in Harrisburg.

There are countless things that are simply wrong.

For example, there are almost 1,000 people receiving annual state pension payouts that are over $100,000 per year ………..in fact the top two pension recipients are both former Penn State Administrators.

The top person receiving a government pension gets $477,000 per year.

The number two person receiving a pension gets $455,000 per year.

Even more disturbing is that of the top 25 people on the list of almost 1,000 people receiving annual state pensions of $100,000 or more per year, 13 are former Penn State employees.

This year’s budget is expected to give Penn State – $263 Million Dollars.

Last year Penn State received $214 Million Dollars.

The current practice in Harrisburg is to give Penn State more money each year so the fat cats get fatter.

Does anyone see this as simply wrong?

Here is another example – In the last 12 months two former Senate employees left the Senate and cashed in on unused vacation days, sick days and personal time – the first person walked away with a check for $112,000 and the second person walked away with $110,000.

In the private sector business world most companies have a use it or lose it policy.

Does anyone think this policy is being abused and wrong …….and should the current Harrisburg policy be stopped?

Everyone is watching the current budget disaster.

In this year’s budget, the Philadelphia school district will receive $101 Million Dollars more in funding than they received last year.

I can absolutely guarantee you that not one nickel of the additional $101 Million Dollars will find its way into the classroom.

Did you know that Philadelphia school teachers do not pay anything toward their health insurance?

In the private sector business world most employees pay 23 -25% of their monthly health care costs.

Some private sector employees pay more than 25% toward their monthly health care costs.

The additional $101 Million Dollars going to the Philadelphia Schools will get sucked up by rising health care costs and wage increases and step up salary adjustments that the union will demand.

Of course the rest will go toward pensions…..simply put….. the children in Philadelphia that this money is to help….. …..get shafted once again!!

Harrisburg has given truckloads of money to Philadelphia Schools over the last 12 years.

Have the drop-out rates fallen? Have graduation rates risen? The answer is NO!!

For almost 30 years I have collected phrases that have been helpful to me in business.

Here are a few – if only they could be applied in Harrisburg.

1. My Favorite – “Align your expectations with reality”.

2. “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

3. “If it doesn’t get measured – It can’t be managed!”

4. “If you don’t give enough attention to what deserves attention – at some point it will take a lot of attention.”

No one takes ownership in Harrisburg – why would they – it’s just a job.

There is zero accountability.

When I say you don’t know what you don’t know, it applies to many people in the Capitol who come out of high school or college and got a job in government without any real world experience……it also applies to many elected officials.

These same people are inside the Capitol cooking up regulations and policies.

These same people are working on the budget and calculating tax increases.

These same people have never experienced a recession in the private sector business world when major cutbacks and decisions had to be made to survive and not end up in bankruptcy.

On measuring – I can tell you this – not ONE single thing is measured in Harrisburg like we do in the private sector business world.

Harrisburg is a monster that will continue to eat money by the truckloads and will get fatter if we continue to feed it!

I have been through at least five recessions over my private sector business career – surviving a recession meant cutting expenses and making tough decisions including layoffs of personnel – it was not a time when price increases could be passed on to customers.

Harrisburg needs to…..and must go on a diet.

The time is now to trim the trees in Harrisburg.

Everyone talks about corruption, disclosure and conflict of interest in Harrisburg – here is an example of one of the worst cases and it is state wide.

In PA we have 500 school districts.

Each school district has an independent volunteer school board. Most school boards have nine members. These school boards negotiate wage increases, benefit increases and finally the same school boards set the step up program.

What is the step up program? It works like this.

– A teacher comes out of college and receives a starting salary of approximately $50,000 per year
– This teacher needs additional education credits to advance their career
– The number is around 24 credits
– As credits are earned the teachers annual salary goes up

In my home district after filing right to know requests, I discovered one teacher who started with an annual salary of $50,000 and within five years earned all 24 credits and fast tracked to a $90,000 annual salary.

And by the way the costs for the extra credits are paid for by the school district.

I will wrap up on this point.

As I mentioned earlier most school boards have nine board members. I can guarantee you this – at least one third of the members and maybe up to two thirds of the members on the school boards state wide are either teachers, married to a teacher, have children who are teachers, or have a brother or sister who are teachers.

The PSEA (Pennsylvania State Education Association) has a tremendous amount of power and influence in Harrisburg……they have been very clever to make sure that friends of teachers are loaded on school boards across PA.

Does this smell like corruption and conflict of interest to you?

You tell me….
Sen. Wagner represents the 28th District in the Pennsylvania Senate.

 

Harrisburg Shareholders Report Is Bleak

Slave Labor Shrimp

Slave Labor Shrimp
If it’s Thai don’t buy.

Slave Labor Shrimp — Kudos to The Philadelphia Inquirer for its Dec. 15 story regarding how the cheap shrimp found in Walmart  is brought to you by the hands of slaves.

Yes, the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant chains are also mentioned as is upscale retailer Whole Foods. Frankly, we would presume guilt for any bag labeled “Product of Thailand.” Or China, for that matter.

The article describes how victims of human trafficking are trapped in jobs requiring them to work from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. to work off usurious debt.

Just so we can have cheap seafood.

There are those calling for a boycott. Count us as having started. We are going to stick to Hill’s when we want something from the sea.

Slave Labor Shrimp

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-15-15

William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 12-15-15

The national anthem of Vanuatu is Yumi Yumi Yumi. No Miranda,it’s not the one where they have love in their tummy.

Tyson Fury Vs Muhammad Ali

Tyson Fury Vs Muhammad AliTyson Fury Vs Muhammad Ali — The newest heavyweight champion is Britain’s Tyson Fury who is of poor Irish stock and has unfashionably criticized abortion and homosexuality.

Oh the outrage. The “I Think I’m Smart” crowd worldwide has been united in condemnation of this athlete.

This is the same group that holds Muhammad Ali in such high esteem. Wonder if any one of them has asked Ali what he thinks about such things. It sure would be interesting.

Back in the day, Ali certainly has some strong opinions including some on gays. Paul Nuttall Mep writing in of Breitbart.com has a pretty good take on it. You can read it here.

Tyson Fury Vs Muhammad Ali