martes, 7 de junio de 2016

After President Trump, who: Kim Kardashian?

POTUS? 

I have a recurring nightmare about Kim Kardashian becoming the president of the U.S. after President Trump. This is why, as a new, conservative voter I am faced with a terrible dilemma: Trump or Mrs. Clinton.
Trump is out of the question. He is a very dangerous man, incapable of self-control, full of ethnic and social resentment and very narcissistic. I cannot stand imagining him in the White House. The United States of America would be threatened with disaster every day this man is president.
Mrs. Clinton is also a very bitter pill to swallow. She is a lady I would not buy a used car from. In getting to where she is today, a rich woman with an excellent shot at the presidency of the country, she has behaved without scruples. The Clinton Foundation has as many question marks as Trump University. Her eyes and manner of speech tell me she is not to be trusted.
Not voting is a very unpleasant perspective for a Venezuelan like me, who loves to vote and who would wish to participate in a clean election, something that has not been possible in Venezuela for the last 18 years. I would not like to abstain from this act of good citizenship.
Of course, I can vote null. This would satisfy my personal desire to vote and, at the same time, keep my principles intact. But my dilemma is a bit more complex. It’s that, as a U.S. citizen, I find it imperative to save the country from Trump. When I think of how Donald Trump could be in charge of deciding what to do about North Korea, about Mexican immigration, about judges who do not agree with his ethics or about women or educational standards, I see the country at the edge of a precipice, with the Donald pushing us forward into the abyss.
I was hopeful about the reaction of Republican leaders to Trump’s candidacy. McCain, Rubio, Ryan, all people of integrity had been rejecting Trump all along. But, suddenly, when he became the candidate, they  rushed to endorse him, although he is the very same Trump they had previously rejected. “Party Discipline”, they call it.
 What about principles?  

Not founding any guiding lights from our leaders I am still undecided about this terrible dilemma. I still have a few months to make up my mind. Maybe a third candidate will jump into the arena, although this is unlikely. Maybe Trump will self-destruct and a new Republican candidate will have to be produced in short order. Maybe Mrs. Clinton will donate most of her fortune to some worthy cause other than Chelsea.
In a country of 300 million + people, so full of real talent and civic heroes, many of whom could make wonderful Chiefs of State, I cannot understand how or why the choice of a president has come to be between two such highly flawed persons. Fortunately, the U.S. still has checks and balances: a strong press, a Congress that could revert to being truly bipartisan, a Supreme Court made up of competent judges, an Armed Force that does not get themselves (deeply) involved in politics and does not traffic in drugs, like the   Venezuelan Armed Force does.

However, notoriety and frivolity are rapidly replacing intellect and integrity in U.S. politics. If this trend continues, Kim Kardashian might have a shot at the presidency of the country after President Trump is gone. 
And then, at almost 90, I would have to move to Australia. 

16 comentarios:

Roberto Carlos dijo...

SR Coronel tiene usted doble nationalidad? Vota ud en las elecciones de EEUU y las de Venezuela?
Me imagino que si?
Entonces con todos sus dilemas eticos y morales, no le molesta que ud juro renunciar sus alianzas a otros estados cuando le dieron su ciudadania Americana?

RLEE dijo...

We are voting for the idiot or the idiot.

Gustavo Coronel dijo...

Estimado Sr.Roberto Carlos:
Su comentario no es amable. Es agresivo.
Si. Tengo doble nacionalidad. Tengo algo de que avergonzarme? No encuentro ningún conflicto en ser Venezolano y nacionalizado estadounidense, un gran país donde la democracia y la libertad son sagrados, país que me ha recibido generosamente y donde moriré, al cual amo tanto como a mi nativa Venezuela. Le encuentra algo censurable a eso?
Trabajo activamente por la recuperación de esos principios, hoy perdidos, en Venezuela, país donde nací y donde he vivido mas de 60 años y al cual quiero entrañablemente.
Estoy en la misma situación de millones de ciudadanos, muchos de ellos ilustres, quienes han vivido dignamente en su país adoptivo porque el régimen de sus países era una mierda. Por qué debe extrañarle a usted?
Nunca he tenido alianzas con ningún estado, ni con la Venezuela donde nací, si ello no me parece moralmente correcto. No le firmo un cheque en blanco a Venezuela ni a los Estados Unidos, ni ningún estado tiene derecho a exigirlo, como lo prueban los millones de estadounidenses quienes han rehusado acompañar guerras que consideraban injustas o venezolanos que han preferido abandonar su país antes de arrodillarse frente al régimen bárbaro. Estaré siempre del lado de mi conciencia, lo mismo que cualquier ciudadano honesto. No soy patriotero, señor.
Y usted, es venezolano? Ese es su verdadero nombre? Donde vive y que hace por Venezuela? Está usted aquí o en Venezuela?
Si desea debatir civilizadamente, estoy a la orden

Anónimo dijo...

Regarding:"Maybe Mrs. Clinton will donate most of her fortune to some worthy cause other than Chelsea."
According to http://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/where-does-clinton-foundation-money-go/

CharityWatch concluded about 89 percent of the Clinton's Foundations budget is spent on charity programs.
CharityWatch looked at their consolidated financial statements and calculated that in 2013, 88.3 percent of spending was designated as going toward program services — $196.6 million out of $222.6 million in reported expenses.
The Clinton Foundation has over 2,000 employees, so some of the money they raise will always go to salaries and expenses.

The Clinton fortune (aside from salaries such as the money Mrs. Clinton earned as a Senator and as Secretary of State) comes mainly from speaking engagements (about $160 million since Bill left the presidency).

The main complaint about their finances is twofold:

1- A lot of the income raised from their speeches went directly to the Clinton foundation (not to them) so it was not declared as personal income (some people see that as a way to evade a tax bill). The Clintons claim their speeches are in exchange for a donation to the foundation. Not technically illegal, but does open them to rumors of using their foundation as a tax free slush fund.

2- A portion of the speaking fees paid came from foreign governments as payments (or donations) for speeches they gave overseas. This opened them to accusations that they were "indebted" to foreign governments.

As with many things Clinton, the accusations may or not be true. But no one has proven that they are. The Clinton Foundation is audited and no sign of mismanagement has ever been found. Like any politician, the Clinton's claim that their "favor" cannot be bought by donations to their campaigns or to the Clinton foundation.

Even though she is socially liberal, Hillary is a strong fiscal conservative. Her voting record has always been pro business, favoring free trade and low financial regulation. This has left her open to attacks of being in the pocket of the oil companies and Wall Street.

In any case (whether it buys her influence or not), most of the money Mrs. Clinton raises does go to charities worldwide and not her pocket.

Anónimo dijo...

Que insecto venenoso le habra' picado al Sr. Roberto Carlos o como se llame? Le recomiendo unas tabletas de TRIFEXIS !!!!!

Anónimo dijo...

Vamos a suponer que a Mrs. Clinton se le enreda lo de los emails y no ke permiten, al final, ser candidata.

Ante esa remota pidibilidad podria darse una eleccion entre Trump y Sanders, para mi un marxista. Nunca he leido un comentario suyo sobre Mr. Sanders. Cual seria su posicion si llegara a la candidatura?

Anónimo dijo...

No te preocupes Gustavo, Venezuela esta cerca de la libertad y veras que regresaras a vivir en ella. Te necesitamos para poder reconstruirla.

Maduro y Cabello estàn como Hitler en su bunker, teniendo a menos de 1 km. a los aliados, decìan que la situaciòn estaba totalmente controlada.

El downfall final del chavocastrismo en Venezuela es esto que estamos viviendo.

Roberto Carlos dijo...


Para que jurar? De que vale jurar algo si a nadie le importa.

Jorge Ramos, ese repugnante "periodista" de Univision tambien tiene doble ciudadania y usa toda la proteccion que le da la ciudadania americana para promover los intereses de su pais de nacimiento.

El juramento es parte del proceso de ciudadania, pero Ud. es un buen ciudadano por eso no nos tiene que importar que Ud. no cumpla con su juramento.

Anónimo dijo...

" Jorge Ramos, ese repugnante "periodista" de Univision tambien tiene doble ciudadania y usa toda la proteccion que le da la ciudadania americana para promover los intereses de su pais de nacimiento.

El juramento es parte del proceso de ciudadania, pero Ud. es un buen ciudadano por eso no nos tiene que importar que Ud. no cumpla con su juramento."

Tipico sarcasmo de un chavestia....es que se reconocen a legua.......Roberto, toma un TRIFEXIS urgentemente.

Jacob Sulzbach dijo...

 
We are relegated to choosing between two awful alternatives.  You are correct about that Gustavo.  I cannot stand Trump's ethnic bias and his desire to move the Republican Party away from its traditional free trade policies also scares me.  But I will say that I see Hillary Clinton's ethical problems as significantly larger than Trump's.  There is nothing about Trump University or anything else on the Donald's resumé that even comes close to comparing with Hillary Clinton's manipulation of the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of State, and the U.S. federal courts to her own personal advantage to kill an investigation.  She is an out-and-out threat to the rule of law.

But Hillary's economic policies scare the bejeezus out of me as well.  Trump at least recognizes the harm Obama's policies--especially Obamacare--have done to our small business sector.  Jim Clifton, the Chairman and CEO of Gallup, has been writing about the death of small business in America for at least two years now, trying to sound the alarm.  This country is now seeing over a hundred thousand more small business failures or closures per year than startups:

American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?

Small Business is Dying

Clifton's warnings are poignant.  If the trend continues America is finished.  More than anything else, this is what must be the focus of our vote this election.  Someone must produce wealth if this country is to survive, not merely prosper.

With that point in mind, take a look at what Stephen Moore of Investor's Business Daily wrote this week about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders' plans to eliminate the American Petroleum Industry:

Clinton and Sanders' Plan to Destroy 10 Million Jobs

We're doomed to accepting an awful result no matter what choice we make in this election.  But at the very least, we should be able to eat.
 

Gustavo dijo...

Quien no cumple con su juramento? He dejado de cumplir con mi juramento? Soy un buen ciudadano aquí y en Venezuela. Cada buen ciudadano es leal con su conciencia. A nadie se le puede obligar a traicionar su conciencia. Es que usted no entiende eso? Un buen soldado cumple ordenes hasta que esas ordenes violan su conciencia.
Diga usted en que he violado mi juramento? Defiendo a USA y no veo conflicto alguno con defenderla como nación y defender a Venezuela como nación. NO hay conflicto alguno en ello. El dia que ese conflicto se presente haré lo que me dicte mi conciencia. No puede usted entender eso?
Pero, diga usted cual es el estatus suyo y por qué se siente con autoridad moral para cuestionar mi doble nacionalidad. Cuando trato de buscar a Roberto Carlos en Internet solo encuentro al cantante (y a un jugador de futbol) pero ninguno de los dos es usted. Es difícil debatir con un fantasma.

Roberto Carlos dijo...

Sr. Coronel, estoy mas que seguro que Ud. tomo sus votos matrimoniales con mucha mas seriedad que su juramento como ciudadano americano.

Ud. tendra su conciencia muy tranquila pero Ud juro renunciar a sus alianzas con otros estados mientras que en algun cajon en un armario en su casa tiene su pasaporte y cedula Venezolanas bien al dia y listos para usarlos cuando le sea conveniente.

El juramento existe porque los gobiernos saben que es practicamente imposible para una persona renunciar al pais donde han nacido y vivido muchos años.

Yo no digo que Ud tenga que olvidarse de Venezuela, pero si no puede renunciar a su ciudadania anterior con seriedad no se haga ciudadano americano.

Ud siempre dice que ama mucho a los Estados Unidos y le creo, pero en algun rinconcito de su corazon Ud sabe muy bien que ama mas a sus pais natal. Por eso es que Ud no la renuncia.

Anónimo dijo...

Detectando chavestia, Roberto Carlos, Detectando chavestia, Roberto Carlos, Detectando chavestia, Roberto Carlos, Detectando chavestia, Roberto Carlos, Detectando chavestia, Roberto Carlos.

Pd: me disculpa el insulto pero no encuentro otra manera de expresarme de los chavestias resentidos.

Tocuyito85

Unknown dijo...

Que gran problema .. LA MENTE HUMANA. Si te remontas a Mesopotamia - Asiria encontraras el mismo problema....

Gustavo dijo...

R.C. insiste ahora en que el problema es que yo amo a un país más que al otro.
Francamente, lo que yo pensé era un planteamiento serio se ha convertido en una payasada. Hasta aquí llego con mis comentarios sobre este grotesco planteamiento del cantante. No deseo convertir esto en una telenovela.
Hace poco pasé por la casa donde vivió por algunos años Albert Einstein en Princeton, New Jersey. El adquirió doble nacionalidad en 1944, Estadounidense-Suizo. Tuvo la suerte de que Roberto Carlos posiblemente estaba muy chiquito en esa época y no pudo molestarlo. Pero, Roberto, veo que en 2016 todavía sigues pequeño.

Eduardo dijo...

Estimado Sr. Coronel:

Este Roberto Carlos es un troll conocido de otros blogs, como el de Venezuela News and views.

No gaste Ud. energia ni en leerlo. No vale la pena.

Saludos