"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." Aldous Huxley
September 14, 2016
By: Linda Case Gibbons
It's terrible. You take a shiny, new, four-slice toaster home, plug it in and it burns your English muffin to smithereens;
You finally decide to spring for new wheels, and the car turns out to be a dud;
Or you invest big bucks in a smartphone and find the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has an app that makes it explode.
It's bad, but it's fixable.
You can return the toaster, exchange the phone, and if your new car can't go the extra mile, or any mile, there are Lemon Laws.
But none of that works if you're in the market for a president. There is no CarFax for candidates, or a "Return Policy."That's not fixable.
As a "Consumer," you should kick the tires before you buy a president. Look in the trunk. Is it loaded with unwanted baggage? Does the paint job look bad? Does it stall in traffic? Are there dents that weren't fixed?
Because if you buy a pig in a poke, you're stuck with it.
Like in 2008.
Some Americans, especially the Hollywood crowd, were so eager to prove they weren't racists, they rushed to elect the First Black President, voting for the first guy that came along.
And look how that turned out.
The Chinese wouldn't even roll out stairs so the U.S. president could get off Air Force One;
The Castro brothers didn't bother going to the airport to greet Obama, but stayed home, smoking Cubans;
And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte knew he could insult Obama's momma, because he recognized America's new weakness.
None of this happened by accident. These "Enemies of the State" knew exactly what they were doing.
Iran knew what it was doing when it seized one of our ships and made our sailors cry, and they knew Secretary of State Kerry would thank them for their hospitality;
Russia knew what it was doing when it sent a fighter jet to buzz within ten feet of one of our Navy aircraft, in international airspace, over the Black Sea. They knew full well Obama wouldn't do anything.
And he didn't.
Who do you think is the reason China is building islands in the South China Sea? Who's the reason North Korea was having target practice, aiming at Japan during the G20 Meeting in China? And who is the reason Iran is "test firing" ballistic missiles at Israel with "Israel Must Be Wiped Out" written on them, in Hebrew, during Joe Biden's visit to Israel?
It's the president and we deserve stronger.
The United States has become a paper tiger on Obama's watch. Foreign powers know the U.S. commander in chief won't do anything.
And they are right. He never does.
So how do you fix it when you're voting for something better?
For starters, put on ear muffs and don't listen to anything the mainstream media says. They are in the tank for Hillary. Then put yourself in the candidate's place and ask, "What would I do?"
If I couldn't stop coughing, if my vision was blurred, if I was stumbling, falling and fainting every five seconds, and forgetting what I was saying while I was saying it.
If your "Get up and go, got up and went," what would you do?
I don't think you'd hit the campaign trail. The presidency is a marathon, not a sprint, and you can't start out tired.
If you had the wellbeing of the country at heart, it would be unfair to offer yourself for the job when you know you aren't up to snuff.
It brings to mind my Aunt Betty. She is my beagle. She died Saturday.
Aunt Betty was a product of the pet shop/puppy mill system. It's called "dog farming," and it's a large part of the economy of many Amish communities. Who'd a' thought?
Nonetheless, Miss Beagle's legs were broken when she was dropped in a pet shop and never received medical care. But she didn't let that stop her. She was a gutsy girl, and soldiered through.
She was an absolute delight to behold.
Her life spanned the ministries of four British prime ministers and the presidencies of George W. and Barack Obama. But there came a time when she had other health problems and was slowing down. And she knew it.
I remember what she said to me, her luxuriously long, brown ears framing her short-muzzled, tri-colored, beautiful face.
"I would never consider running for president, Linda, not in the shape I'm in now."
Aunt Betty was quite fond of politics and was patriotic to a fault. In fact, I never knew a time when she didn't stand for the National Anthem, despite her crippled little legs.
Then she told me, thoughtfully chewing on a tasty bit of chicken, "And I've never fainted in my life."
Good point. Come to think of it, who has?
So fainting is serious if you do, and don't let anyone tell you it isn't. It doesn't take a keen beagle nose to track that down. And besides, America deserves better.
R.I.P Good and Faithful Beagle.
Hold the line, America.