“And?” …

As we watched the Detroit Lions play their last game of the season on Saturday, we observed the team on the side lines, discussed the injuries and how sad we were that the season was over for the team.  We looked at all the well trained athletes in tip top shape in the prime of their careers  and playing in the National Football League.  My husband, said, “Where are the older guys on the team?  They should round out the team with more older players.  Maybe even a certain amount of Asians?  I commented, “You know, all those cheerleaders are young.  Where are the older gals?”  The point is, that an NFL or any sports organization is in the game to win, wins mean more fans, more ratings and more money.  The NFL is an organization that is a business. They employ numerous employees, aside from the team and coaching staff.  They bring business to an area in terms of restaurants and stores around a stadium, think about the ‘merch’.  Big businesses provide employment and benefits for their employees.  The employees are able to support their families and enable those families to take care of their needs. An owner and coach looks for the strongest, most fit, smartest and fastest players, depending on the position.  Sports are big business.  Players take risks of injuries.  In addition to athletes, they are entertainers who provide a ‘show’ for fans ever time they take the field. Sure they garner large salaries, but there are few positions and they ‘bring the fans.  There’s no “what is the racial make-up of the first string players?”  The best are chosen no matter their ethnicity.  Positions are based on merit and quality of the player. To check boxes on a sports team could compromise the teams chances to succeed.  Same with the cheerleaders in a different sense.  Younger cheerleaders will be in the prime of their life, not to say that older women can/t be fit or good looking, they can be and are but if you are looking for the best candidates, most likely, younger gals will be more desirable as a candidate.  It’s reality.  If you want success and to win, you need to search out the best, strongest and brightest…

     On Monday, Inauguration Day in the United States.  I flipped around the different channels to watch how different networks covered the event.  Just prior to the swearing in at the Capitol, as the invited guests and new Trump administration members entered the chamber, I had the TV on ABC.  In listening to David Muir and Martha Raddatz I heard the two commentators make disparaging remarks about incoming President Trump’s cabinet.  Paraphrasing here, but the dialogue was “for Trump to have campaigned as a candidate ‘for the average American,’ seems to have all million and billionaires in his administration and none of those average Americans.’”  That can be debated.  Of course, there are many successful very qualified advisors and candidates, some wealthier than others.  Their tone was very haughty and on many non conservative networks, this was observed.  My question is, “And? …” 

     Wealth does not demonstrate one’s character or the quality of the personas there are many passages through out the Bible and literature that warn the problems that wealth can cause.  There are those who come by their wealth illegally, sometimes they get caught-think Bernie Madoff and other swindlers as well as drug dealers. Some who legitimately come by their wealth from good old fashioned hard work and smarts and there are some whose parents can give them a head start because of their hard work and good planning.People can live a life of wealth without excessive money when they consider their wealth is in their living within their means and financial peace of mind which allows them to enjoy what they have rather than what they do not.

     Those who happen to be financially successful, no doubt put time, energy, possibly an education and invested in themselves and in their business.  Business owners, both small and large have employees, overhead/expenses, regulations, taxes and a mirage of hoops to jump through to make their business a success. Likewise, those who work for an employer have good and bad in their situation too.  They do not have the overhead and headaches that a business owner would have, but they do have to answer to a supervisor, or owner and there is always the risk of being fired or replaced.  Everyone determines what is best for them based on their situation and expectation of how they want their life to be. There is no right or wrong good or bad, it’s just a matter of preference and there are some who go through a career with a combination of both scenarios of employment. 

     In looking up the backgrounds of those in the new administration, they are very qualified.  They run or have run successful companies, are experts in their field and quite frankly, “The Best of The Best.”  And they were hired and nominated for top positions in their field in Trump’s cabinet because of that, not because they checked the female box or Hispanic box, etc. Etc.  My father and uncle ran small businesses.  They were successful and employed hundreds of employees during their career in the restaurant business in Flint, Michigan, but their experience would not have provided them with the skills necessary to hold a top position in commerce at the state or federal level.  They were good hard working men, honest and successful, but those skills alone do not prepare one or scale to such responsibility.  

     The government can be looked at as a ‘business,’ as can a family’s finances.  Someone has to control the purse strings.  If a family spends too much one month and they get over their head in debt, they need to cut back the following month to get back on track.  Same with the government.  If a Mom in the neighborhood hands out popsicles to the neighborhood kids that’s fine once in a while.  She does it over and over and eventually it catches up.  One family can’t provide food for the entire neighborhood day in and day out.  Same with a country providing too many services to people who aren’t citizens. Those Americans who paid into the system, who helped contribute to an economy and the country, they deserve the social security they paid into.  For the government to pay for housing, food cards, phones, etc., when people come here flooding a system, not vetted is just not sustainable nor does it makes sense.

     Sunny Hostin, a co-host of the daytime talk show, The View made a very derogatory comment about the new President referring to him as a “DEI” hire as in ‘didn’t earn it’-her words, not mine.  She also made reference to him having been given everything.  Not so.  Donald Trump’s father, Fred, was a successful landlord and developer in New York, he did give his son a platform to start from, and his experience to draw on, but Donald Trump took the money from his father and made billions from what he was given.  He did not inherit billions.  Donald Trump took the opportunities he was given from his father and made the most of them.  We all have seen many children of successful parents who have squandered or not taken what they were given and made the most of it.  It’s surprising that someone like Sunny Hostin, a successful attorney and graduate of Notre Dame Law School would say something like this.  No doubt, she worked hard in undergrad studies at Binghamton University and studying for the LSAT to gain a coveted spot in a top law school, worked to graduate then study and pass a Bar Exam.  She must have worked hard to succeed as a legal clerk, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and television legal consultant prior to her role on “The View.” None of the jobs she has held were easy to come by.  I wonder if she would like to be passed over for one of those job for someone less qualified.  

     Donald Trump won the popular vote and the electoral college.  The American people voted for his policies which included common sense policy and equality for all.  The polices unfolding in this first week of a new administration are no surprise as these are the same policies Trump campaigned on.  

     What I learned in flipping around the channel on Inauguration Day was that some commentators choose to give their spin on the news even after they have seen agencies be sued for lying and networks have seen major drops in ratings because people want to hear the truth.  American consumers are smart. When they feel they are not getting the truth, they will seek it elsewhere and they have in terms of listening to Podcasts from trusted individuals and other sources of information.  It’s sad though that someone believes or falls for the mis information from media. Martha Raddatz and David Muir’s negative comments about Trumps cabinet of millionaires and billionaires-even if not totally true, could have been described differently.  “Seated behind the incoming President is his incoming cabinet choices, all still to be voted on by the senate.  They are success stories each in their own right. Most will gain the votes they need for approval, a couple like Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel may have some obstacles in their way.”  Tell the news, tell the truth.  THAT is what Americans want. They can draw their own conclusions.

     The prayer service at the Nation Cathedral on Tuesday was a disappointment.  It was surprising that the bishop, Mariann Budde, was selected to preach based on internet searches following her televised message. Her very negative and wrong description of how President Trump feels about immigrants and how they are viewed by Trump and other Americans couldn’t be more wrong. She stated that most immigrants are not criminals.  She is correct, and the President has said the same thing.  In fact, President Trump’s wife an First Lady Melania Trump and her father, Viktor Knass ARE immigrants. President Trump’s mother was a poor immigrant from Scotland.  They all were legal immigrants.  President Trump, his administration and many Americans are interested in stopping illegal immigration and sending the criminals back to where they came from.  Illegally coming across the border is breaking the law.  There are procedures in place as to how to immigrate to the United States.  Millions of Americans over the decades and centuries have waited their turn and have become productive contributors to this country in terms of their service in their families and communities.  America was built by immigrants.  Illegal behavior has consequences no matter what it is-or it should.  Her remarks about immigrants were poorly executed and DID not describe Trump. Her comments about the LGBTQ were poorly stated as well. I have heard no one who wants to harm anyone from that community or keep them from life liberty or the pursuit of happiness.  Equality across the board is the message in this administration, regardless of someone’s gender or sex.  It’s time people who say such inflammatory statement get called out when they are wrong so as not to causes division.  A person of the clergy should know better and behave better rather than feeling that they need to ‘teach someone a lesson,‘especially when they have sized up someone incorrectly.

     A media across the board that reports facts would be a welcomed change.  Yes, everyone has a right to speak their mind and have their opinions, but there is no place for mis information and lying to viewers/readers.  Look at how many in the media covered up the Hunter Biden laptop on purpose to give Joe Biden a chance of winning the 2020 election. When President Trump brought it up during a debate just prior to the election, he was shut down by the moderator.Those who are aware of the misinformation may say “And?” President Trump and his administration are in charge and they now have a chance to prove their policies and points are good for the American people  Give them a chance to fulfill their promises to the American people.  Their promises to make America fair across the board, with opportunities for all regardless of who they are, based on their merit.  Their promise to close the border and keep America safe and their promise to get America back on it’s feet financially with policies that put America first.  American citizens and consumers will sift through the information to seek the truth. Don’t believe everything you hear.  Do your homework and own research.  AND…see what you think.

“And” one more thing to the media and the nay sayers. Many see in Donald Trump, as man who spent millions to defend himself to a weaponized government and administration who went after him and his family. Americans see how a corrupt family was protected. They see a man who took a bullet, stood back up, even more determined to “Make America Great Again.” He has a fine and supportive family who has stood by him. A family who has not been in trouble. President Trump has assembled a very knowledgeable and experienced administration who ready and already working for the American people and also are going to be diligent in their efforts as well to Make America Great…”And?” What’s wrong with that?