If ever there was or is a leader among troops and commoners...its this Man! He speaks intelligently, logically, cleanly, and directly. I very much admire his leadership and diplomacy skills. A leader among leaders.

I gather the first poster is referring to Mattis - not Trump. Reportedly, North Korea already has 60 nukes and various missiles. If it can delivery one explodable nuke to Silicon Valley, North Korea just became a trillionaire by extortion. Time to neutralize the North Korean regime is running out. Pray Mattis has a plan. Trump probably hasn't a clue.

Well so far the President has done a great job with the economy ( GDP already at 2.6%, hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs coming back to the US, lowest unemployment rate in 16 years), has taken major steps to revamp the VA Health Care system so our Veterans receive the care they deserve after putting their lives on the line for our country, has reduced burdensome and unnecessary Federal regulations so that businesses are now starting to reinvest in themselves and their employees which in turn has led to a 20% jump in the stock market, which in turn funds retirement programs for most companies, unions and municipalities. He has taken a firm stand with Syria and North Korea (instead as the previous President did, drawing imaginary red-lines that everyone knew would be crossed without penalty), prevented a veto by either Russia or China of the UN Resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea, reduced illegal immigration, started to dismantle the MS-13 gang, and put a massive amount of resources into fighting the opiod epidemic.

It's strange how Reagan was an idiot, Bush Sr. and Jr were idiots, and Trump is an idiot, yet they all soundly defeated the best the Democrat party had to offer. Oh, well, I suppose now I'll start getting all the usual personal attacks and insults.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

No, @Jim Neal, you're not gonna get insults, people will just roll their eyes as usual. Especially since you are spouting talking points you obviously don't actually understand. For example, can you explain what GDP is, and what the statement "GDP is already at 2.6%" means?

We'll all just be thankful you're no longer on the Human Relations Committee. What happened with that, didn't you just get reappointed?

Finally, it's "the Democratic party", not the "Democrat party", but I'm pretty sure you already knew that. Letting your petty partisan politics come through, as usual.

Hey Jim, LOL is picking on you this time. I do not contend, of course, that Trump is an "idiot." He not only has an impressive formal education consisting of a bachelor's degree from the University of PA majoring in draft dodging, but he successfully operated businesses that cheated customers, employees and creditors out of billions partly through his crafty use of bankruptcy laws. Trump is smart but inexperienced in world affairs (not counting Russian hookers) and is an lying, egocentric Vladimir Putin-want-to-be. Putin is the richest man in the world. And he earned every penny. In fact, you will find out that Putin has thrown a lot of those pennys Trump's way over the years. But one must credit Trump for raising some important issues - even if he accomplishes nothing of significance before his removal from the Presidency.

@LOL - For you, anything. As a Black man I'm used to people questioning my intelligence. GDP is Gross Domestic Product. Under Obama, the GDP never reached 3%, which is considered to be healthy economic growth. The fact that we already have 2.6% is an indicator that we could be at or over the 3% threshold by the end of the year.

I also don't see anything "Democratic" about the Democrat party. No diversity of opinion is allowed. Kind of like some companies and organizations I could name.


@ Gary- Please remind me which branch of the service Obama served in again? I'm also really disappointed that you chose to use the universally discredited so-called "dossier" ( Web Link )that was filled with demonstrably false accusations (Russian hookers, golden showers, etc) provided by the very same Russians that his critics claim he wants to impress,to try to prove your point. It also amazes me that you think that it is somehow cheating for people or companies to keep money that they legally earned. There is no 'crafty use of bankruptcy laws". The bankruptcy laws are the same for everyone and are applied by the courts. Also, remind me again what experience Obama had with world affairs before becoming President?
Where is the proof that Putin paid anything to Trump? And if he did, how is it that neither the FBI nor CIA found anything before the election or after? Are they that incompetent? Where is the proof that the President cheated anyone? You've thrown out a lot of accusations, but I notice that you haven't backed any of them up.

As far as impeaching the President, the Dems let slip that that was the plan from the day after the election. I am not surprised that since the President is trying to drain the swamp, the thoroughly corrupt swamp (both parties) are fighting back to keep their perks and keep draining the resources of the people.

Lastly, I've already outlined several of the President's accomplishments. Calling them talking points or ignoring them won't make them go away.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

@Jim, if you were not just regurgitating talking points you'd know that GDP is a measure of value, not a percentage.

That you let your partisan politics seep into even calling the other political party by its name is truly sad. How you ended up appointed to the Human Relations Commission boggles the mind, but thankfully you're no longer there. Why is that? You were just reappointed. Did you have any intention to serve the full term?

@LOL - If you're really that interested in finding out why I left the HRC, stop by my house any time and I'll tell you all about it, it's really no big secret. Since you're so well informed and also live in Old Mountain View, I'm sure you know where I live.

As far as the GDP, I was referring to the rate of Growth in the GDP which is one of the things that economists use to determine the relative health of the economy, not what the GDP itself measures. But you knew that. Never let facts get in the way of personal insults, right?

I love the fact that people who can'r refute facts instead resort to petty personal attacks to distract from the real topic, which is that the President has plenty of positive accomplishments, including the recent verbal smack-down he put on North Korea's leader, who has since decided maybe it's not such a good idea to mess with the US. Coincidence? I think not!


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

If it is just 3 of us posting, most readers will stop reading. Jim probably has no time to follow developments concerning Trump. Trump will soon demand that the special counsel investigating his many ties to Putin be fired. As to Obama, he did not dodge the draft. There was no draft. Obama probably joined the CIA but not to risk his life. It got him into Harvard Law. But returning to the topic of Korea, Trump did not get us in this awful situation. He is just trying to fix it but lacks the relevant experience and common sense to succeed. Trump needs to learn to listen. But it is beyond his ability.

@Gary - How nice of you to speak for me. Obviously you know nothing about me, because anyone that does knows that I very closely follow developments concerning the President and most political news in general. The media has been coming up with one hysterical lie after another concerning the President. The media has been claiming he was going to fire the special counsel for the last month or so ( Web Link )without one shred of proof. He has no reason to fire the special counsel because just like the fake dossier you quoted, this is a lie that the media is using to get people worked up, and it's working.

Resuming the North Korea topic, the President has all the relevant experience he needs; a background in negotiating tough international deals and working in a hostile environment, while being beset by press who care more about sensationalizing a story and attacking conservatives than they do about facts and getting the story correct. He also has made sure to surround himself with experienced Generals who can advise him. Obama had no experience negotiating anything and fired a good many of his generals or ignored their advice about pulling troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
When the president does succeed, I'm sure the media will be there to ensure that the credit goes to someone else just like they are trying to credit China for North Korea backing down from their Guam threat. The President has shown that he is far more capable of learning and listening than his predecessor, but in the end, he is not there to be a puppet President. The role of an executive is to get all the best advice he/she can, but then to make the hard decisions if he/she thinks it is best, even if it isn't popular with the press or people who get their information from a slanted press and the experts in Hollywood and late night tv.

Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

"The President has shown that he is far more capable of learning and listening than his predecessor..."

My word -- not only have you drank the Trump Kool-Aid, you went for seconds and thirds.

Love to see your reaction when 45 is ousted from the White House.

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

When will Trump's die-hard supporters realize that he is beholden to the richest man in the world: Vladimir Putin. Probably not until Trump is impeached and removed from office. Hopefully, Trump will be ousted before his big mouth moves the dictator in North Korea to launched nuclear missiles at Silicon Valley.

@Gary - People who support the President do so because we are tired of being beaten down by both sides of the fixed two party system. The President ran on the premise of 'draining the swamp' which appeals to people who realize that both parties are thoroughly corrupt. For example, Republicans for years promised to repeal Obamacare and regardless of which side you are on in that debate, it should be evident that the Republicans had no intention to do any such thing. They played the American people for idiots as they sent up bill after bill that they knew would be vetoed, just to make it look like they were fighting for the repeal that the majority of the American people asked for. However, now that they have an opportunity to send up any or all of the same bills they sent previously, they don't want to. Neither side has the best interests of the American people at heart; they are only out to help themselves and their rich friends, which is why both sides are going out of their way to impeach the President so they can go back to business as usual.

It is also interesting how the President's opponents keep claiming that he is in the pocket of Vladimir Putin not only when there is absolutely no proof, but when it was Obama that said to the Russian VP for the world to hear "Tell Vladimir I'll have more flexibility after the election", allowed Putin steal Crimea from Ukraine, Unilaterally killed the program to place missiles in Poland, allowed the Russians (Rosatom) to purchase controlling interest in a company (Uranium One) that controls 20% of the United States uranium extraction capacity ( Web Link ), and told Mitt Romney (who said the Russians were the greatest geopolitical threat to the U.S) "The 80's called and they want their foreign policy back" ( Web Link ).

So when it comes right down to it, many of us have chosen to back an outsider President who wants to end business as usual, and who has been pushing policies to create jobs and wealth for everyone, rather than political insiders in both parties who have been making promises that "utopia is just around the corner if you just give us more power" while lowering our standard of living for the last 50 years.

Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Uh, Jim -- keep up with the news much?

Oh wait -- it's all "fake news" to you any way. Forgot about that.

@Jim. I have talked to Trump voters and they cite what you did. But Trump is a lying lunatic who is going to be impeached and removed from office unless he sooner resigns - prinicpally because of his ties to Putin and his ongoing effort to cover up. How about we just bet a dinner on whether Trump is removed or quits in his first and only term?

You guys need to go back and look at your comments. Neal has posted facts and statistics. You all have posted insinuation, snide comments and vitriol. Who earns credibility points here?

Keep it up and you'll ensure another 4 years.

The proposed wager extends to anonymous "mvresident2003" although you would need to supply some avenue for collection in the unlikel event Trump remains in office for the entire term. Returning to North Korea, consider getting and staying in a vacation house in Australia. With Trump making noise about attacking the North Korean regime, missiles may well be headed for Silicon Valley.

Gary, honestly, here again, you have a lot of drama and inflammatory rhetoric.

Glad to discuss facts.

You will have THE LAST WORD on this. Tune into MSNBC at 10pm weekdays for the show.

It amazes me how far some will go to distract people from the facts and the truth. That is the key point of trolling; spread disinformation while engaging in petty personal attacks in order to draw the other person off topic or cloud the issue.

I can see that some have clearly not been paying any attention to the news because North Korea has been very, very quiet since the President stood up to them; which is something the last 4 Presidents failed miserably to do. The President is doing his best to handle a very bad situation that he inherited from the previous administrations, that did absolutely nothing but watch as N.Korea tested and developed nuclear weapons. Blaming the President for North Korea is like blaming a good policeman for trying to take down a gun wielding criminal who is threatening to shoot everyone in sight.


@Gary - I would be happy to have you buy me dinner after the next Presidential election whether or not President Trump wins or loses (since he will neither be impeached, nor step down).

It has been a fantasy that the President would be impeached even BEFORE he was the official Republican nominee ( Web Link ). Any thinking person should be very concerned about that fact; that a coup was being planned even before President Trump was the official nominee! That should prove to any reasonable person just how corrupt the system is, and why those who oppose the President are so hysterical; they don't want to lose their ability to have complete control over YOUR lives and keeping you, your families and your descendants dependent on government in perpetuity.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Oooh, Jim, this post really hasn't aged well in the last 8 hours, but I'm pretty sure your love of Trump is impervious to evidence.

North Korea just launched three missiles (wow, so "very, very quiet"), Trump is banning transgender people from serving in the military, and he pardoned Joe Arpaio (law-and-order president!).

@LOL - Finally! I'm glad to see that you are Mostly addressing relevant topics this time, a vast improvement! N. Korea did indeed launch some missiles AFTER my post ( Web Link ). Maybe they're reading the MV Voice? ( I'm kidding ). All 3 launches were failures. Right now I imagine the President is concentrating on the hurricane on Texas' east coast and seeing that this time, FEMA is on the ball and doing everything they can to help those people affected.

I haven't found anything yet on any comments or actions taken by the President with regard to N. Korea, but I am sure that he is also monitoring the situation and weighing his options. The funny thing is, that those who hate the President criticize him no matter what he does or says or does not say or do; so I don't expect THAT to change.

What I would really like is to hear your opinion on what actions he should be taking and what he should say about North Korea. If you have a better plan in mind, by all means let the world hear it!

Regarding the transgender ban, that one is a bit tougher because I don't know all the details; however, this story ( Web Link ) provides a lot of information, but doesn't answer all my questions such as:

How much does the surgery cost?
What is the recovery time?
How much do the medications cost?
How long do the medications need to be taken for?
Can the medications be easily acquired and administered in a combat situation?
Do the medications affect the individual's combat readiness?
Are there any significant short or long-term side effects of the surgery or medications?

Having served in the military myself, I think that these are all very significant issues. The primary mission of the military is to defend the country and anything that would have a significant negative impact on that mission is not acceptable. Note that I did not say or even imply that it WOULD have a negative impact. I am just saying that IF it does, that is a major consideration.

Regarding Joe Arpaio, I don't know all the specifics of his case, but I do know that he believes that he was enforcing the laws as written. IF he was, then his conviction would send a bad message to law enforcement that "which laws are or are not enforced depends entirely on who is in office and not what is in the legal code". If that was the case, then a pardon was justified.

With all that said, no President is perfect, but I prefer one who will at least try to drain the swamp, than one who will wallow in the muck with the rest of the politicians of both parties who care about nothing more than how much power they can achieve at the expense of the people.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

The common theme in your latest post: "I don't know all of the details..."

Which sums up your posts here on the Voice website over the years.

For someone who (apparently) doesn't know that much, you seem to have a need to show off that ignorance on a constant basis.

And again with the inflammatory, snide comments. And not even that done very well. Sigh.

Let's be fair to Jim Neal here: he doesn't know a lot of the details, but he certainly knows that Trump is draining the swamp! As I pointed out, his love is impervious to evidence. It's beautiful, in a way.

@LOL - I wasn't at the trial for Joe Arpaio and I don't sit on the Joint Chiefs, nor work for the White House; however, if you have access to all that information, then please share it with the rest of us. I also said "no President is perfect, but I prefer one who will at least try to drain the swamp". (Note that "try" indicates that the action has not yet been completed).

It's very easy to anonymously sit on the sidelines and troll others without providing any facts of your own. Unlike some people, I don't reach my conclusions about politicians without facts, or based on my opposition to the party they are associated with, or on media talking points or because I have an irrational hatred for them.

I would love to hear your answers to all the questions that I asked about the transgender ban or what your plan would be for North Korea; and I look forward to you providing detailed information. You keep claiming that I am impervious to evidence, yet you have provided none; only baseless claims and insults in an attempt to change the focus of the conversation from the President's accomplishments which are well documented, even if they have not been well covered by the media.

The President's detractors are all using the playbook that they laid out even before he was elected ( Web Link ). At least this President IS taking action regarding the existential threats to our country; unlike his predecessor who drew imaginary red lines, then allowed other countries to walk all over them. As of now, there have been no missiles targeted towards Guam or any other US territory, and I have every confidence that if that were to happen, there would be very serious repercussions for any country that tried it.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

How hilarious...

"You keep claiming that I am impervious to evidence, yet you have provided none; only baseless claims and insults in an attempt to change the focus of the conversation from the President's accomplishments which are well documented, even if they have not been well covered by the media."

Uh, Jim...WHAT accomplishments? Signing executive orders is NOT an "accomplishment," no matter what 45 tries to tell you otherwise.

Having the lowest poll ratings ever recorded for any president at this stage of their presidency, on the other hand...

@LOL - I find it extremely telling that you were not able to answer any of my questions and provide the data that I was unable to locate. You copied my quote about not your not providing any evidence to back up YOUR claims, and then continue to provide no evidence! That is what's "hilarious".

As for the accomplishments of our current President, I already enumerated quite a few of them earlier in this post and they are undeniable:

1) Revamping the VA system to ensure that veterans are receiving much better care than they were under the previous President that allowed veterans to die while on years long waiting lists ( Web Link ).

2) The President's policies have led to a 2.6% growth in GDP in the first half of the year ( Web Link ). The story in the link also reports on how it has been Congress (A.K.A The Swamp), which has been blocking the President's economic agenda. This is important because a rising economy 'lifts all boats" as the saying goes. More prosperous people means less power for the Washington elites and insiders. I am amazed that ANYONE would be on the side of those who want to keep people poor and dependent on Government. Which brings me to:

3) The President's policies have reduced illegal immigration by over 60% just in the first few months ( Web Link ). This is important because illegal immigration places downward pressure on unskilled labor wages, causes thousands of deaths both for those crossing illegally and those killed by a small percentage of illegals that commit violent offenses, makes it easier for illegal drug trafficking across the border, and makes it easier for Human trafficking. These are also issues which Congress has ignored because both major parties profit from it significantly! If Congress wanted to do something about it, the could design a system that allows for foreigners who want to work in the U.S. to get a work visa or some time of work permit after clearing a background check and the whole process should take less than two weeks! They won't do it because that would mean that ALL foreign workers would have to be paid at least minimum wage and that they wouldn't have the opportunity to have as many new voters.

4) The President was able to get sanctions against N. Korea through the UN without China or Russia using their veto. In a CNBC story, it was reported that the sanctions were not in the best interests of China or Russia (who both have close ties to N. Korea). The fact that he was able to get them to do it anyway shows leadership and a toughness that has not been seen in the Presidency since 9/11 (although President Bush had many other issues that I disagreed with him on). The story also mentioned that China and Russia not happy about the new sanctions which disproves the theory that the President is a puppet of Vladimir Putin.

Lastly, you refer to the President 'Having the lowest poll ratings ever recorded for any president at this stage of their presidency'. Would these be the same polls that gave Hillary Clinton a 95% chance of winning the presidency? The same ones that said she had a shot at winning in Georgia? The same ones that said the President had no chance of winning Michigan, Wisconsin or Pennsylvania? ..... I thought so.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Hey Jim, try reading the names of the people you're talking to before you just spam massive screeds.

Can we just bounce you and The Business Man off of each other so you can both write massive walls of incoherent text, and the rest of us can have meaningful conversations? Thanks in advance.

@LOL - My apologies, it's just that you both sound ( in text ) like the same person.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Jim -- Not only have you drank the Trump Kool-Aid repeatedly; you also show (once again) that you have ZERO comprehension skills.

ZERO.

But that also explains why you're a Trump fan (which you claimed you weren't during the election campaign -- awkward, isn't it?)

@LOL and @@Jim Neal - You really do sound alike.

@@Jim Neal -- I have no clue what you are talking about, I didn't run for office last year, so what do you mean by "But that also explains why you're a Trump fan (which you claimed you weren't during the election campaign -- awkward, isn't it?)"?

For your information, I spoke to the City Council on the record about my concerns over the unprovoked attacks on people peacefully attending the President's rally in San Jose last year, as well as other unprovoked attacks throughout the Bay Area. I also stated that I did not put a sign in my front yard solely because I was concerned for the safety of my family and that of the immigrants with whom we share a house; and given the way the police in most municipalities have been incredibly non-responsive to attacks against those who support the President, I think it was the right decision.

I find it interesting that both of you have nothing more constructive to offer to the conversation other than random insults, that you are unable to answer any questions, and that you make statements and accusations that you don't back up with any proof or links.

During this entire thread, neither of you has provided anything constructive as to how YOU would resolve the situation in N.Korea. It's an old and tired tactic, trolling people and using personal insults to try to distract people from the more substantive matters of the discussion.

What is important to me is that the President is dealing with N. Korea. Time will tell what the final results will be. He inherited an incredible mess that was 25 years in the making and no one can undo that much damage overnight, but he has surrounded himself with the right people and I'm sure that they'll do whatever needs to be done.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Wow, Jim, I guess everyone who disagrees sounds the same to you.

The reason no one actually engages with you is that you don't respond to actual evidence, and instead just constantly shift focus. For example, you posted "I can see that some have clearly not been paying any attention to the news because North Korea has been very, very quiet since the President stood up to them." Then, only hours later, they fire three missiles. To any reasonable observer, that's not quiet at all, and Trump's tactic has failed. What does Jim Neal think of this, will he admit to being wrong? "there have been no missiles targeted towards Guam or any other US territory."

Heck, you can't even say you were wrong about confusing me and @Jim Neal, instead it's our fault because our text sounds the same(?). I eagerly anticipate 5 pages of text in response to this.

@LOL I never said that I could predict the future. Again, at the time I wrote "North Korea has been very, very quiet since the President stood up to them", that was true.

Also, the two of you have spent most of your posts engaging in unprovoked verbal attacks against me and hurling insults instead of responding to the topic, and you ask me to apologize for accidentally responding to the wrong anonymous pseudonym? Give me a break!

You accuse me of not knowing a lot of the details, but then when I provide them you complain that my posts are too long. You demand that I answer all of your questions, while you provide no answers to any of mine. I write about the topic and you respond with personal attacks. You choose to be anonymous while I freely put myself out here so that people will know exactly who speaking. Does anyone else see a pattern here?


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Sigh, just like your man at the top, all you know how to do when challenged is double-down and get indignant. You were abundantly happy to point out that they were "very, very quiet since the President stood up to them" but as soon as they weren't quiet (LOL 8 hours later), you suddenly have a change of heart. We get it, you love Trump, and he can do no wrong for you, but the rest of us are stuck in the real world.

@LOL - I'll make this simple since you keep trying to conflate two different things North Korea Testing ICBMs and North Korea testing any other weapons systems. You are also conflating the President confronting N.Korea on threatening to fire missiles at Guam with firing any missiles at anything even if they don't work. I suppose if they fired rifles in the air, that would also count for you as not being quiet.

In addition, saying that something has not happened yet, is not the same as saying that it will never happen. If I say "the sun is shining", then it rains 2 hours later, that doesn't mean that the sun wasn't shining when I said it, or that I said it was never going to rain again.

When N. Korea did pop off 3, they failed to stay up. They also were not aimed towards Guam ( Web Link ), which was the threat made by N. Korea. Here is what CNN reported:

"Though North Korea says it now has the ability to send missiles to the US mainland, US defense officials said these short-range missiles did not pose a threat to North America or Guam."

As I said, those who hate the President will never be satisfied no matter what he does or doesn't do, or what he says or doesn't say; and those who want to keep the middle class and those with low income from easily moving up the economic ladder are doing everything they can to bring him down. That's what the Never-Trump movement was all about.

Another long post, but when people go out of their way to deliberately misconstrue meanings, that's the only way to be explicitly clear. Although even when I say things like "No President is perfect", you hear "We get it, you love Trump, and he can do no wrong for you". I think that makes it clear to everyone.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Oh, Jim, this just keeps getting worse for you (and by proxy the rest of us due to your Dear Leader's reckless actions.) North Korea has now fired a missile over Hokkaido, Japan. The time between your posts and missile launches by North Korea keeps getting shorter and shorter.

@LOL - Still waiting to hear your brilliant solution for N. Korea.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

Hey Jim -- And what is YOUR solution as regards North Korea? And by that, I don't mean anything lifted from some Trumpista website.

*Remember, folks: Jim Neal finished LAST in every Mountain View City Council election he ran as a candidate. DEAD. LAST.*

@@Jim Neal - Thanks for your last post! It really shows off the difference between those who support the President and those who don't.

Either you are not reading the links I have supplied or you're being dishonest. So far my links have been from: The Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN (x3), Meridith Drake via You Tube, Politico Magazine, CNN Money, and The Washington Times. Hardly a who's who of Trump supporters, but you knew that already.

Also, it is you and @LOL that have issues with the President's N. Korea policy, so the two of you should be the ones to let people know exactly what it is that YOU would do differently that would be so much more effective than what the President is doing.

As far as my campaign is concerned, I am very proud of what I did:

* I was the first (and may be the last) Black Man EVER to run for City Council in Mountain View (Although somehow the local press missed that. I wonder why?)

* I was the only candidate to not accept any money from any special interest groups. ( During the last campaign I ran in, in which all the candidates pledged a spending limit of about $24,000; over $200,000 in dark money was spent on the behalf of 2 or 3 of the other candidates, even though it was without the candidates knowledge. I also was the only candidate to be financed solely by Mountain View residents)

* My campaigns were over 85% self financed.

* I ran the greenest ( meaning most carbon neutral) campaign of all the candidates (wonder how the local press missed that one too?).

* I got to meet a lot of great people and understand their concerns from the high rents to the costs of running a small business.

* As a result of my campaigns I have been able to contribute to the solutions of at least a few of the issues in Mountain View.

* I was able to realize my dream of having the first Multi-Cultural Festival in the history of Mountain View.

I have never cared about power. I just wanted to make a difference and I have. That's something no one can take away.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View, Ca

And may I comment that you've done it all with class and style. I've never met you but wish I have, you seem like a kind and genuine person.

@mvresident2003 - Thank you very much!

Sending this thread to people in Palo Alto so they can see the drivel that pours of the minds of EVERYONE on this page. Good work Mt View. We're so proud of our south east neighbors

zap, you clearly haven't read the comments section on Palo Alto Online. This looks like Oxford debate by comparison.

@ZAP - Welcome! We are so looking forward to hearing your erudite ideas on this topic and showing us poor South Easterners how it's done.

I thought that providing cogent arguments directly related to the topic and providing links to document sources for the facts I presented was a pretty good method. I am very anxious to see how Palo Alto engages in political discourse. Please give us a demonstration. Thanks!


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

@Jim...Yeah...nothing to see here in all the Russian/Trump investigations. Except there is. For you to claim otherwise proves that you do not read anything other than right-wing sources. Read it...

Web Link

I have an untested theory that the last straw for people like you (i.e. Trump apologists and die hard supporters) is that when the information that he actually committed treason comes to light, you'll finally turn. But the idea that he owes money to the Russian banks (run by, in case you don't know, Putin himself) means he truly is a puppet of a sworn enemy of the United States. I don't know how you can defend that. You say you were in the military. That he supports dictators and demotes democracies around the world (and their democratically elected officials), should be a sign you're not a true American patriot. He literally is not putting his own country first. And he's the President!

Also, the first mulit-cultural festival in Mountain View? Really?? I guess you hadn't heard of the Afribean Festival that went on for a few years. Wrong again.

You lost two campaigns in a row, even after the Voice published your words. People knew you were the first African American to run for MV Council and they still voted you to last place. I doubt it had anything to do with your skin color. Most likely, they didn't like what you had to say. Finicky voters and all. I know your supporters hang out here on TS, but honestly, the rest of MV voters don't.

I had not checked this thread for awhile. I see an "angel" has chimed in. Thank goodness. But I would note that Jim did not claim to be the first black person to run for City Council - just the first black man. Two black women ran previously. One was on CNN late in the Presidential campaign slamming Trump. But it was not enough to forestall his "election" by the minority of the voters that voted. As Jim correctly emphasizes, the alternative to Trump was not very appealing either. @Jim. Let's hurry up and pick the restaurant (in Mountain View) to celebrate (or, for you, to anquish over) Trump's ouster. I think VP Michael Pence will avoid leaving at the same time and will become President next. But maybe he is going down in the same flush. All of this assumes, of course, that Trump's big mouth will not cause the North Korean regime to launch its ICBMs at Silicon Valley (before the regime's best weapons are sabotaged). If you or I die, all bets are off.

@Angel - CNN is now right wing? I didn't know that. By the way, did you know that your link goes to Politico; that's one of the sites I linked to as well. Why are you using a right wing website? The story that YOU linked to provides no evidence of anything regarding Trump and Russian Banks, but it does say:

Mueller’s and Schneiderman’s teams have collected evidence on financial crimes, including potential money laundering.

No decision has been made on where or whether to file charges. “Nothing is imminent,” said one of the people familiar with the case."


So it seems that your link contradicts your own argument.

Also, the Multicultural Festival WAS the first of it's type in Mountain View as instead of focusing on one culture, or one region; the idea was to be open to showcase every culture in the world. If it had been the same, we would have called it the Afribean Festival.

In addition, I never claimed my skin color or even my sex had anything to do with what happened in my campaign. I merely pointed out the parts of my campaign that I was proud of, after someone else launched an unprovoked personal attack. To be honest, I think it was mostly all the outside money that flooded in that had the biggest effect. I do however 'say that I was in the military' as you say, because I was. That is one of the reasons that I have a great appreciation for what the President has done for my fellow veterans by revamping the VA and trying to get additional funding for the military so they no longer have to get parts from museums ( Web Link ) just to keep our planes in the air!

What dictators is the President supporting and which democracies is he demoting? He's not supporting the Muslim Brotherhood the way Obama did ( Web Link ), when they tried to overthrow the Egyptian government and turn Egypt into an Islamic state. The President is not supporting Venezuela or Cuba as Obama did. He never told Putin "I'll have more flexibility after the election". So what do you mean? Lots of accusations thrown out, no evidence.

@Gary I have included my email below so you can get in touch with me whenever you like (and so you can let me know directly when you're ready to acknowledge you were wrong!). I'm a big fan of Doppio Zero so we can go there after the President wins the party nomination again 3 years from now. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to stop by my place to chat if you like and we could have a more in depth political discussion.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View
jrodricneal@hotmail.com

@Jim,

Let's try this another way: Do you believe, from all the sources you watch and read, that Trump is innocent of the allegations he is facing?

In your own words, when will you abandon him as some kind of good leader for our country and recognize him as a bad seed?

Will you, at that time, publicly admit that you made a mistake in backing him?

I ask these questions b/c it was clear before the election, in the very least, there were reasons to be concerned. That most of these reasons of concern are bubbling to the top of the news on a daily basis, gives me hope that our judicial system is still functional.

@Angel - In this country, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, with that being said, there are some cases where the preponderance of evidence overwhelmingly leads us to believe one way or another.

Let's first take the indisputable evidence that Democrats and Republicans alike were talking about impeaching the President in April 2016 (well before he even won the nomination).

Let us further take the indisputable evidence that Obama did not consider the Russians to be a threat in 2012, nor did he consider them enough of a threat prior to the election to take measures to prevent the alleged interference ( Web Link ).

In addition, the fake dossier on the President, allegedly created by the Russians; and discovered through Democrat Party opposition research using a British agent who then gave the dossier to John McCain (definitely no friend of the president's), who was so distraught over the earth-shattering allegations that he then passed the dossier to James Comey, then head of the FBI! Did you follow all that? Does that sound even remotely reasonable? Would it have sounded reasonable if the same thing had happened to Obama before he took office? I'm sorry but to me the whole thing smells like a setup.

The problem Angel, is that to date, all the allegations have been false. People kept saying that the President was under investigation when he wasn't, the dossier was a fake, people have been saying that the President was going to fire the Special Prosecutor (he didn't), etc., etc., etc.

Another problem is that both parties are going out of their way to smear and tar the President, and I have to ask myself, 'why?'.

Lastly, if there was any evidence whatsoever tying the President to the Russians, why weren't the FBI or the CIA able to find it before the election? Some people say the President isn't too smart, so it should have been really easy to find.

What is happening is that the Special Prosecutor is trying to create a process crime. The way to do that is to make a false charge, then try to maneuver the target into obstructing the investigation or making a misstatement so they can then be charged with a crime.

The short answer to your question is that if there were any real, hard and undeniable evidence that the President was betraying the country or committing high crimes and/or misdemeanors, then I would agree that he needs to go.

Until then, I don't think I made a mistake in backing the current President any more than any of Obama's supporters think they made a mistake when they backed Obama during both of his elections.

In the mean time, all of these distractions are serving to divide the country and compromise our election process far more than the Russians could possibly have dreamed and North Korea is loving the fact that some people are trying to get rid of the only President to get tough with them in the last 30 or so years.


Jim Neal
Old Mountain View

The latest is that Trump was working to erect another momument - a Trump Tower - in Moscow. There are lists of many recent lies by Trump online including the June 23 list in the New York Times. Trump fans should be careful to NOT read any of those lists. Maybe if Trump flees to Moscow with no money in his bag, Putin will generously build and name a shelter in his honor: The Putin-Trump-Moscow Home for Political Refugees and Shortchanged Foreign Puppets. And then Jim will explain how Trump was framed.

And this morning (Sunday), in response to Trump's public chest pounding, North Korea claims to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb for its ICBM's.