I think the purpose of life is
to be useful,
to be responsible,
to be honorable,
to be compassionate.
It is, after all,
to matter:
to count,
to stand for something,
to have made some difference
that you lived at all.
Leo C. Rosten
The Truth About Swedish Socialism
DEAD WRONG: The Backfire Effect Is Based On Good Research
Reason Debunks Xenophobic Immigration Restrictionists
Facebook Corner
This message is a response to a Trumpkin cousin's enthusiastic promotion of Trump's decision to waive or donate his salary in office. My cousin did not like my brief rebuttal, noting other rich men (like Bloomberg and Romney) had done the same earlier. I also pointed out that I had seen numbers that Trump's taxpayer-paid monthly expenses over Obama's exceeded his annual salary in a single month. In this response, I make reference to an earlier message I had sent her after we reconnected around the time of my late aunt's passing. I soon found my news stream filled with FNC posts and numerous comments filled with hearts and "President Trump, we love you". I felt, "Oh crap. Sooner or later, she's going to find out I have the opposite reaction to Trump, not Trump Derangement Syndrome. I had posted numerous critical tweets, Facebook comments and blog posts. I certainly wasn't going to refrain from criticizing him in my group feeds.So I sent her a text saying, "Listen, you are going to find out we have different political views; please don't take it personally." She responded, essentially, "I'm a big girl. Don't worry about it; we'll just agree I'm always right, and you're always wrong. Ha-ha!" But when I wrote an independent comment noting I had an unnamed relative who thought Trump was peachy keen over giving away his salary, she wasn't happy and made it personal, saying I wouldn't turn down a $400K paycheck. This is my edited response:
[Cousin], we had this discussion a few weeks back. You knew then that I didn't share your views on Trump. (If you don't like my post, you haven't read any of my thousands of tweets.) By the way, I've bitten my tongue on several of your posts and/or comments, and went out of my way not to identify you in particular. (I also have family members who are pro-Trump, including my Mom.)
If you've read my blog or Twitter feed, the answer to your question is I would cut everybody's salary in government, starting with my own. I certainly wouldn't be spending millions traveling to my own golf courses and hotels; in fact, I'm pretty sure there is a course at Camp David. I'm a guy who was told by my client's CEO secretary I could book up to $200/night at a local hotel in California, but I stayed at a distant San Jose suburb Extended Stay (in heavy traffic at $43/night back in 1999); I just don't like spending other people's money. I found a $400+ airline flight from Chicago to SF when I could have booked $1200 and gotten United mileage points.
So your point doesn't really apply to me. Presidents get free room and board plus a huge expense account which basically is on top of salary. I wouldn't have to pay for cars (heck, I would get chauffeurs and personal chefs), plus a six-figure retirement pension for life.
I still love you, cousin,but we have different political views. I don't take it personally.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Chip Bok via Townhall |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists
Frank Sinatra, "Someone To Watch Over Me"
