In Nebraska, likely as in other states, the governor is able to issue token “proclamations” recognizing individuals and groups.  Most recently Nebraska’s millionaire GOP Governor Pete Ricketts has issued a number, including  star of television’s “The Voice” Hannah Huston, baseball Royals’ Alex Gordon, civil engineers, turkey hunters, the Nebraska Farm Bureau, rodeo enthusiasts and school choice supporters.  The governor’s office issues proclamations to honor organizations or individuals. The state website says the governor will review all requests and grant or decline the requests without comment.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will mention that my wife is a retired teacher with a master’s degree in education, having taught since she graduated from college.  Our daughter is also a teacher with a master’s degree in education.  Both are members of the NSEA.  Also, for 15 years before I retired I called on schools in sales.

And why is this relevant?  Because noticeably absent in this round of proclamations was the Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA), which is celebrating their 150th anniversary. 

When asked why the NSEA was excluded, the governor’s office said Ricketts “deeply values” the work of Nebraska teachers but has re-evaluated how it issues proclamations relating to education.  This, notwithstanding the fact that he issued a proclamation for "school choice supporters."  A letter from the NSEA to the governor’s office includes a list of 47 proclamations Ricketts’ office has issued for a wide range of organizations and individuals, and marking important anniversaries of several organizations.

Since entering politics eight years ago, former TD Ameritrade executive Pete Ricketts has often been dogged by perceptions that he’s a rich guy who got where he is largely because he’s the son of Joe Ricketts, the company’s billionaire founder.  In 2006 he reported his net worth as between $45 million and $50 million.

Any of this sound familiar?  Republican.  Millionaire in daddy’s company.  Anti-public schools. Vindictive.  Arrogant. 

Ricketts is a dick in a passel of dicks of Nebraska’s elected officials from here to Washington.  It’s clear that not issuing a proclamation to recognize the NSEA wasn’t a “re-evaluaton” of how proclamations are issued.  It was a vengeful snub.

Just one day more…

How many of you RV’ers, snowbirds, boondockers and campers have visited or camped at a U.S. National Monument?  

How about Arizona’s Organ Pipe National Monument?

How about New Mexico’s Gila Cliff’s National Monument?

How about California’s Joshua Tree National Monument?

There are 129 protected areas in the United States known as national monuments.

Today not-my-president Trump took a step towards adulterating these protected lands.  He signed an executive order to allow national monument designations to be rescinded or reduce the size of sites as the administration pushes to open up more federal land to drilling, mining and other development.  No president has ever rescinded a monument designation.

The 1906 Antiquities Act gives a president the authority to create national monuments from federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features.  In announcing the order not-my-president Trump said use of the Antiquities Act to create monuments was an "egregious abuse of federal power" that allowed the federal government to "lock up" millions of acres of land and water.

As I’ve said it in past blogs, the National Park Service is one of the most underfunded and unappreciated departments of our government.  They will have no say over what parks and monuments will be assaulted if this executive order of not-my-president Trump goes unchallenged.

How about it RV’ers?  You want to share your national monument with an oil drilling rig?  What other kind of industrial development are you willing to accept?

Just one day more…

Once again, not-my-president Trump has been caught in a lie, all the while his myopic supporters shrug it off.

Not-my-president Trump has put funding for his xenophobic Mexican border wall in his proposed federal budget, which experts say would cost $21.6 billion and take three and a half years to construct.*

On Sunday White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said, "This is what the president ran on.  We want to get to a place this week where border-security money is being directed to the Department of Homeland Security so that we can begin surveillance and preliminary work, and then we will keep working on getting DHS what it needs for the structure.”  

Oh really?!  What about not-my-presidents incessant campaign blustering and promise that "Mexico would pay for the wall - believe me!"  

Hey Trumpies, are you asleep or just flat out stupid?  Do you like being duped? 

* In addition, not-my-president Trump is proposing cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%.  Never mind that most major corporations pay little or no taxes due to plum deductions. 

Just one day more...

April 15th - Traditional Tax Day

(AP) Thousands of sign-waving, chanting protesters marched Saturday through streets across America, demanding that the president release his tax returns so the public can examine his business ties and determine whether he has links to foreign powers.  Trump was the first major-party nominee in more than 40 years not to release his returns and he reneged on a campaign commitment to release them. He said they were being audited.

April 16 - A monarch responds

Trump tweeted Sunday: "I did what was an almost an impossible thing to do for a Republican-easily won the Electoral College! Now Tax Returns are brought up again?"

"Someone should look into who paid for the small organized rallies yesterday. The election is over," he tweeted.

Not-my-president Trump continues to treat the presidency as a monarchy.  First, appointing billionaires to cabinet positions and then giving his family members plum paid government positions.

Government “above us all.”

Just one day more…

Ever wonder why our crumbling infrastructure isn’t taken care of?  Ever wonder why our national health care is such a mess?  Ever wonder why essential services, such as education and child care, are struggling?  

In 2015 the U.S. spent $598 billion, about 54% of the total discretionary budget on the military.  For FY 2017, President Obama proposed the base budget of $523.9 billion, which included an increase of $2.2 billion over the FY 2016 enacted budget of $521.7 billion. Now comes not-my-president Trump with his proposal to INCREASE the military budget by $54 billion.

$54,000,000,000 

Putting that in perspective, the U.S. spends more on the military than the next seven highest spending countries COMBINED. 

Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about excessive military spending. 

Right on the heels of idiot billionarie Rex Tillerson, not-my-president Trump has once again threatened North Korea, saying the U.S. will go it alone to reign in Kim Jong Un.  All the crazies are lined up to once again mire the U.S. in an intractable war.