John

Las Vegas, New York, Sutherland Springs, Parkland, and now Pittsburgh, these victims and others will remain in my memory forever. As president I would express the compassion of the entire nation to these families and respect their privacy in allowing time to bury their dead. If later, these families and this community wish me to come to Pittsburgh, I would do so.

And it is never enough. To the best of my knowledge, our nation has still not banned bump stocks which increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons repeatedly used in these tragedies, and we still don’t have universal background checks. Minimal steps.

There are troubled and unbalanced individuals in every society. These persons can be easily suggestable, attracted to conspiracy theories and sometimes prone to violence. The inflamatory rhetoric of division and hatred can push these people over the edge. Every elected person needs to understand the power of his/her words and the responsibility that is part of leadership.

Fear is a powerful political weapon. Two men greater than myself have reminded us that “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Which brings me to the issue of immigration and the Caravan. Conditions are bad, life threatening, in some central American countries but we cannot wholesale allow these people to come to the United States. We just can’t. But for the most part they are good people who are looking for a better way of life. They are not rapists, terrorists or invaders. The Caravan is still about 1000 miles from our border and I appreciate the efforts of the Mexican government to prevent this group of people from arriving en-mass at our border. Americans should remember that this sort of thing happens seasonally when the weather allows travel by foot through the mountains and deserts of Mexico.

Probably it would be well here to restate my general position on immigration.

There have been a lot of deportations and there will continue to be deportations until we find a way to prevent people from overstaying their visas or entering the country illegally. However some actions currently being taken are exceedingly cruel. We should not be breaking up working families where some immediate family members are US citizens. People who were brought here as children (DACA) should be allowed to stay and become naturalized citizens.

We should not be deporting refugees who have been here a long time and who previous president have allowed to stay.

I ask my fellow Americans to consider that some western states were part of Mexico once. Mexican-American culture is very strong in these places. It is similar to those of French or Cajun roots in Louisianna, Dutch-German people in Pennsylvania or Scandinavians in Minnesota. We are a nation descended from immigrants …. from all the lands on earth we come. So many have died for our freedoms and for the belief that all men are created equal.

Lastly, a free press is essential to the function of democracy. It is no one’s enemy. I recommend all Americans take time to get news from multiple sources. As President, when I need to explain my policies or decisions to the American people, I will not tweet.  I will look you in the eye with a news conference, interview or press release.  I will trust the press to mostly get it right and I will trust the American people to think and search for truth.

Christine Blaisey Ford has accused my Supreme Court Nominee of a teenage sexual assault. Both are now middle aged, mature, credible adults but at this point it is “she said, he said.”

As President what should I do? With a Congress I view as far too partisan how should I lead the Nation? What is the decent and fair thing to do?

I would ask the Senate to pause the confirmation process and allow time for the FBI to conduct some background investigation into the alleged sitution. The rush to confirm this nominee is partisan politics. I cannot forget that this same Congress refused to even grant Merrick Garland a hearing. A teenage mistake should probably not be disqualifying for any office. However any untruth now, any lack of candor in this situation, is potentially an obstruction of justice and should disqualify a nominee for the Supreme Court.

Although he completely denies the accusation, I also think that Judge Kavanaugh could ask for a pause to allow more information to come to light. That would be the action of a fair and independent Judiciary.

Things that should not happen still do happen, even in high school. Alcohol can impair judgement and memory. Childhood assaults in particular often have life long effects on victims. It is common that victims are too embarrassed, insecure or fearful to report such incidents at the time.

And meanwhile hundreds of immigrant children remain separated from their parents. This administration is now moving to deport refugees from the Vietman era after two previous presidents told them they could stay. We are considering denying visas or green cards for persons who, in someone’s judgement before the fact, might require some public services. This is prejudice and continued cruelty.

I hope that I might serve my country nearly so well as John McCain, with courage, honor, decency and character.

Harvest had begun when wildfires broke out here in Lake County, California. While I wait to re-enter the evacuation area, the political fires consuming our Nation are foremost on my mind. As an independent candidate for President, the issues that affect our people where they live, the security and health of our Nation and the working of our democracy are the crop I raise.

I do not see evidence that our current President conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election but I’m surely concrned about the number of associates with Russian contacts. For a Trump Tower meeting supposedly about adoption, there was a lot of horsepower present. The Russians certainly did attempt to influence the 2016 election and continue to do so. The only way I will be convinced there was no collusion, is that the Mueller investigation be allowed to turn every stone. As President I would, of course, maintain normal diplomatic relations with Russia and work to resolve differences.

I would not tolerate meddling in our elections and would do everything I could to prevent it.

The cruelty of separating children from their parents is still on my mind. Our government did not even keep track of which children belonged to which parents. Re-uniting these families would weigh heavily on me far before Putin summits or political rallies.

I’m sure that Brett Kavanaugh is a decent man and loving father. Do his views reflect the mainstream of American opinion and a middle ground reading of the Constitution.  In academic and legal accomplishments he would seem highly qualified for the Supreme Court. Does his career in Washington bring understanding of how decisions of the Court affect people on main street? The Senate treated Merrick Garland very badly refusing to even give him a hearing. For equally partisan reasons the Senate leadership wants to advance Brett Kavanaugh. That is why I would urge the Senate to return to normal previous rules and require 60 votes for Supreme Court nominees. I would insist any candidate I nominated receive 60 votes to insure that person does understand the mainstream of American values and opinion as well as the Constitution.

Sometimes a President will need to acknowledge errors of judgement, back up and start over. Although we all hoped for the best, it now seems clear that North Korea has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons. It is a most vexing problem as it has been for previous administrations. We have to maintain military rediness, including cooperatioon with South Korea and Japan while encouraging North Korea to give up their nukes and be part of the international community.

The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and has helped many people. I have no need to tear it down but rather make it work as well as it can while advancing bi-partisan efforts in Congress to make it better. Healthcare is a basic human need. We expect people to work. One must be healthy to do so.

My first measure of how the economy is doing, is how is the middle class doing? The Gross National Product means litle if it is going to a smaller and smaller segment of our population.

While on the subject of fires and natural disasters, I believe the human contribution to global warming is real and a serious problem which requires world wide cooperation. No single weather event tells us much. The information is in world wide averages over time. The science is clear.  The politics is muddy because of the economic changes of advancing clean renewable energy for our country and the whole world.  It should be our future.

Six months ago I declared my improbable candidancy for President of the United States because I believed I could do better than either of the major candidates. I am shocked and disgusted by today’s event’s in Finland. Over the unanamous conclusions of our intelligence agencies and Congressional Committees, our President has taken the side of Vladimir Putin claiming the Russians did not meddle in the 2016 election and the investigation is all a “witch hunt”. I hope every American is asking, “what does Putin have on our President that would cause him to sell out our country?” We have been sold out today and I absolutely would have known better, even maybe cancelling the meeting after last week’s indictments of 13 Russian military intelligence officers. I am praying that our men and women in uniform are not called upon to straighten out this maddness somewhere in the world. I am not fooled. I can think of no rational reason beyond some twisted self interest to criticize our NATO Allies and suck up to Putin.

I’ve been writing about the cruelty of current immigration policies for some time.  Criminalizing people for minor infractions is an old political trick.  I’m glad to see Americans are outraged, as we should be, about separating children from their parents at the border.  In fact, we have been breaking up families over minor infractions, including families where some members are American citizens, for quite awhile.

My administration would not separate children from their families at the boarder or elsewhere.  If a family unit is apprehended crossing the border illegally, we will detain them as a unit and for the shortest time possible before return to Mexico.  In most cases we could do this within 24 hours.

For first time offenders, bringing criminal charges is a waste of time and money.  These people are hoping for a better life, they have mostly nothing to start with and we are just compounding their pain.  When entry is illegal, just send them back with a stern warning and their signed statement that they won’t attempt illegal entry again.  Stronger measures can follow if they do re-enter.

Lastly, my ancestor came to this county generations ago to escape religious persecution in France.  He was not highly educated or wealthy, just running for his life.  We are most all descendants of immigrants.

Just read a story about the USS Indianapolis tragedy during WWII.  So many sacrifices for this great nation then and continuing to the present.  My parents returned from WWII, my father an Army Quartermaster and my mother a MASH nurse.  They were young, brave, and compassionate people.  Their experience taught them tolerance and human equality.

So if I could walk into the Oval Office at 8:OOAM tomorrow morning, after reading the daily security brief, the first thing I would do is stop the cruelty of families being torn apart, children separated from their parents, a young girl dead because she was hoping for a job.

And when I need to explain my policies or decisions to the American people, I will not tweet.  I will look you in the eye with a news conference, interview or press release.  I will trust the press to mostly get it right and I will trust the American people to think and search for truth.  We are a nation descended from immigrants.  So many have died for our freedoms.  We deserve  better.

In December I spoke of taking a practical and non-partisan approach to many issues, the US Embassy in Israel as a primary example.  So now there have been 60 unnecessary deaths and counting just so we could post a sign.  The real embassy work is still in Tel-Aviv and will continue there for some time.  There is no real need for a new embassy.

Even if I am wrong, I want to be out front on this issue rather than reacting to an announcement expected later today. Trust is the most important part of human relationships extending to and including international agreements and diplomacy. The value of our democracy is measured in the truth of our words and the strength of our promises.

Iran has upheld their part of the agreement as verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency and all our allies and partners in the agreement. Only Israel now claims, without international verifications, that Iran has been cheating. Further, keeping records of past research does not seem to me to violate the agreement. Iran is not refining nuclear material nor building warheads. Even if temporary for 10-15 years, this was a major step in securing peace in the Middle East. Building on that trust, discussions need to continue to restrain Iran’s other destabilizing behavior in Syria and Yemen.

Past lessons, there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Our role in keeping peace in that troubled region is based on integrity with all and keeping our word.

It appears the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the conclusions of several lower courts from coast to coast and uphold the travel ban on several majority muslim countries. I believe this is wrong and similar in motivation to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII. This is discrimination based on race, religion and national origin.

That it is not the role of courts to decide how to keep the country safe is also a bit of a dodge since this view seems to deny that there could be multiple ways to accomplish the same goal.  A policy that discriminates based on race, religion or national origin may actually increase the foreign threat.  As president, I would be guided by the following.

We will disrupt and defeat terrorist groups wherever they establish themselves.  We must understand that terrorists can come from many places and that ISIS is a corrupt and violent ideology which can spread through the internet as well as international travel.  In addition to military suppression of terrorist groups in the Middle East and support for the people and legitimate governments in these countries, we must strengthen our efforts at home.

Persons who come from any region of the world where terrorists are active, must have a demonstrated family or business reason to travel to the United States and be very thoroughly checked out before coming here.  If a thorough background check is not possible, a visa is denied and those persons cannot enter the country.

We do not need to call out anyone based on race, religion or national origin.

And as we are talking about keeping the country safe, we cannot ignore the almost daily mass shootings (four or more victims) almost entirely of domestic origin.

Fear is a powerful political weapon. Two men greater than I remind us that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. The Supreme Court should reject arguments based on fear and uphold the constitutional principal of equality of all people.