Legalectric

I am contacting the White House daily about the “Issue of the Day.”  Yesterday was the Executive Orders that were signed, particularly his elimination of the FHA mortgage insurance premium cut.  Today the issue of the day is to tell him to disclose tax returns.

The switchboard is a mobius loop, the comment line is “closed,” and the Contact page is blank.  Really!  So I did a Petition of my own, “Ask President Trump to disclose his tax returns.”  At the end I get my little link: https://wh.gov/iu3kk

Really…  Love transparency in government.

Here’s the Petition that doesn’t exist, cut and pasted email that was sent announcing my Petition:

Contact the White House and ask for copies of the Executive Orders signed Friday — they’re not posted on the White House page:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Trump’s campaign had a running message bemoaning Obama’s Executive Orders, claiming they were “illegal Executive Orders.”  There’s nothing illegal about Executive Orders.  Here’s the Wiki for those who don’t know.  If there’s enough sentiment that there’s a problem, they can be challenged in the Courts.  That hasn’t happened.  And tRump has not provided any specifics on what Executive Orders he thinks are problematic.

And what does he do his first day in office?  Signs TWO Executive Orders, one about the ACA, and another removing the mortgage insurance premium relief for first time home buyers.  WHAT?!?!

Here’s the ACA Executive Order:

Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal

The Executive Orders are starting to show up on the White House website.  So what exactly was signed?  Who knows…

Here’s an article about the FHA Mortgage Insurance relief that’s been ELIMINATED:

FHA mortgage premium cuts helping low income homebuyers cancelled by Trump

There is a pdf of the FHA’s directives on that, suspending the relief:

17-07ml

Middle America, how’s this working for ya?

Not my President.

Trump’s Inaugural Address:

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: thank you.

We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.

Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.

We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.

Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.

Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one Administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.

For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.

Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth.

Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed.

The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation’s Capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

That all changes – starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you.

It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America.

This is your day. This is your celebration.

And this, the United States of America, is your country.

What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

Everyone is listening to you now.

You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before.

At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens.

Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves.

These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public.

But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.

This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

We are one nation – and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny.

The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry;

Subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military;

We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own;

And spent trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

We’ve made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.

One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind.

The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world.

But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future.

We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power.

From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land.

From this moment on, it’s going to be America First.

Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families.

We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.

I will fight for you with every breath in my body – and I will never, ever let you down.

America will start winning again, winning like never before.

We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation.

We will get our people off of welfare and back to work – rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.

We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.

We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world – but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first.

We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow.

We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones – and unite the civilized world against Radical Islamic Terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth.

At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other.

When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

The Bible tells us, “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.”

We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity.

When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

Drugs… I need drugs…

I’ve long been a fan of the U of M dental clinics, where dental care is reasonably priced, albeit slow… I mean S-L-O-W, because the students have to do every step, check off the boxes, get supervisor review and approval before and after doing everything.  I’ve had a great dentist, here from Nepal, working on getting licensed here.  It’s been a little over a year chipping away, filling and pulling, on my dental plan.  Today was the end.  But oh my, it was the worst of all appointments, had to go to the Dental Surgery folks this time, and it was the worst of dental experiences in my little life.  The tooth broke off and they had to “go digging for roots.”  And digging they did, but for it being in the upper side, they’d have made it to China.

Apologies, this time I do not have a photo, they whisked away the evidence before I was in any shape to even sit up.

The supervising dentist was brought in after the main tooth broke off and the roots wanted to stay right where they were and just wouldn’t let go.  He started in.  After he did some digging, poking, prodding, and grabbing and then extreme yanking with unbelievable and unproductive results, except for a surprised and anguished yelp from moi, the most surprising statement:

“I can’t operate when I’m being screamed at.”

Screamed at?  And he follows that with a big needle up the roof of my mouth, another on the side, and goes away for it to take effect.  It was close, I almost hauled off and smacked him one, but that would have meant to open my eyes to aim, and no way would I dare take a peek with those implements of torture in close range.

It’s over.  All but the recovery.  Drugs, I need drugs.  Pizza, I need pizza.  I need very, very cold and bubbly hard cider.

Yes, here it is, the Federal Register link, the Notice of Intent for an Environmental Impact Statement for the Dakota Access Pipe Line, a/k/a DAPL:

Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

pdf of Notice: 017-00937_Federal Register – Notice EIS

Scoping comments are due by February 20, 2017.  By mail, and they ask that you include your name, return address, and “NOI Comments, Dakota Access Pipeline Crossing” on the first page of your written comments:

Gib Owen

Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works

108 Army Pentagon

Washington, DC 20310-0108

By email to gib.a.owen.civ@mail.mil – use Subject: NOI Comments, Dakota Access Pipeline Crossing

They say they want comments about these issues, but don’t limit your input:

(1) Alternative locations for the pipeline crossing the Missouri River;

(2) Potential risks and impacts of an oil spill, and potential impacts to Lake Oahe, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water intakes, and the Tribe’s water, treaty fishing, and hunting rights; and

(3) Information on the extent and location of the Tribe’s treaty rights in Lake Oahe.

What does this mean?  Well, they’re looking for a way to ram it through, looking for “alternative locations for the pipeline crossing the Missouri River.”  They’re probably wanting to avoid any consideration of the entire project, avoid consideration of connected actions here, and the potential for and high risk of impacts downriver.  How about need?  I’ll bet they don’t want to consider whether there is need for this line, and what it means if there is increased oil output in the region, the impacts of continued extraction!  Broaden the scope!  From the Notice: “The range of issues, alternatives, and potential impacts may be expanded based on comments received in response to this notice and at public scoping meetings.”  So get to work!