The new year is off and running; no more Clinton whiners, no more searching for hidden emails. It’s time to stop crying about the past and what might have been and watch out for what many of us think is the impossible.
I for one cannot believe the list of tasks President-elect Donald Trump hopes to accomplish in his first 100 days. The first 365 days would not be enough to deal with all the promises he has made. Seems to me, our president-elect should set aside some of those promises and quit adding more work to his pile.
Our incoming president will not be the first to fail to accomplish all that was promised in the first 100 days. Many past presidents failed to deliver on promises. After two terms, and eight years in office, President Obama’s score was not good. On the 500 promises made, according to Politifact, 48 percent were kept, 38 percent compromised and 24 percent broken. It seemed our president spent more time traveling around the world visiting other countries to discuss their needs than he spent on our country’s issues.
One promise Obama kept was to provide $2.5 billion to help Iraqi refugees. Another was to get rid of all earmarks. The affordability of Obamacare is still in question and it will, at the least, need an overhaul. Promises of no cost of living increases were set aside as were the expected success with Veterans issues.
I don’t know about anyone else, but my Social Security report I just received announced the increase in the cost of living. It said I would, as a result, receive 3 percent more in my Social Security check. However, because I am on Medicare and enrolled in the government’s Part D drug program, I will be receiving less in my check than I did four years ago.
We could review many past president’s score on promises and probably arrive at numbers less favorable than President Obama’s. We need to be aware, the promises being made by our president-elect will be very difficult to achieve. As the 115th Congress convened this week and everyone glad-handed, it was obvious Trump will have an uphill battle.
Perhaps instead of worrying about who hacked a past activity or what will get hacked next, we should start addressing our country’s most urgent problems. Children being shot in their yards by roving gangs target practicing.
I have advocated in the past that those carrying weapons need to face stiffer penalties. If a person is arrested for carrying a butcher knife, they should not be excused because they claim they were on their way to the meat market to apply for a job.
If a person is arrested and is carrying a gun without a permit, they should be jailed for a long term with no plea bargains. If a vehicle is driving down a street and someone is shooting out of it, the shooter, driver and everyone else in the vehicle, armed or un-armed, should be charged with the same crime and jailed. What possible defense could be offered by the other people in the vehicle? They should be punished as accomplices to the shooting.
If a teenager is arrested with a weapon, the parents should also be arrested. Parents need to be held accountable and punished for not controlling their teens. It is their responsibility to know what their children are doing.
If someone is on an FBI watch list — how about watching them? If they are thought to be a threat, arrest them and hold them until they can be totally cleared without question.
Our president-elect has made promises that may be hard to keep. His strong support regarding backing law enforcement throughout the urban areas will be one I believe he will keep. He needs to confront this issue before being concerned with what is going on in other countries. Besides, he has enough friends, there is no need for him to make more.
As for my family, we have been conflicted over what to expect in the coming year with the newly elected people who will be taking office. There are apprehensions expressed and even fear for our future. We have however been blessed with numerous additions to our tribe, which assures we will continue on. The latest arrival was born New Year’s Day: Rayland Joseph Scott — sounds like a good name for a future president. He has years to set a plan of how to run our country and perhaps make promises that can be kept.