Wild Fires Devastate Gatlinbug, TN

  Wild fires burn Gatlinburg, TN

There is no looting, no assaults, no crime in the burned out city of Gatlinburg and there is hardly any national coverage of this terrible tragedy either.

Meanwhile they are having trouble finding space to store the necessities until they can be distributed to the victims of this disaster.

Tennesseans are a different breed, they take care of their own and they are busy doing just that, but you can help.
Contact: The American Red Cross at
Redcross.org

May GOD BLESS TENNESSEE!!!!!

...make it a point to spend a few days there when this is over and let's keep those donations coming, life is gonna be hard enough for those folks in the weeks to come.

AND ENJOY THIS BLESSED RAIN.

Please show your heart for the Tennessee folks by sharing this article.

Click this link -local video of the fire:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=o9wdvZP5YYE

Gatlinburg photos-Watch:
https://youtu.be/Esw1Js8SN-c

Smokey Mountain wild fires
watch:
https://youtu.be/QYe4-ut-JYM

Why Is Gingrich Staying Out Of The Trump Administration?

Why Is Gingrich Staying Out Of The Trump Administration? $75,000/Speech

Politico: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich is cashing in on Donald Trump's popularity.
Gingrich's speaking agency, Worldwide Speakers Group, sent out a notice Thursday afternoon with the subject line "Newt Gingrich Fee Increase."
"Few people in the world have as much insight into President-elect Trump's philosophies, principles and objectives as Newt Gingrich. As the senior voice in the Republican Party and advisor to the new Administration, Gingrich has been at the forefront of the Republican strategy for the last two years," the email read.
If you want to book the former House speaker west of Chicago he's asking $75,000 plus first class travel for two."
No wonder he wanted to stay out of the administration! Gingrich had "no comment," he said in an email.
If you want him to speak in DC, it is a bargain. Gingrich will charge only $25,000, which is an increase of $15,000. The other good news is the Bill and Hillary Clinton speaking fees have been slashed.

I Want Romney And What I Would Like to Tell Kellyanne Conway

I Want Romney And What I Would Like To Tell Kellyanne Conway

President-elect Trump has nominated
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as the new Secretary of Health and Human Services. It is another good choice.

I wish Congressman Price would speak to Kellyanne Conway about GOP unity and the election.

Conway is a pollster and should know better, but she claims Trump does not need Romney, and is far more popular than Romney.

Trump did win one percent victories in PA, WI and MI, and he ran well in rural areas of the Midwest.

Conway says Trump won Michigan and Romney lost it by 9%. What she doesn't say is that Romney did far better in other areas, and especially in the traditionally Republican suburbs.

For example, Romney did 7% better than Trump in Texas. Price could tell Conway about his own suburban Atlanta district that was always safely red until this year.

Romney carried the district 61-37, but Trump took it by just 48-47. It is the type of well-educated suburban seat where Trump was a poor fit.

Price himself was easily re-elected 62-38, and there are many similar examples.

I am glad Trump's approval rating has increased since the election, and once again, he is making some wise appointments. He deserves credit for bringing in new voters.

However, he also lost voters, and I would like to regain them. Romney would be a great step toward GOP unity, and of more importance, he would be outstanding Secretary of State.

This image is from an Obama ad attacking Romney, but Romney was correct.

If we had listened to Romney there would not be 500,000 dead in Syria, ISIS in Iraq's second largest city, and 12 million refugees. 

Romney was right.

Loyalty to the Trump Presidency will be a MUST

I rarely praise Obama but one thing I admire about him is that he ran a White House with no leaking.

The inside tips during the Obama years were planted leaks that the President wanted to be in the news. Leaking was prevalent throughout the Carter and Bush administrations where rival factions took their battles to the media to score points.

I don't know if Kellyanne's comments were authorized. If they were, then there is no problem.
If she is expressing her personal views in opposition to Trump, that is a major mistake and I am surprised she would do it.

I don't know what will happen, but like Obama, I hope Trump will have a loyal staff that will promote his agenda, instead of themselves.

The article is right that Trump shifted the electoral map and we won one percent victories in PA, MI and WI, but the Republican vote also declined in the southwest and is down 7% in Texas.

Romney would be a smart choice and his 2012 foreign policy predictions came true.  

Trump is reaching out to all Republicans with appointments such as Priebus, Haley, DeVos and McFarland. I do not share Kellyanne's admiration of Steve Bannon, and I hope Laura Ingraham will not be the White House press secretary.

 http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/conway-unloads-on-romney-231855

Will The GOP Change After The 2016 Election? Unlike 2012, Will We Learn Any Lessons?

Will The GOP Change After The Election? Unlike 2012, Will We Learn Any Lessons?

The above image was posted by former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) and years ago I was a big fan. I want more minorities in the GOP and I was hoping he would win higher office.

West served one term and was defeated in 2012 by a 29 year old nobody. West raised $19 million but defeated himself by making controversial and inappropriate comments.

They were popular on Fox News but not in his swing district. He has since left Ft. Lauderdale for Dallas, where he is a better fit. West has over 2.5 million followers and this image (above) was "liked" by 96,000 people.

It is a photo of Indians who live in Bangladesh, and West's comments were reprinted by Indian publications. Many Indian Americans are highly successful professional legal immigrants, but some in the GOP want to bash all immigrants.

There is an excellent case for stopping illegal immigration and sanctuary cities, but we too often appear to be denouncing all Hispanics.

We will soon know the verdict in FL, CO and NV. Col. West had an admirable military career and is knowledgeable about defense and foreign policy issues, but similar to some other GOP commentators, he goes too far.

It is fine to denounce radical Islamic terrorists and we should be focusing on the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and their allies. The problem is that West all too often blames every Muslim and Arab, despite the fact that many of them are our allies in the war on terror.

It is very popular with the Alt-Right, but we need to stop the hate rhetoric. America has changed and there is little we can do about it. Romney received 59% of the white vote. He would have won in 2012 if whites still equaled their 1980 percentage, but those days are not coming back.

There will be soul searching and a divisive civil war after the election. I don't want the GOP to be the populist party, but the nationalists are very strong.

We need to hold the Romney, McCain, Bush GOP base and the white working class. At the same time we have to improve our support with minorities.

I hope it is possible but the answer is not the harsh rhetoric of Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Allen West.

The 2012 GOP autopsy said we should reach out to minorities, single women, and young people. We ridiculed and rejected it, and I don't know if anyone will listen in the weeks ahead.