Orange is the New Red

“We are going to put American-produced steel back into the backbone of our country. This alone will create massive numbers of jobs.” Donald J. Trump in Monessen, PA, June 2016[1]

Today at approximately 12:00 noon, Donald J. Trump will become the 45th POTUS.  His mode of operation is quite different than those who have served as POTUS since I arrived on the scene.  However, he does share one thing in common with them.  Like others who preceded him, he has made a number of campaign promises, some of which I personally think are “Mission Impossible.”

One of the major reasons he won the election was his appeal to the those in the Rust Belt who have been seen their way of life and standard of living decline as a result of globalization and automation.  Many of these folks are depending on his promise to bring back manufacturing jobs and open up the coal mines.

Pittsburgh Steel, Monessen, PAI grew up in a Rust Belt town back in the days when the local steel mill was a 24×7 operation and the river was dotted with boats hauling barges loaded with coal.  The steel mill is long gone and so are the coal mines that filled the barges.  And the once booming downtown is filled with dilapidated, boarded-up buildings rather than shops and businesses.

Good Luck President Trump.  I hope your promise to “Make America Great Again” includes Monessen, PA and all the other down and out towns in the Mid-Mon Valley.

Election 2016 – Part VII

ivoted20161108Today, those of us who are US Citizens get to choose who will sit in the Oval Office for the next four years.  And what a choice it is this time around!  On one hand, if it is indeed true that one POTUS candidate is worthy of indictment and conviction on an endless litany of criminal actions, we may have a “Felon-in Waiting” keeping the seat warm in the Oval Office.  On the other hand, if the other POTUS candidate is indeed an uninformed, bigoted megalomaniac, we may be about to witness “Making America Break.”

Election 2016, Part V

Which box will you check on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November?

election20160101“Oho!” said the pot to the kettle; “You are dirty and ugly and black! Sure no one would think you were metal, Except when you’re given a crack.”

“Not so! not so!” kettle said to the pot; “‘Tis your own dirty image you see; For I am so clean – without blemish or blot – That your blackness is mirrored in me.”  [1]