Dems concerned about Trump's travel expenses...really?

The Government Accountability Office watchdog has agreed to review the costs and security precautions related to President Donald Trump’s travel and visits to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.

The GAO’s announcement comes after a request for an investigation from leading congressional Democrats. Since the inauguration, Trump has spent 17 days of his 67 days in office either at Mar-a-Lago or flying up to Washington, D.C, and down to Florida five separate times on Air Force One, The Washington Post reported.

Trump’s travel requires protection from the Secret Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, though the government has not disclosed the cost.

Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Tom Udall of New Mexico, as well as Rep. Elijah E. Cummings. D-Md., wrote a letter to GAO chief Gene L. Dodaro in which they said they were “deeply concerned” about the potential costs.

But these same Democratic “watchdogs” never seemed to have this concern for President Barack Obama's extensive travel during his presidency. According to a report by Judicial Watch, Obama's vacation travel costs during his eight-year presidency totaled more than $96 million. Specifically, the costs totaled $96,938,882.51 over the past eight years, according to documents Judicial Watch received from the Secret Service and the US Air Force.

And, as of August 7, 2016, Obama played his 300th round of golf, which averages just under once a week, every week, while in office. I wonder how many of those he paid for out of pocket. Let us also not forget his notorious, and disgusting, return to the golf course immediately following a shallow, brief press conference acknowledging the beheading of an American journalist at the hands of ISIS. 

When the Democrats begin demonstrating their outrage equitably, perhaps we can take them seriously in their claims of offense. But as I see it, the only thing offensive here is the astronomical costs put on taxpayers by the previous president, and the Democrats' blind eye to every penny spent simply because it was spent by one of their own.

Everywhere you look, more distortion

Hi there, everyone. It's been a while since I've been here. Time sure gets away easily if you let it - and I sure let it. I hope you're all doing well!

There are so many topics to talk about it's sometimes tough to pick just one.

For instance, am listening to all the hysteria about President Donald Trump's proposed "travel ban on Muslims" as I'm hearing it labeled. No, it is not a ban on Muslims. It is a moratorium on importing refugees from those countries like Syria that are most involved in terrorism. Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt - all heavily Muslim countries - have no ban on them. Let's get real. We are not afraid of Muslims. We are afraid of terrorists and we need to vet who is coming into our country. Common sense tells us to vet more closely those coming in from terrorism-active countries. That is what the ban addresses. Stop the hysteria and thank the President for trying to keep you safe.

Am also listening to all the talk on the proposed repeal of Obamacare. Whatever the Republicans come up with, I want the individual mandate repealed. Nobody should be forced to purchase a product they don't need (e.g., as a non-addict, I should not be forced to purchase drug treatment facility coverage as I am currently forced to do in my "health plan".) I want competition to be opened up across state lines. Why on earth would we not allow that? I want Planned Parenthood defunded. You want an abortion? Then pay for it yourself. Ending the life of the unborn is not healthcare. Just like a facelift is not healthcare. Yet you have the right to a facelift. That does not mean you have the right to force me to pay for it. Overall, I want the dialog - which is currently heavily focused on rising premiums - to also include rising deductibles. I used to have to pay a couple hundred dollars a month for my premium each month, and then a mere $10 for an office visit. All else was covered. Now I pay a few hundred dollars a month for my premium, but now must also pay the first $6,000 for any doctor services I get before anything is paid for. But Nancy Pelosi can brag that I have health insurance, so that's all that matters to these people. It doesn't matter that forcing me to have this "health insurance" now prevents me from affording actual health services.

I am also thinking about things like religion and what it means to practice our faith in a public square. I am reminded of an accusation I received from someone who was about to embark on something that I knew would be damaging to her on several levels. I tried to tell her to consider if it was what God would want for her, for her soul, or for her emotional well being. She told me I needed to realize that not everyone "shares your religious beliefs and that you need to learn to be more tolerant." She then, I suppose in an act of tolerance, proceeded to tell me she never wanted to talk to me again - and hasn't since. It doesn't matter that I have friends who are not religious at all, in fact some who are atheists. Some who are homosexual. Some who are liberal. I have never rejected any good person in my life because of their personal views, as long as they don't ask that I suppress who I am. Yet I was rejected for my convictions and accused of being the intolerant one. Such is the warped thinking of today's culture by people who want what they want, and cannot see an act of love (e.g. the willingness to share truth) when it is right in front of them. I bring this up because of a conversation I had with friends last night about how relieved we are that Hillary Clinton - who promised less religious freedom - did not win the presidency. I hear more and more from the left how those who believe in God's Word are the intolerant ones, when I experience the exact opposite to be true.

Finally, I am hearing comparisons lately between the Tea Party and today's brand of Trump protesters, as if they are simply two sides of the same coin. Absolutely not true. Tea Party members knew what they stood for: limited government, lower taxation, secure borders, and religious and other freedoms. 

I have yet to find one anti-Trumper who can intelligently articulate what they oppose beyond the meaningless..."he made gross comments about women a decade ago" or the bizarrely misplaced accusation that "he's a fascist and he's like Hitler because he wants to control the media!" 

The Tea Party gatherings were peaceful, respectful, law-abiding and the participants cleaned up after themselves before departing. Unlike the anti-Trump supporters, who are being backed by the likes of America-hating George Soros and the ACLU, Tea Partiers did not throw rocks through windows, overturn and set fire to cars, or beat up innocent passers-by because of opposing views. There is nothing similar between Tea Party supporters and the loud, disrespectful, violent, and unclear protesters of the left. Give me a break.

Am just a little tired of the distortion of truth that I am seeing everywhere, it seems, in the secular part of our culture. But I am done venting...for now:-). Have a great day, everyone!