Subject: Still4Hill - 3 new articles
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** "Still4Hill" - 3 new articles - https://still4hill.com

- Hillary Clinton at The Family Care Center Event in Lexington
- A Shakespearean Lesson from a Bumpy Ride
- Live from the Silver Screen to Your Living Room: The 2016 Presidential Election!
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* Hillary Clinton at The Family Care Center Event in Lexington - https://still4hill.com/2016/05/10/hillary-clinton-at-the-family-care-center-event-in-lexington/

Hillary spent the day in Kentucky.  She held a roundtable with working parents at the Family Care Center in Lexington and then a rally in Louisville at Slugger Field.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton shakes hands with parents during a campaign event, “Conversation with Young Parents in the Workforce” at The Family Care Center in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S., May 10, 2016. REUTERS/John Sommers II

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* A Shakespearean Lesson from a Bumpy Ride - https://still4hill.com/2016/05/10/a-shakespearean-lesson-from-a-bumpy-ride/

I lived and worked in Haiti for a good portion of my adult life when I was a very sure-of-myself thirty-something who knew my fellow Americans very well.  I knew they would never elect a celebrity to the Oval Office. That was 1980 … and they did.

When I lived there, Haiti did not have elections. They had a President for Life. I was reminded of this on my way to and from work twice a day by the huge billboard on the Champs-de-Mars across from the National Palace.  Nobody in Haiti voted for him.  His dying father made him president while he was still in his teens. Nobody in Haiti ever called him “Baby Doc” – ever!  Sometimes American tourists would use the term, and we would gently whisper corrections.  You never knew who might be listening. “But I have freedom of speech,” they insisted. Nope, not there you didn't.

When I sensed trouble coming in the early 80s, I left. In 1986 Jean-Claude Duvalier was overthrown and also left. Haiti embarked on the long, rocky road to democracy. It was and is very bumpy ride – sort of like a ride on a Haitian tap-tap.

A president was elected, then overthrown by the army and exiled, and then returned again to fulfill his elected term.  N.B. We did not install Aristede, and he was not our “puppet.”  President Clinton 42 merely restored the elected Haitian president to his rightful post.  Just saying because I have heard that allegation.

On January 12, 2010 a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 200,000 people. Colleagues told me, when they heard early estimates of one-tenth that many, that they did not think that toll was possible and must have been an exaggeration.  They did not know Haiti, and they did not know Port-au-Prince.

Our Secretary of State at the time, Hillary Clinton was on the ground in Haiti within days, the first foreign official to arrive.  The President at the time, Réné Préval, met with her at the airport. It would take him 12 additional days to finally show his face on the Champs-de-Mars where thousands of homeless Haitians congregated in a makeshift tent city in front of the collapsed National Palace.  It was an astounding abdication of leadership.

Elections were scheduled for later that year. Once again Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid a visit and met with the three run-off candidates. One of the candidates was a popular performer – a bit of a naughty boy with a distinctive head-style that became shorthand for his candidacy (têt kalé – or “shaved head” meant Martelly during the election season).  Another was a woman with a Sorbonne degree, experience in government, and former First Lady.

Mirlande Manigat was the presidential candidate for the Rally of Progressive National Democrats (RDNP) centre-right party. On October 18, 2010, Dr. Manigat also received the endorsement of the Collectif pour le Renouveau Haïtien (COREH). 

Her platform for the presidency includes a focus on education of the youth of Haiti, and lifting the long-standing and restrictive constitutional conditions on dual nationality. She specifically promotes opening government positions for members of the Haitian diaspora. Manigat also aims for a more independent Haitian state, one less reliant upon and subject to foreign governments and NGOs. – Wikipedia

The winner was Michel Martelly with no government credentials or experience.

Martelly's journey to the presidency is documented in the film Sweet Micky for President which is currently available on demand at Showtime. Given my love for and attachment to Haiti, of course I watched.

I was unprepared, however, for the parallels that emerged between the 2010 Haitian election and the election season we are experiencing.  Our democracy is so much older.  Theirs is like a toddler who runs before he can get walking under control.  I never thought our presidential campaign events could resemble some of the anger and violence that erupt during third world elections.  But then we have to look to the candidates and the way they run their campaigns.  That is where the similarities lie.

Older and wiser now, I know that yes, Americans absolutely will elect a celebrity for reasons perhaps very similar to those for which Haitians elected “Micky” Martelly.  I have learned never to underestimate what Americans will do in the privacy of the voting booth, never to trust what they might do with their precious ballots, never to assume.

Martelly fell into disfavor with the populace. It was probably inevitable.  In January 2015 protesters in the streets angrily demanded his resignation.  He resigned office in February of this year.  We will never know what Mirlande Manigat might have done as the first woman president of Haiti. I doubt that she will ever make another run.  I do know that we have a chance make our decisions based not on celebrity and visibility but rather on issues, plans, and policies.  Strutting and fretting your hour on the stage leads to being heard no more, after all, and ending up just a tale told by an idiot signifying nothing.

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* Live from the Silver Screen to Your Living Room: The 2016 Presidential Election! - https://still4hill.com/2016/05/10/live-from-the-silver-screen-to-your-living-room-the-2016-presidential-election/

These are Federal Reserve Notes aka U.S. paper currency.  Dollars. You can learn something about them below.

* Federal Reserve Note

Federal Reserve Notes, also United States banknotes or U.S. banknotes, are the banknotes used in the United States of America. Denominated in United States dollars, Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. Federal Reserve Notes are the only type of U.S. banknote currently produced.

Read more >>>>

To the consternation of some who could have used the notes to pay their bills (we hear ya!), at a rally for Hillary not long ago, Bernie Sanders supplied protesters with $1000 worth of these to shower upon Hillary's motorcade as a metaphor for speaking fees.  OK. We got the point. It was a peaceful demonstration where no grown, nearly naked men were ripping “Mme. President” signs from the hands of little girls or shouting through bullhorns at little boys. (Like last Thursday in East L.A.) But that dollar demonstration proved an interesting point. Bernie Sanders knows what a dollar bill is and likely has touched a few Federal Reserve Notes recently.

Speaking with Chris Cuomo on CNN's New Day Monday morning, Donald Trump made a stunning remark about printing more money to pay the debt.  Heads spun like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist as Trump came on like Helen Mirren in Calendar Girls, “We're down to our last 25! We need to print more calendars!”  Except he didn't say calendars.

First of all, you have to wonder when was the last time Donald Trump actually handled a Federal Reserve Note. On the campaign trail, when Hillary buys a book for Charlotte or a necklace to wear at a Syracuse rally, I am pretty sure she uses paper money.  This would be because she knows that the cashier will replace the 10, 20, or 50 with one of her own in order to keep the bill Hillary used for the purchase.  People like Donald Trump never use paper money. I don't use paper money either except on bridges and tunnels because I neither have nor need EZPass. I use plastic.  All the time almost everywhere.  But I know my balance. I know my bottom line.  I know what the plastic is based on.

Guys like The Donald sign for things. “Put it on my tab.”  Probably a lot of the time the autograph satisfies the bill. Does he have any real idea where dollars come from?  How?  And Why?  Ooohhh— yes! They come from The Mint where they have the big deal printing presses.

Donald Trump says, as Hillary has remarked, “… a lot of things.”

She has chosen, wisely, to ignore his personal comments and says she is not running against Donald Trump but rather for her vision for America.  But to all y'all out there urging me to ignore what The Donald says, might I remind you:  He is the presumptive GOP nominee, and Mr. Loose Lips, who lacks a filter, is now receiving national security briefings. Ignoring him will not make him go away.

To cite yet another  based-on-true-events movie, in Game Change Sarah Palin did not know what The Fed was and did not know why North and South Korea were two different countries. OK she was in the second slot, McCain lost, is still alive and kicking, and we never did have to contend with a President Quayle (sigh of relief).  But we are talking about the top slot here. This guy is running for head honcho.

In many town halls, Hillary Clinton has stated that running the government is not like running a business.  Trump's business model includes filing Chapter 11 when initiatives fail.  Bankruptcy options may be fine for businesses (he certainly kept landing on his feet), but they are a nuclear option in government.  One need look no further than Puerto Rico to see the implications for all those who bought government bonds in good faith and no further than Brazil to witness the endgame. Checkmate!

Donald Trump's plan for the economy is a blueprint for disaster.

"Trump is floating an insane idea that would tank the American economy." —@businessinsider https://t.co/ssVajpX6Yf

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 10, 2016

A silver spoon has a way of shielding people from reality – even when their last job was on reality TV.  When I was a kid, I had a few Silver Certificates of my own that I deposited, like a good girl, in my savings account for college.  Those silver-backed notes were chopped up long ago and replaced by Federal Reserve Notes. But no matter what the currency rests upon, printing more of it solves nothing – there are protocols and rules – and even the POTUS cannot make his or her own.

If you thought you witnessed vacuity in 2008 from Sarah Palin, you ain't seen nothin' yet!  When I turn on the morning news, I do so with dread. Monday morning I really hoped that what I was hearing was just the end of a really bad dream I was having about Donald Trump. I thought my head would settle after a cup of tea. That didn't happen.

This is not a movie.  This is not a bad dream. These are real policy proposals from the GOP all-but-nominee: the guy who doesn't really know where money comes from.  If you are one of those people who calls C-SPAN in idle moments, touts your master's degree, and declares support for Trump, you should sue your university for not providing you with developmental reading and critical thinking skills.

Bernie Sanders may have his head in the clouds, and his plans may be as substantial as those clouds, but Donald Trump is completely detached from reality.  Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has her feet planted solidly on terra firma and her sights set on ways to break down barriers so that everyone who works hard, pays into the social contract, and plays by the rules has a fighting chance at the American Dream – which is not to become a real estate billionaire – a few hope to accomplish that. We all just want a safe, secure, unified country for our kids, grandkids, and their grandkids. That is not too big a dream, and it's a nice one.  I hope one day to wake up knowing that we have elected the realist with the plans that will provide for the common defense,  promote the general welfare, and help us form a more perfect union.   Plans that are neither dreams nor movie scripts.  Plans that align with our Constitution.

Here is what Hillary's campaign sent out yesterday:

Our next President needs to do three things:

- 

Keep our nation safe in a dangerous world
- 

Help our working families get ahead here at home
- 

Bring people together to get things done

Here, in case you have not read it recently, is the Preamble to our Constitution:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Which candidate holds your posterity near and dear?  Make no mistake!  This election is not a TV show, and it is not a movie we are watching on Netflix.  In the wise words of Elliot in E.T., “This is reality!”

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* More Recent Articles

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- A Heartfelt Mother's Day Thank You from Hillary Clinton

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