Friday, January 6, 2017

Just Another brick in The Wall

According to the band Pink Floyd, the "wall" is the self-isolating barrier we build over the course of our lives, and the "bricks in the wall" are the people and events that turn us inward and away from others.” In 1982 Pink Floyd released the song “Another Brick in the Wall.”
During the US Presidential election of 2016, then candidate Trump shouted and bellowed that a certain group of people were rapist, murderers and criminals and as such there needed to be greater border protection to stop the floor of illegal immigrants from crossing those borders.
When asked how he would fix the problem,  candidate Trump said he would deport all illegals back to Mexico and he would build a wall, a REALLY big wall with a little door so those who could enter legally would be able to enter.  When pressed on who would pay for the wall,  Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for the wall.  Throughout his entire campaign he said Mexico was going to pay to build the wall.
The brash real Estate mogul communicated that he made billions by building things, great big things and building a wall along the 2,000 miles of the southern United States and would cost billions to construct.
Here we have a master spin master, using almost fifth grade level logic to express and exploit the fear of his base.
Trump cited several cases where the system failed and innocent people were assaulted by illegal immigrants. He highlighted and criticized so-called Sanctuary cities.
For almost a year, in what felt like the longest election season ever that often felt like a reality television series, Trump kept repeating the same war cry, BUILD A WALL and Mexico will pay for it.
I'm convinced that even his base want completely convinced that a wall of that magnitude could actually be built nor had they calculated the cost. But, then again Mexico easy going to pay for it right?
Well, fast forward post election and now President-elect Trump is undertaking the task of transitioning into the White House. So, many decisions to make, so many tweets to send, so many cabinet post to fill.
I'm not sure I've witnessed such a highly reported transition of a President. There are the choices of who to perform at his Inauguration, what to serve, who's REALLY the first lady Melania or Ivanka? Did Russia truly influence our democratic election process? Oh, lest we forget he had his minions shout "Lock her up!" In reference to his opponent Hillary Clinton. Ahhh, but I digress. What about making America Great Again? We need to get to the business at hand of rebuilding our divided nation brick by brick.
Which,  as you know leads us back to protecting our southern border by building a wall and having Mexico pay for it.
January 6, 2017 several news outlets report that Trump is asking Congress, not Mexico to pay for the walls construction.
Most of us expect to some degree that campaign promises are just empty and most will never come to realization. I won't go into the complexity,  political and economics of such an endeavor as those topics have been covered in detail. However, what is shocking is Trump unabashed disregard for even trying to be diplomatic about breaking such a highly visible key campaign promise.
What's even more shocking is the failure of we the American people to call him out like we called out President Bush for WMD'S or his father for promising no new taxes.
You see Trump has tweeted that for expediency Congress (taxpayers), you and I, should pay for the wall and have Mexico give us an I.O.U.
THIS is the Art of the Deal? The great negotiator?
Why am I convinced there's no brazen lie, no despicable act or insulting comment this man can spew without thinking he's on a reality show and not the leader of the most powerful country on earth?
It's as if our brains haven't embraced the reality or gravity his comments have to influence markets, partnerships and world leaders. Once all that sinks in,  there's a moment of pure panic or at least there should be.
It's at moments like this, I feel like just another brick in the wall and I want to turn inward and away from others as sung in the referenced Pink Floyd song The Wall.
The hope relies in NOT isolation, but grabbing those bricks and hurl them at Trump saying putting the burden of building the wall along the southern U.S. border on the American taxpayer is NOT what you promised and ISN'T  making America Great Again. So, this blog post is my brick that I refuse to be used in constructing a walk of fear from other human beings.
I believe this won't be the last of many of Trumps promises he's going to blatantly break, but this won't be the last brick that people like me and readers like you who love America won't throw at Trump to make sure he knows we are listening and watching.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

http://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/news/former-apprentice-gene-folkes-slams-donald-trump#

Good Morning, Britain Interview

http://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/news/former-apprentice-gene-folkes-slams-donald-trump

The Road to Entrepreneurship | Gene Folkes

Donald Trump 'commented on woman's breasts and ordered contestants to we...

Know when to do nothing

So, I'm headed in my first real vacation in almost 4 years and a year since leaving new york after season 10 of the apprentice. This has been one of the most faith challenging times of my life and lord knows I've had some tough years! In the past I've always been able to smile through it and move on. This season however it's been hard to smile on the inside.
Ill spare you all the gory details, lets just say I never thought I'd make it to this side of the view.
This past year it view seemed as if every demon in hell had been set loose and hunting me down. I want sure what the next day would bring our if my luck had run out.
As a kid, when something good needed to happen, id call on "folkesy magic" you know that feeling where you just KNEW things would turn out alright. In the past, regardless of how bad things would get, I just believed that god  would make them all ok. This was the first time, I not only struggled with the concept, I just gave up on it. It was all I could do to get up in the morning. Let me explain my giving up....ive operated on the pull myself up by the emotional bootstraps philosophy. I would MAKE things better. There had to be something I could do or say to help make my situation improve. So, I did EVERYTHING! The results weren't any better. I COULDN'T do ANYTHING!I felt powerless, impotent and lost. So, I did the only thing left for me to do....NOTHING!
Oh, I kept showing up, I kept pushing through, sometimes, crawling through is probably more appropriate. It was then I saw THE most miraculous thing happen...things began to click, people started acting in ways I still can't explain. I could see things in a way I never could before. The truth was revealed. Information was bring shared and even my enemies started tripping over themselves and all the while, I did and said NOTHING. I prayed, I kept getting up...but the worry subsided, the fear retreated and I began to speak more boldly, be more open and less ashamed and guilty. It is a powerful feeling!
At THE most challenging time of my life, I felt stronger, more confident, lighter and more focused.
You see for the first time in my life, I did nothing and by doing nothing, it allowed God to work miracles in my life! By doing nothing, I could hear God and watch his work. All so that he can work THROUGH me!
Dont be afraid to do nothing, I dont care what it is or looks like...because in doing nothing, you get out of the way to let God work through you....

Everyone should go home

Every family has a story and depending on who's telling the story, it's different each time it's recited. In the age of broken homes whereby children are often disconnected from one parent and one side of the family, they miss a rich part of who they are. In times long ago, there was a sense of pride in knowing your family history, which clan, tribe, sect or region you came from. You would be greeted as the son of x whos father was y and he was an honorable man. This meant you were the keeper of the legacy and responsible for its continuation. Those rules have long gone, but, the sense of knowing who you are in relation to where you come from remains. I was a child with a vivid imagination from a typical broken home, except my father and fathers father were foreigners. From a land where I was born, but knew very little about and what I did learn was through stories...ahh those wonderful stories of beautiful peoplrand a loving, protective father hailing from an island in the sun. I believe the daydreaming started at 8. Id tell myself my dad was a prince searching for us and was lost. When I was scared, I just knew he was going to come and protect me. Of course none of that happened. However, the stories my mother told and the stories I dreamt helped me through a tough upbringing. When I grew up just a tad, I promised myself id visit the home of my fathers people one day and everything would be made right.