Friday, December 8, 2017

The Pyschology behind Sexual Misconduct allegations currently in the political arena.

Yesterday, the most talk about allegations on Powerful men including Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and senatorial hopeful Roy Moore (R-Ala.) came into reality when Sen. Franken resigned followed Rep. Moore.



With the backlash on denials and accusations, people will either wonder if they are real or not or just simply politics. We can even remember the fact checker article prior to the election of our sitting President. 

The question lies on how and why such things that happened years ago are just now  suddenly getting allegations after all those years. The explanation is quite complicated as there are so many surrounding factors and circumstances.

However, one thing we should remember that politicians are humans like the rest of all of us. Whatever we do in our daily lives in terms of interactions and personality nothing differentiates them. What I do recall is that politicians when they act towards others like their staff, they can, maybe or will be perceived that they have the authority to command by virtue of their position.

Hence a politico may simply be saying "X" rated remarks to make a joke, tapping someone on the shoulder without thinking that the recipient person in the room feels obligated to either laugh or simply not say their objection. After the incident, the recipient goes on with his/her life until such time he/she hears an accusation to the said politician. Then after, the memories comes back in time so the said recipient may then come out all these years to join others in confronting the once mighty politician.

This is the psychology behind sexual misconduct allegations may take a while or years until the violator is confronted. Another part is the fear way back when the incident happened that the victim fears on retaliation like losing their job, etc.., as they were to be alone then if they did complain.

This is also partly why it suddenly becomes a trend or series of events and accusations. People start thinking and bravely comes out to complained when they see others are coming out against a mighty politician.

The lesson on these recent developments is that at some point and time, anything you had done or implied with an inappropriate conduct will haunt you as it it just a matter of time.

Alex Esguerra

Affordablebookdeals & Usedbooksworld

Friday, October 6, 2017

As the book says, "Dangerous Case" on President Trump is it really or we already know this during the elections

The Dangerous Case-of-Donald-Trump-27-Psychiatrists was release on October 3, 2017 and 3 days after this book is temporarily out of stock on bookstores as publishers, St. Martin's Press is scourging to do the reprints.

It has a compilation of 27 Mental Health professionals opinions in the American Psychology profession.  Whereas, these professionals consensus of the state of the 45th President's mental state posing a threat to him functioning as Commander in Chief.

Aided with the assessment of usual patient observation, symptom's and probable diagnostic theories, these health professionals connects the complex to mental illness syndrome. From hedonism, narcissism and impassivity in relation to the different approaches and observed behaviors on the president, these professionals ultimately transfers the final  results on diagnosis to the readers. Hence this is because they are constrained by the existing rule of the American Psychiatric Association that inhibits them in getting involved and diagnosing public figures. As any assessment, they simply outline the observed behaviors, patterns, symptoms and connects them with the existing or possible historical complex conditions which may be the condition or illness of a patient. 

The case brought about by the book centers on the sociopath behaviors seen from the 45th President. As some of the authors cited the fear is that with such conditions like these, it graduates over time and fear of the worse will thus impede the functions of being commander in chief. Although the authors cited the president loves and succeeds in gaining power, it's also an inherent trait of him being a business man, an aggressive one.

This is why over and over throughout the book, the writers emphasized it is an assessment and not a diagnosis per se. The contention is that the assessment of being dangerous or dangerousness  is very different from a diagnosis. As the book writes on tendencies similar to the recent speech during the United Nations General Assembly when he spoke about the threat to totally destroy an enemy like North Korea, in a body built towards fostering diplomacy among-st nations.

Regardless of the different conclusions the readers of the book will arrived to, it is still highly commendable that these psychiatrist had taken courage through this book and their assessments are indeed compelling with the evidence, factors and observations. These writers are aware of their Golden Rule with the APA and understands the impact the information might bring to the reader and the population in general.

So if you are a dire hard history collector, https://www.usedbooksworld.com/products/the-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump-27-psychiatrists-and-mental-health-experts-assess-a-president-1 will indeed be a good keepsake for the next generation.

Alex Esguerra
@usedbooksworld
ADLE International


Sunday, September 3, 2017

Predictions then, HB1, DACA and the Proposed Wall on the Immigration Policy Process

Straddling The Border
Straddling-the-border-immigration-policy-and-the-ins is a book I took out from the bookshelf this Labor Day Weekend amidst the burning heat wave in San Francisco, CA.

I briefly remember browsing through the pages of this book while Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were still part of the constant news media syndication's. It was also the time as stated in the book, Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates testified to the US Congress on his distinct need for foreign workers on the annual limits on the H-1B visa workers program.

Over time, the cap on this visa has gone lower yet technology became more and more a part of our daily lives. Hence, a big chunk of the Silicon Valley workforce depended on highly skilled workers from overseas. Lately, if you have been current on events, the Medical healthcare sector issued their own responses on the further cut on H1-B visas for the medical professions. MD's (Medical Doctors) as well as RN's (Registered Nurses) also pools a lot from immigrant workers specialized on this field. From cancer to immunologic diseases that plague the American Healthcare, one would think the tables would have be opposite by increasing more visas available yet it's not,

Three weeks ago, major news networks in California reported a Nurse Latina worker living in the US for 2 decades was deported back to her native country living her children on their own. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) of California as I've mentioned in the previous tried to intercede but her efforts were only good for 24 hours. The remedy would be a special law created for this person which will be almost impossible considering even if approve by Congress would need the signature of the current President. 

Quoting from the book, " The 1998 Gallup Poll data suggest that a majority of Americans believe that most immigrants are undocumented and of Mexican decent. It is reasonable to assume that this belief is attributable in large part to the portrayals of immigration issues, particularly in the border states of the Southwest. While there are legitimate immigration concerns, exaggerated, misguided, and inflated accounts of immigrant issues by politicians perpetuate pejorative social stereotypes".  

One of the past campaign slogans I remember was to "bring back the jobs to America" to stop the jobs being outsourced. During that time the news covered on Call Centers booming in third world countries for customer service calls. I for one supported the slogan due to my own experiences trying to call a real person in customer service only to find someone in overseas which I didn't have an issue except that it was too hard to regretfully repeat and explain the nature of my call/issue and nonetheless can barely understand what the person on the other line was trying to communicate to me.

Understanding more the INA or the Immigration and National Act of 1996 in the book gives an overview how the change on the Immigration process change then. Yet it also gives an on overview on how this act is so far old and needs revisions and find tuning. It is hard to predict whether the statement on the 1998 Gallup Poll exaggerated by politicians was a precedent to the Trump campaign in the 2016 elections or simply President Trump stereotype Mexicans or if he indeed truly thinks it would be economically beneficial in building the wall between the United States and Mexico.

As of this writing, millions of the dreamers of DACA are rallying while awaiting their fate from the President. It's been days Mr. Trump has waited for a decision whether to extend or leave DACA alone or abolish it. Some say, the fact that there is a waiting time may be a good sign as he may be deeply contemplating on the outcome right after hurricane "Harvey" in Texas where a big chunk of the dreamers live. Unfortunately, I had to revised this last statement due to the announcement that President Trump just decided to end DACA with a 6 month delay.on a news blast by Politico.com

For now, let us remember what the United States was founded on, and as a nation of immigrants contributing to it's economy and it's greatness. God Bless the United States of America.

Alex Esguerra

@usedbooksworld
@affordablebookdeals

Friday, September 1, 2017

Trending, "What Happened", New Release Book by Hillary Clinton


     
What Happened
                           

What Happened by Hillary Clinton will soon be hitting the bookstores on Sept. 12, 2017, a day after the US remembers the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center during the Bush era.

I started with this as right after the World Trade Center attacks and President George W. Bush launch the Iraq invasion, then Senator Hillary Clinton was  one of those that approve the Iraq invasion and war  - Years after her work as Secretary of State under the Obama administration was very prominent and colorful defining her political fate as stateswoman in foreign diplomacy. With this came part of the major hurdles in her presidential bid leading to her defeat to incumbent President Donald Trump for the thousands of leak emails using her personal email server for state email communications. Her approval of the Iraq war was one of the repeated propaganda's against her even as democratic party nominee until being the official democratic party presidential candidate in 2016.

History will write Hillary as the first woman in the US to be a standard bearer of a major party as presidential candidate. In her new forthcoming book, she  describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics.

 Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet. In the last few months, speculations and speculations, threads and threads of feeds on social media talked about how she lost and why as well as if she is going to make a comeback.

In the few years then I was sort of involved with political affairs during my time as as an APEC Youth leader what I've seen so far is that Mrs. Clinton has outlived any presidential candidate in history of presidential candidates as she was able to come back and make another run for the presidency in 2016 after losing in 2008 to then Senator Obama. She was able to make the comeback as she had the popularity, she and her husband has the army of followers and supporters and she did not really had a lot of questionable past scandals and moreover she was an effective Junior Senator form New York which initially people had reservations when she made the run for Senator after being First Lady. The last part is that she has the professional merit as Lawyer and her enduring work then for the healthcare initiatives as First Lady leading to the Affordable Care Act.

She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.

With that in mind, the reality is presidential candidates normally retire from the lime light and embrace being a private citizen after a defeat. Hence, which is why I mentioned Hillary was unprecedented making a second run for the presidency. Yet, it is done, she will be in another end of being an observer and private citizen but she will indeed have a big section when the history books are written as the first woman as a major party presidential candidate which of course will defined her political life from being First Lady, Senator and then Secretary of State.

 She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future.

So we should look forward on her more on being a pro-active political observer and being involved in preserving democracy in America.


   

Friday, July 7, 2017

Affordable Books and Gifts on line

Affordable Books and Gifts on line


http://www.affordable-booksonline.com/si/9781684185702.html

The book is aimed at musicians and music industry workers. I spent the past decade in the industry as a touring musician, talent buyer, and editor at a monthly music publication in Denver, Colorado. Currently, I manage a digital media agency called Inkwell Media Services.

The book shares the authors experiences from across the music business with the goal of helping young bands and artists put their best foot forward and proactively progress their group. I’ve given many talks in schools and at events around Colorado about the music business, and the book is an expanded, written-down version of my general talking script. It is available at all online distribution outlets as well as in paperback. Booking and promotion, social media, approaching print and digital media outlets for coverage, inter-band agreements and business best practices, and executing DIY tours are among the topics covered.

Tim Wenger has spent the past decade playing in gigging bands. He's also worked as the editor of an in-print music magazine and talent buyer at a long-running venue in Denver. Needless to say, he's learned a thing or two about the industry and how to give your group its best shot at long-term success. In his new book So You Have A Band, Tim discusses everything a young musician needs to know to grow a band- from presenting yourself professionally in front of media and venues, to forming an LLC or S-Corp and an inter-band agreement, to putting together your first DIY tour and much more. For the amateur or aspiring musician, So You Have a Band is the must-have resource for putting your best foot forward and setting the band on the path to success

ADLE International

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

THE NEW AGE OF "TWEET" IMPEACHMENT

Case for Impeachment
The Case for Impeachment

Democrats on Remove Trump from Office Bill announced yesterday centers on the controversial "Tweets" on President Trump making a case for him to be fit or not for the Office of the President.

Freshman Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) introduced the bill to the House in April. But more of his peers have signed on to the legislation in the past week, after a series of Trump’s tweets that gained widespread attention and criticism.

Quoting from the Newsweek article, "The Hill reported Raskin saying that Trump’s tweets show a pattern of instability that means he is unfit for office. Two of Trump’s tweets last week about the hosts of MSNBC’s  Morning Joe drew widespread criticism, even from some Republicans. The president on Thursday wrote that host Mika Brzezinski “was bleeding badly from a face-lift,” and stated that he stopped watching Morning Joe, a show he was friendly with during his election campaign".

The other way the democrats are trying by the  house lawmakers have expressed their beliefs that Trump should be removed from office for allegedly engaging in obstruction of justice by firing FBI Director James Comey in May during the agency’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 general election.

There were 3 US Presidents that went through the impeachment proceedings in the House but till this day, no US President had been impeached. The closest that could have been but resigned prior was Richard Nixon.  While it is true what Congressman Raskin stated that no one is above the law not even the President, the fact lies the supreme head of state is the President.  As such it will be such a long ordeal and complicated process to eventually enact the impeachment.

Although I've never seen in my lifetime an Impeached President, what I've seen are coup d'etat or military revolts in selected countries. These countries would have not had the full democratic principles as the US or in some corrupt nations or those with so called tyrant rulers these were the best options to make a change in leadership or government.

Whatever the scenarios, time and time proves the best is be vigilant right from the start during the elections. Going out and voting is essential as when the election is over the people have to accept the results until such time it can be proven that the elections were tampered or in this case trying to prove the elected leader is unfit for office.

That fact of the matter is that President Trump is the first modern day President talking direct to the people almost daily using social media's "Twitter". For Trump supporters, he has outlived any sitting Presidents by cutting through the red tape on being in touch directly with the people. As such, although the respective tweets can be evidential for the case of being unfit, the pros may be beneficial to his defense.

This bill I foresee to be extremely extensive and will take long in making such a case it's trying to prove. If this was an age that the President is the only person having access to tweeting amongst any other politician then yes the evidence is an exhibit for the judiciary. The fact is that almost any politician nowadays is also tweeting. Whether said tweets are good or bad, whether they are leadership like or not, social preneurs calls it branding or sometimes marketing. 

As for now  I call this, " The New Age of "TWEET" Impeachment" a cliche until we see the outcome.

Alex Esguerra
Usedbooksworld.com
ADLE International





Thursday, June 22, 2017

Democracy in Black, A Look into Eddie S. Glaude's Jr.'s Book

Democracy in Black was a book I happened to read early this year just in time for the inauguration of 45th US President.

A book recommended for all ages for the Los Angeles Times, bestselling author Eddie S. Glaude Jr. continues the discussion on the promise of equality in America. He capitalized on history, memoir's, call to action as well the still existing gap on the issue. One would think that perhaps the election of Former President Barack Obama has ended or answered the subdivide. Unfortunately as the author wrote racial habits are a particular kind of social habit which I truly agree. I remember on my first tour of Europe backpacking starting from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. When your young and travelling, the best gift about it is that experience of the different cultures, languages, lifestyles and way of life. Hence, in the process I sort of develop how I would later perceive someone from the countries I had been. I remember staying in a bread and breakfast inn in Tuscany which was owned and managed by a well educated affluent French Ethiopian couple. Then my recollection of a scene in Charing Cross on  street gang fighting right next to the hotel I was staying. In all those times looking at Caucasian Europeans to live normal lives with not much high and low memories during my trip.  

Today living in US metropolitan diverse cities, you get to experience the different paths and cultures when your a tourist to a particular city. There are the permanent communities like Chinatown for example as well as you would hear that a particular community resides in a certain demographic location. For example, the Latinos are concentrated this part of the city, the Chinese are on this part and so. It's not to state the racial subdivide it's just how were accustomed that people with racial origins have their own identified communities where a lot of the original cultures etc.., are concentrated.  

President Obama when elected was very promising to the African Americans as well the people of colors hope for equality. However, as President as much as he tried to open the discussions on equality he was only able to do as much as after all he represented all the cultures as President.
This was the disconnect as people thought of him as the black progressive  antidote but with the position of leader of the free world there was just too much risk if he indeed focus on pursuing inequalities faced by people of color.

Post Martin Luther King, the civil rights and now post Obama, the race inequality might have gain traction on getting the problem More discussed but the problem still persist. It is a discussion not just for the American Africans but also for any minority and people of color as after all we all live in this great country, we all work, and we all contribute to economy and society.

Kudos to Democracy in Black

Alex Esguerra
https://www.usedbookworld.com



Sunday, June 11, 2017

If The President does it, that means it's not illegal, is it still true even today


The Conviction of RICHARD NIXON by James Reston, Jr. writes the foreword, "If the President does it, that means it's not illegal," as quoted was the brazen words uttered by Richard Nixon in his famous interview with David Frost in 1977.

Nixon continued and argued that the President is immune. As the book describes about eavesdropping, cover up, and bend government agencies like the CIA and the FBI for his own political purpose. National Security and "Executive Privilege" hence when exposed were "mistakes". With such words and predicament came about "Obstruction of Justice", the case for impeachment which led the way for Nixon to resign as it was inevitable.

Reading through this book trying to get a well deserved sleep gave a lot of comparison to the new book, 
The Case For Impeachment by Allan J. Lichtman . Professor Allan J. Lichtman, who has correctly forecasted thirty years of presidential outcomes, makes the case for impeaching the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Excerpt of the book annotation, "The Case for Impeachment also offers a fascinating look at presidential impeachments throughout American history, including the often-overlooked story of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, details about Richard Nixon’s resignation, and Bill Clinton’s hearings. Lichtman shows how Trump exhibits many of the flaws (and more) that have doomed past presidents. As the Nixon Administration dismissed the reporting of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as “character assassination” and “a vicious abuse of the journalistic process,” Trump has attacked the “dishonest media,” claiming, “the press should be ashamed of themselves.”
Historians, legal scholars, and politicians alike agree: we are in politically uncharted waters—the durability of our institutions is being undermined and the public’s confidence in them is eroding, threatening American democracy itself."

With the recent testimony of the Former FBI Director James Comey about being asked repeatedly on the Russian interference investigations in  the 2016 elections, and the case of holding on to his position simply gives a more stronger case of Obstruction than the last impeachment case of Bill Clinton on an affair which never got passed. 
The months and circumstances to follow next will be part of the American history books as it unfolds. From the time this new book by Lichtman was release in April 2017, it hasn't yet gotten that much sales from a bookseller standpoint yet however this book is soon to be such an enormous bestseller that the publisher Dey Street Books will probably continually be making reprints.
For now, this is a new discussion between supporters of then failed candidate Hillary Clinton and the current 45th President Donald Trump.


Wednesday, May 17, 2017

A Review on The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein is a great read bestseller. Living between the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco, I can truly relate when the book started with the state of residential racial segregation in San Francisco, CA.

A good example is that San Francisco nowadays has outlived New York and any major metropolitan city as the highest cost of living as well as one of the highest in rent and home purchase. Thus a good example is the Ellis Act. 

The “Ellis Act” is a state law which says that landlords have the unconditional right to evict tenants to “go out of business.” For an Ellis eviction, the landlord must remove all of the units in the building from the rental market, i.e., the landlord must evict all the tenants and cannot single out one tenant (for example, with low rent) and/or remove just one unit out of several from the rental market In the Color of Law as mentioned in the book, it is concerned with consistent government policy that was employed in the mid-twentieth century to enforce residential racial segregation. Hence that was a time that African Americans and Whites cannot live in the same building. Thus San Francisco for example is where the Rev. Cecil Williams founded the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church coinciding with the  the Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks  era and revolution. 

From zoning ordinances to public housing as discussed in the book, there's still a huge segregation and thus the disconnect. The book has several number of pages solely on Frequently Asked Questions. From author, Ta-Nehisi Coates says he would pay reparations to African Americans to the author's notes citing his stint with the Economic Policy Institute in developing The Color of Law. This book is indeed a great read on the topic and from the last I've heard, the publisher is now printing additional copies due to demand.

I would end he topic again in an affordable housing program called Below Market Rate, In this program developers that build skyscrapers and multi development condominiums for example are required to dedicate and unit or building which can be sold a Below Market Rates. This is a great program to be able to purchase a property if your in the low to medium income bracket and do not have much cash to put in towards the purchase. The sad reality is that the lenders or banks in this program themselves sometimes get listed as accredited but when to contact them they will state they are not with the program. Worst scenario is that even with such programs, there's still no way to raise a 10-15% downpayment and closing cost just to get a home mortgage.

When you get to finally read this book, you'll better understand what the inequalities are specifically on housing.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Saving America's Middle Class, Bringing Jobs Back to America?


On a sunny weekday afternoon while I glimpse part of Elizabeth Warren's new release book,

I smiled seeing page 261 on the fight ahead when she talked about Gina getting fired . Walmart's recent changes on hiring more part time workers and saving money by not paying benefits with part time workers.



San Francisco, CA my second home after Portland, Oregon is such a good city example on this topic. San Fran as people call it is one of the most expensive cities in America to live at. It is the counterpart of New York at the West. Recently, housing cost has even surpassed New York's prices on buying a house. A typical Single detached two bedroom house back in the Pacific Northwest if your really good in hunting would have cost $420,000 to $610,000. In San Francisco, you'll be able to afford a car parking lot for this amount. A typical studio condo in the city of San Francisco, your lucky if you buy it for $900,000.


Hence, a lot of the millennial population are working for the Silicon Valley Tech companies which some of them have offices and presence in the heart of the city.  Come the baby boomers and in between it and the millennium generations either working in retail, hospitality and service industries.
The reality is that this part of the city population are considered low income due to the mentioned high cost of living, high rents, expensive food, etc., The Housing and Urban Development a few days ago labelled a family of 4 earning $100,000 in San Francisco is now on the low income bracket. The other reality is that this so called part time jobs on retail, hospitality, restaurants, services are mostly minimum wage jobs. Thank God in 2014 that the City of San Francisco enabled several laws protecting the rights of people that live and work in San Francisco mostly affecting this said population. The city enabled a Retail Workers Bill of Rights, an accrued paid sick time law after 30 hours of work in a calendar year after 2007 and of course worked to increase the minimum wage compared for the State minimum wage.

The State of California over the last few years has been working on misclassification cases of workers from 1099 Independent Contractors to W2 employees which is a common exploitation especially in the SF Bay Area. Overtime and meal breaks are a major chunk of the abuse.

So as I decipher this book and looking at both the Democrats and Republicans, what initiatives do we really need on federal and legislative levels of government, what measures do we look into connecting the present living conditions and the initiatives already undertaken on the city level?

The income divide is so great that we indeed have to work on having an affordable living situation to the grassroots minimum wage earner.

So the challenge indeed with the incumbent Commander in Chief's "Making America Great Again" is that is it the glamour part of making it great or will it be going to the city levels of government and reaching out directly with minimum wage earners on what resources they need to live and work in America.