Month: July 2017

Donald Trump is yes, unfit to be President.

I am not talking here about his questionable policy objectives: build a wall, ban Muslims, befriend Russia, etc.

I am talking about the man.

He is an embarrassment. He is disgraceful. He is crass. He is classless… He makes the Presidency small.

His daily barrage of insults, demeaning comments, simplistic Tweets, bad manners, foul language, combative tone, self-righteousness, and right out lies is unbecoming of a President.

We have us a President that few in good conscience can say serves as a model to our youth, inspires the masses, unites us, or makes us proud to be Americans.

It is as if he is still campaigning, speaking only to his core supporters; not giving a damn about reaching out to those that did not vote for him. It is as if he is hell bent on creating a core cult following of 1/3 of the voters; and calculates another 1/3 will tolerate him and use him to achieve their policy objectives. (That is clearly the calculation that got him elected.)

Make no mistake about it. That 1/3 of voters that are his core cult followers are an economically – and educationally- diverse bunch. This is NOT only the downtrodden, low income, low skills whites. This 1/3 of American voters that are Trump’s cultish followers include a good number of highly educated, successful white folks.

What do they have in common?

• Trump’s cult followers all love the simplicity of his approach. They do not care for the complexities of reality. They want it all in black and white. And he is giving them that.
• Trump’s cult followers welcome his brash approach. “Tell it like it is!” Be politically incorrect! Yeah!
• Trump’s cult followers have all bought into the idea that all government is bloated, all bureaucracy is inefficient, and all regulations are bad. All. (Except, of course the ones that benefit them.)
• Trump’s cult followers feel right at home with his ballistic style. That’s who they are too. They relate to how he talks. They ‘understand’ his exaggerations. They applaud his bluntness, lack of diplomatic approach, lack of discipline. And they ‘get’ when he changes positions, deflects questions, creates new facts. It is all about keeping the enemy off balance.
• Trump’s cult followers are loyal if nothing else. They will stick with him. Cheer him on. It is as if every attack on Trump, every new revelation, makes their cult even stronger, ever more loyal to him.

If this man’s style ever moves beyond this intractable 1/3 and moves to be a majority, we will have descended into the gutter.

It is not one single incident. If it was we could argue, debate, agree/disagree on its significance.

It is the constant, non-stop, in-your-face every-day ludeness that is alarming.

His style is infecting America. People are becoming more rude. Lashing out is becoming the norm. Lying is ok. Disrespecting others is ok. Bashing your own is expected. On and on…

Four years of this? God help us.

In the meantime, there are some of us that refuse to buy into this craziness. There are some of us that believe civility will prevail. Americans will wake up. Rise up. #RESIST … and this cultist nightmare will come to an end.

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Why Russia Resonates: Its all about Steve Bannon

This whole Russia thing can feel so – excuse the pun – foreign.

Why should we care? How does it impact me personally? Does it really matter?

Is this just not a detraction – a last gasp attempt by Trump’s detractor – to keep the winning team from implementing their policies for which the electorate (College, that is) sent them to Washington to do?

Not exactly. (Though generally possibly more than a kernel of truth to that logic.)

Remember Trump’s unifying themes:

> Dismantling the gloated bureaucracy,  America First, and fighting for chrisitanity.

Those are powerful aims. These themes make for a powerful vision.

Actualizing that vision requires a relentless, laser sharp focus on not caring about what the established bureaucrats say, being a strongman, and shamelessly collaborating (colluding?) with others that would benefit in achieving this vision.

Russia is a natural, convenient, and practical partner in achieving this vision. Make no mistake about it:

[1] Russia will benefit greatly from a de-stabilized bureaucracy, a bureaucracy led by inexperienced, nationalist minded, friendly-to-Russia folks.

[2] Putin feels comfortable with a perceived strong man that is impressionable and immature in world politics.

[3] Russia has a historical, fundamentalist, extreme orthodox newfound christian faith that aligns perfectly with the dogmatic traditionalist catholics and fundamental evangelical movement in the U.S.

This third point needs much more exploring. We have yet to scratch the surfacing on this… And all roads will lead to Steve Bannon.

The lure of a dismantled bureaucracy, a gullible strong man at the helm that can be exploited for his inexperience in these deep matters, and a new world order based on fundamentalism and extreme orthodoxy is very appealing to many Americans across the faith spectrum. “Christians unite!” is a universal battle cry of all fundamentalists and extreme orthodoxy throughout the world… Indeed, it is no less than a ‘prophecy’!

The ‘price’ these folks are willing to pay to attain their ultimate goal of a fundamentalist and extremely orthodox christian U.S.A. is unthinkable to many other Americans. So what if it requires the destruction of social gains made since WWII; so what if it means accepting a President with dictatorial tendencies; so what if it means we embrace Russia… Nothing matter other than the end-point: A fundamentalist, extreme orthodox christian America.

Note I refuse to give these fundamentalist and extreme orthodox the honor of calling them Christians or Catholics with a capital “C”… Theirs is a small, perverse, incomplete, mean, and intolerant christianity and a very narrow representation of catholicism.

Theirs is a faith outlook so perversely fundamental and extremely orthodox that it looks exclusively to the Ten Commandments and conveniently forgets about the Sermon on the Mount.

It is a faith so perversely fundamental and extremely orthodox that it conveniently relies on the Old Testament’s approach to war, power, and authority rather than the New Testament’s emphasis on love, service and empathy.

It is a faith so perversely fundamental and extremely orthodox that it has room only for those that think – and look – like them; and have very little patience for disagreement, discourse, or dissent.

Theirs is a ‘religious correctness’ where only they are the ultimate faith arbitrators; only they know what is right and wrong; only they have access to (their) truth and can dictate human behavior for their (not God’s) greater glory.

Now, beware: These two amigos are not a natural alliance. Indeed, this strange and (un?)holy alliance of old school extreme orthodox catholics and die hard fundamentalist evangelicals is not only unnatural, but also unsustainable.

They may agree on their anti abortion rhetoric, gay bashing, and might through military power. But, they distrust each other vehemently.

To the fundamentalist evangelicals Catholics are not to be trusted; they are not even Christians, they would say… To the extreme orthodox catholics the fundamental evangelicals are at best a convenient partner, “useful idiots”, but they are not to be trusted until they declare adherence to the (a future – not this) Pope and the ‘magisterium and dogma’ of the Catholic Church – as they see it.

… All of this is orchestrated by the perversion of one man whose name we have not heard for a while in the news: Steve Bannon. Stay tuned.

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Happy Birthday USA:

May your childish tantrum soon be over.

May you grow up soon.

May you reclaim your sanity before it is too late.

May this man who is your President – at least for now – realize he is making America small. Making America small – for the first time. THAT is what Trump has accomplished in his first half year in office.

America has always been an aspirational nation. Through all its dysfunctions and incomplete and imperfect history, America has always counted on robust – if oftentimes ruckus – leadership.

Even in our darkest hours top leaders in the USofA have always conveyed a sense of optimism and a better future – unless they were deranged and on their way out of office (i.e.: Nixon.)

I will certainly celebrate this 4th. But, it will be a celebration as if your child was in the hospital in “stable, but serious” condition. Looking forward to tomorrow when things get better, but certainly not enjoying the moment.

Worse yet, it a self inflicted condition. Something that could have been avoided… Oh but some were so gullible! So easily swayed by visions of sugarplum sugarcoated with overly simplistic view of a very complicated world, and promises of a past greatness that never existed but for a select few.

The disarray, disrespect, distractions, and distrust that Donald Trump has managed to instill in our nation’s psyche is truly awful – and dangerous.

This man is simply a disgrace. An embarrassment. A lousy excuse for a president.

His complete and total lack of demeanor, of seriousness, of intellect is numbing – and dumbing America in the process.

He is giving real estate developers a bad name. Heck, he is giving game show hosts a bad name!

He might have made billions by dealing and negotiating in the world of business. But, he has proven without a shadow of a doubt that those skills are simply not transferrable to the world of governance, diplomacy, and foreign policy.

His epic Tweeter wars with the media is nothing short of sick – and dangerous to the core.

Trump has managed to make not only the US, but also the Office of the Presidency small.

Even in the rare moments I agree with him, his sneer comes across as disingenuous, dishonest, and disinterested.

DO YOU KNOW OF A SINGLE PERSON THAT ENTHUSIASTICALLY AND AUTHENTICALLY WOULD SAY “PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS THE MAKING OF A GREAT PRESIDENT. HE IS A WONDERFUL ROLE MODEL FOR OUR YOUTH”?!?

Would you not – minimally! – want to say that about our President this 4th of July? I certainly can’t… And that is too bad. Too sad.

Sure, 1/4 of America may be lulled by his dynamic lies and showman antics… And 1/4 of America may see him as a “useful idiot” to achieve their well intentioned policy objectives… So that leaves about 1/2 of America committed to #RESIST… And resist we will.

Happy Birthday America.

This too shall pass.

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