Helsinki Sinkhole
I guess I don’t really care…
…about all the bullshit patriotic complaints about Donald Trump’s wimpy show in Helsinki yesterday. If the United States were a sports team (something else I don’t care about, by the way), it would have been a defeat, and a humiliating one. He truly showed himself to be a coward, and to the extent that he is seen as representing the U.S., it was embarrassing. Putin clearly was the boss of Trump.
But we as Americans can’t act as if we are shocked, shocked! to learn that nations meddle in each others business, or that by “standing up to Putin” our idiot president would have been supporting The American Way of Life, or furthering the values of justice and truth. All he would have been doing is NOT embarrassing us all, and NOT acting like the chickenshit little weasel that he appears to be.
American presidents are always judged by how tough or how lax they appear to be on the world stage, and most of them play the game they are expected to play, because they want to get reelected, or they want their party to gain seats in Congress. The power they are struggling to maintain is breathtaking, they know the voters (and the Other Party) are watching, and they will take part in pretty much any political theater that allows them to keep their power.
Donald Trump is different. I know a lot of voters chose him for exactly that reason: he’s different. And in a way I can’t blame them, after seeing so many politicians turn out to be like all other politicians, after they’re elected. Unfortunately, Trump is different in a bad way: He really doesn’t give a fuck about anything or anyone but himself. He is ignorant, selfish and purely transactional. All Donald Trump wants to know is “What’s in it for me?” Continue reading “Helsinki Sinkhole”
The Russians are STILL Coming
Given the damage being caused daily…
…by our Celebrity Apprentice President and his bumbling gang of corrupt incompetents, it’s more important than ever for the voters of this country to return one or both houses of Congress to Democratic control. How? Pretty simple, really: Get registered NOW, and go vote on November 6. If everybody voted every time, Republicans would never win another election. They are the minority party, and they are in power because Democrats allow it.
But as we head into this election season, there’s something extra we have to watch out for: Russian interference in the election. Our entire intelligence community and the Senate Intelligence Committee agree that they influenced the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump, and succeeded beyond even their own wildest dreams. They are already coming back for more.
Random Thoughts
It’s too hot to write a coherent essay, so here’s some random noodling.
I think of Donald Trump more as a former game show host than as President of the United States. Now he’s stage-managing his second Supreme Court nomination, announcing the date he’ll announce his choice, scheduling the reveal during nationwide prime TV time, and — I’m sure — inviting multiple candidates to be present at the proclamation, all to heighten the “suspense.” He’s running the government just like a game show. And naturally Donald Trump is making it all about him.
Molly the Cat is Gone
She had her way with us for 20 years…
…and now she has left us behind, left our world. I can clearly remember the day she strolled into our lives, a skinny, hungry stray kitten, eyeing my yogurt. Barb and I had both grown up with dogs, and we were unsure about this little girl. We had just moved into the house, the first place we’d had together where we could get a dog, and here was this scruffy little thing, needy, persistent, too proud to beg.
The Future Starts Now
I can’t seem to wake up from this nightmare.
Those who read here are aware of the litany of horrors that have proceeded from the election of Donald Trump — the Muslim ban, the sadistic “zero tolerance” policy at the southern border, the incompetent liars and buffoons appointed to the cabinet, the destruction of U.S. standing in the world, the reversal of efforts to deal with climate change, and so on ad infinitum.
And now Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring. The Court is currently made up of four liberals, four conservatives, and Kennedy. Kennedy is a Republican, but of the old-fashioned non-partisan persuasion. He believes in the law over ideology, and he has been the “swing vote” over the years, as the Court upheld Roe vs. Wade, acknowledged constitutional rights for same-sex couples, and found the Affordable Care Act constitutional.
Supremes Toe Right-Wing Line
Last month the Supreme Court OK’d an anti-gay cakemaker’s refusal to serve…
…a same-sex couple, saying authorities had not been properly deferential to his (Evangelical Christian) religious beliefs at his hearing.
This week, the Court upheld Donald Trump’s ban on Muslims entering the United States, an executive order that has been stopped by the lower courts for a year and a half.
So there you have it. The United States is now officially an Evangelical Christian nation. Muslims need not apply. I wonder when Muslims who are already in the country will be asked to leave? Right wing bigots are certainly getting their money’s worth out of their stolen Court seat.
Nothing Happened in Singapore
The summit meeting in Singapore today was a perfect Donald Trump event.
Stagecraft, suspense, pageantry, rhetoric, photo ops, but no real results. Just like on the game show that made him famous, tune in next week to see what happens. After an hour of talking, the two leaders staged a signing ceremony, of a vague document containing promises to do something in the future, full of platitudes about security and prosperity for North Korea.
I’ll be happy if our dealmaker-in-chief pulls off some kind of binding agreement that actually reduces tensions or removes the threat of nuclear war, because hey — who wants nuclear war? But I’d feel a lot better about this whole thing if somebody smarter than Donald J. Trump were over there negotiating in my name. Political and military analysts around the world are saying that the North Koreans have reneged on too many promises over the years to be taken seriously this time without a specific agreed-upon set of requirements and on-the-ground inspections to guarantee compliance, neither of which are in today’s document.
As expected, Trump has made all the concessions so far:
Supreme Court Okays Ohio Voter Suppression Law
Source: Supreme Court says states can remove voters who skip elections, ignore warnings
The minority party in the United States — the Republicans —
— control the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the majority of state governments. Because of this, they have been able to pack the Supreme Court with partisans, who are now assisting the party’s voter suppression activities. Neil Gorsuch is the only the first Trump appointee to side with the one-percenters over the rest of us. There will be more.
Today the Court agreed that the state of Ohio can purge eligible registered voters from the voter rolls if they don’t vote in two elections or if they don’t return a postcard sent to “verify” that they still want to be registered to vote. This is the strictest law in the nation, and — surprise! — it turns out that those most affected are those likely to vote Democratic: students, minorities, disabled and the elderly, for example.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Okays Ohio Voter Suppression Law”
Treacherous Canadian Stabs US Prez in Back
Kim Jung Un must be pleased to be sitting down with an American president…
…who has, just a few hours earlier, blown off six of America’s closest and strongest allies. Trump has already backed down on joint U.S. – South Korea military exercises at Kim’s demand. This demonstrates not only that Donald Trump is a wimp who is getting outmaneuvered, but also that he doesn’t give a fuck about the rest of the world.
Continue reading “Treacherous Canadian Stabs US Prez in Back”