Thursday, July 19, 2018

What frustrated you most last week and why. 2-on-1 07/20/2018

This week's topic was my idea and for the purpose of this post the week ended  on Monday. I'm sure some if not most of you can guess why that caveat was added. Be sure to check my co-blogger and friend Ramana's blog to see his take, which I am quite sure will be very different, by clicking here.

I have tended to avoid political blogging for most of this blog's existence. Even though I am a political junkie with a degree in Political Science, I am not an ideologue and I have only occasionally commented on a president or otherwise commented on the political hot point du jour. Alas, my proverbial unstated red line in the sand has been crossed. Silence has been severely tarnished and is no longer golden.

For the record, I believe dialogue is good - we need to speak as regularly as possible with both friend and foe. That 45 legitimized the North Korean dictator on the world stage is collateral damage to 45s attempt to open a dialogue with him, although I found the far right's praise of 45 for that worthless meeting somewhat disingenuous. The jury is still out on whether or not anything positive comes of it (the ball is now in the seemingly competent hands of Mike Pompeo). The Trump/Putin meeting could have been constructive had 45 taken the opportunity to call out Putin and Russia for their attacks on our electoral system. 45s tax breaks have benefited the 1% far more than the rest of us, he has caused substantial increases in insurance premiums for the ACA in spite of his promises otherwise (still waiting for that replacement plan) and his recent tariffs have queued up a trade war that has already begun to harm workers here. And then there was Helsinki.

I have watched the devolution of political discourse on Facebook, Twitter. cable news channels and media in general. Marked by a lack of civility I never imagined we would reach, I still refrained from constantly berating either side, though I took occasional shots at both sides. I watched, in somewhat stunned silence, one of my friends - an old high school friend - devolve into a self-proclaimed super patriot who posted daily rants against the corrupt libtards (his word) - aka Democrats - and brag about how he could trace his family's military service back to the Revolutionary War - as if that gave him the moral high ground as he railed against Obama, the Clintons and every other Democrat. When he had a good point to make, his delivery - as far as I am concerned - rendered that point moot. Rather than deal with his political rants I simply ignored them and carried on non-political conversations by posting directly to his timeline. He has a hard core group of followers that hang on his every word. Because I lean to the left on social values I suspect he - and possibly several others - assume I am a leftie and a libtard. The fact is, I am a registered Republican - but not for much longer as if/when I register again it will be as an independent. The Democrats have drifted much to far to the left for me to seriously consider them, The new so-called progressives are the Millennial's to contend with and support or reject.  

Sadly, my friends attitude has become the norm for Trumpers, the followers of 45. Their hatred of all things not pro Trump is rivaled only by their hatred of Obama, Obama's legacy and their hatred of the Clinton political machine - admittedly one of the most corrupt entities in the history of American politics. - but, in case you haven't noticed  that big, bad Clinton machine is history. Now, I was never a big fan of Obama - but I always thought he was a decent enough man. His policies, though, were seriously flawed but they were not the kind of things designed to bring down the institutions that have served us well for over 200 years.

Along came 2016 and we now have 45 - a man who campaigned claiming among other things that if he lost the election it would be because it was rigged, He developed a name-calling, hateful style that lowered the so-called bar to a point where an ant could not get under ihe bar if it were a limbo bar. But I was optimistic - I figured he could not do much damage and that we would survive until the Republic was once again placed in saner hands.


So now we get to last week and the NATO summit. Things began to seriously fall apart. 45 insulted our primary allies again, harangued Angela Merkel and Theresa May, the leaders of probably two of our top three allies, and continued to refuse to condemn Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin. He was late to his meeting with Queen Elizabeth and then rudely ignored the defacto protocols for meeting British royalty. He insulted the Mayor of London and Mrs. May. His smugness was on display for the entire world to see. Forest Gump immediately came to mind - "stupid is as stupid does".

Of course there was more to come. He had set up a "summit" with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki immediately after the NATO and UK meetings. One again had to wonder what he would do to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as on Friday, July 13, charges were filed against 12 members of the Russian military for their roles in the cyber crimes related to our 2016 election. We literally had the Russians by those uniquely male sex organs and it was time to squeeze them, confront Putin with the proof as developed by the USA and our intelligence agencies. 

Of course we all know what happened. 45 sided with Putin and his "strong, powerful" denials - and promptly threw our intelligence community under the bus. He suggested the ongoing collusion investigation, which he has continually labeled a witch hunt had whipped up an irrational fervor and was harmful to our country. He blamed Obama for allowing the cyber attacks. He once again patted himself on the back for winning the election.

In the face of substantial criticism - several people called  45s actions treasonous - 45  blamed Obama and Obama's intelligence team since they knew of the cyber attacks just before the election. He again attacked the FBI over Mrs. Clinton's missing emails and the DNC's missing hacked server (which is not missing at all). 45 believes constant denials will convince people he is right as he panders to his base. It is scary to realize he may be right, as his constant stream of lies are accepted by his base as alternative facts. His constantly calling the mainstream media the enemy of the people may get someone hurt or killed.

White supremacists have been rejoicing since 45 was elected. His second most popular campaign sound bite - drain the swamp - has given us Tom Price, Steve Mnuchin, Betsy Devos, Scott Pruitt and more and the swamp is deeper and more dangerous than ever. Price was a piker when it came to corruption when compared to Pruitt. Devos is working on dismantling the public education system. 45 has - not surprisingly - appointed one conservative SCOTUS justice and nominated another with the sudden and somewhat unexpected retirement of Anthony Kennedy. Could that surprise retirement be due to the fact that Kennedy's son provided 45 with a billion dollars in loans when US banks would not? And Deutsche Bank -  the younger Kennedy's employer - has strong ties to Russian oligarchs? Is this a thinly veiled attempt to insure a conservative SCOTUS for generations further evidence of 45s pandering to his base?? It is the POTUS job to nominate SCOTUS justices when openings arise but is it  simply a coincidence that there is a rush to confirm the latest nominee before the midterm election, when there is a very good chance the GOP may lose their hold on one or both chambers of Congress (historical fact even before the actions of 45 and their presumed negative impact are factored in). FYI - I do not take issue with conservative justices - but I do care about the process involved in their selection. I do not meant to suggest the Democrats would not do the same thing if given the opportunity, which would be just as wrong.

Clearly there is much greater detail I could bring to the page, but this is a simple weekly blog, not a master's thesis on corruption in US politics. Unfortunately, the incredible stream of lies that are the hallmark of 45 coupled with his fake news rants and calling the mainstream media the enemy of the people, while establishing what is effectively state-run media at Fox, have caused my frustration level to breach the levees. 

It has been somewhat cathartic to put all of this down but the frustration has continued daily and is likely to do so. I need a prescription for chill pills, or at least some good scotch or beer. Maybe both. I admit my confidence in and optimism for our Republic has been shaken. I wonder if every generation experiences some of these feelings as they reach the end of the line and prepare to pass the baton to the next keepers generation. 

20 comments:

  1. A refreshing read; an eloquent and concise summary. And, yes, your frustration is palpable.

    Can't offer you a chill pill, in absence of which let's toast ... Cheers, Prost, a votre Sante, Salud, Nastrovje (!),
    U

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    1. 5 toasts for 5 drinks - that works for me.At least it is a start.

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  2. a tour de force if ever there was one!
    the Ugly American (s) takes on a whole new meaning if that's even possible.
    I live in a state that literally bows down and worships him and his ilk.
    when I'm standing in line to vote (why?) I wonder if there are any others (one or two maybe) who are voting like I will?
    during the election period a lovely English lady was helping me locate a pillow in Pier One. I tentatively mentioned something about the political scene and she immediately began talking in whispers to me (a kindred soul!) her supervisor and co-workers could otherwise hear her. it's like we're wandering around in some enemy camp! his followers are very volatile and vocal here. just like their little wimp of a crooked Pruitt.
    and not having lived through it but having read of it …
    I can't help but wonder if this is what Germany had to go through with the likes of Hitler and his henchmen? slow and insidious until it was too late? I know it's been said about his Hitleresque similarities but I'd really like to know. at first it was like "oh this buffoon can't be for real!" but now... he's very real and it's scary. Rome is burning. and we still fiddle away.
    a marvelous post Shack.
    thank you.

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    1. It is hard to believe 75-80% of republicans endorse 45s actions in the recent summits but it is even more sad. The gap between D/R makes the grand canyon look tiny.

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  3. I hope that the catharsis has provided the release from frustration that it is supposed to.

    Your post is the longest that you have written and is far more eloquent than any so far. I suppose that the topic dictates such eloquence and length.

    I am not an American and I do not wish to comment further on the happenings that you have covered so well. I shall simply add that I concur with your views as do almost everyone that I know all over the world.

    I also concur with Tammy on the ugly American comment. Sad.

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  4. I agree with Tammy as well. And yes - I do feel better

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  5. I haven't used The Old Fossil for a long time, but that doesn't mean we haven't stayed in touch.

    My background was in the physical and psychological sciences, so I haven't your clear command of political science. Still, I am not without perception and my only real divergence is in feeling better about Obama than you do. Otherwise, I sit here in appreciation of your excellent analysis.


    What may not be clear to others around the world is how profoundly frustrated and worried Americans like you and me are. It is profound! We see our democracy eroding beneath our feet. We see the world for our children being attacked and dismantled. And we are being represented by a dangerous embarrassment. And we are amazed as much as we are saddened.

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    1. Dearest Fossil, so good to see you among the living.

      My goodness, the very one who broke me into blogging. Hope all is well with you.

      Sorry, Chuck, for my flight of fancy, but the Old Fossil and I went through a lot a long time ago. Till I thought he'd fossilized. I mourned him.

      U

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    2. No problem U - he has been lurking around forever and we interact on facebook almost daily. Actually hard to believe he and I have known each other for almost 40 years -

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  6. You’ve summed matters up quite well, I think, As you know, I’ve been writing about these issues from the beginning of this nightmare in which we’re living. I hope more of our legislators will remember the oath they took and act to preserve our democratic republic. Meanwhile the WH steamroller keeps crushing U.S. values. Hang on ‘cause the road ahead is rough.

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    1. Things will only get worse before - if - they get better

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    2. The way the historical steps proceed, things may get better for a bit, intentionally, especially around elections, but afterward the long term goal and drive toward weakening our democracy resumes.

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  7. He has singlehandedly tried to destroy the Canadian economy with tariffs and insulted our prime minister AND had backdoor meetings with our previous extreme right PM.

    Your analysis is excellent.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. Not just Canada - nearly all of our historical allies have felt his wrath - usually via twitter within hours of his public statements that are diametrically opposed to those tweets - his lying is an embarrassment that never ends.

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  8. Interesting comments. Have a look at Bloviating zepplin’s blog and you will see someone who is perfectly happy with President Trump.

    Traveller

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    1. I looked - not impressed. Deal with the EU? There is no deal, simply an agreement to talk about some things - nothing concrete, no deal has been reached. He continues to try to tear down the mechanisms and institutions that have served us well for over 200 years. He cozies up to autocrats because that is what he sees himself as - he alone runs his company, he alone runs our country (in his mind).

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    2. Many think that the mechanisms and institutions have not served them well, at least not lately.
      Traveller

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  9. Oligarchy and authoritarianism is not the answer

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  10. Human nature in action. Yes, Trump is a disaster, but he’s a symptom as well as a cause. Apparently in a poll last January 72% of Republicans thought he was a good role model for children. So what’s going on? A columnist in today's Wall Street Journal says Trump is like a weird family member, he may drive you wild sometimes but if an outsider attacks then the family pulls together. Trump is family, part of the Republicans' tribe. And the more outsiders attack, the stronger the bond between members of the group.

    You might like Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

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  11. Funny how the law and order party sold their souls - the ends juastify the means - in spades

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