Credibility Gap

Before addressing the main topic of this post, an explanation of why I have frequently called Donald Trump “He who must not be named”.  For those unfamiliar with the Harry Potter books, it is a term applied throughout that series to Lord Voldemort, a somewhat shadowy antagonist to Harry Potter and most others in the wizarding world.  The series creator, J.K. Rowling, described Voldemort as a "raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering", and whose only ambition in life is to become all-powerful and immortal. He appears to have no conscience or feelings of remorse.

Darkness and Rage in the Days of Trump

The 1461 days of Trump. They’re pervasive, loathsome and relentless.  They disturb what would otherwise be our quiet times.  They inflame us with a heretofore unknown rage. They spawn the worst in us and they bleed us dry of hope, aspiration and our expectations of prosperity and basic comforts. They rob us of security and leech our souls of optimism. They’re deathless zombies that foment our rage, haunt our nights and pillage our dreams.  As Americans they leave us fearful about rights and justice and mortified as citizens of the world. These are the days of Trump.

Affordable Care Act Replaced By ??

"We're going to have insurance for everybody"— the current inhabitant of the Oval Office, Washington Post interview, Jan.15 2017

The administration in the White House is racing to get the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repealed and replaced by end of April.   More than a few Republicans in Congress are not in favor of the plan being pushed at the American people.  Many demonstrations in town hall meetings have erupted from people who don’t want to see the ACA scrapped for something inferior and have their health care coverage put at risk.  Why rush?  Get it right.  Other countries have done it well with national health care systems that are derided by some as “socialism”

Clueless

I have a real dilemma here.  Sometimes I'm baffled,  And sometimes I'm righteously pissed off.  Sometimes I can't figure out how they can exist in such a blissful vacuum. And sometimes I want to slap the shit out of them for being in that vacuum.  How? Why?  What's their secret?  What's their motivation? Okay that last question was the stupid question that puts to rest the notion that there are no stupid questions.  

Some weeks ago we posted about the people who choose to remain detached from life beyond fluff.  We opined that while doing so might very well make one feel comfortable it's this sort of detachment that's the very ally of Donald Trump. If a fair segment of the adult population is in full on “what me worry,” then Trump and his stooges can also be in full on "what me worry."  It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship; the clueless and indifferent blindly collaborating with the clueless and incompetent.

Oh What a Week

One thing is certain when doing a blog about the current presidential administration from a liberal perspective.  There will never be a shortage of material.  Consider the weirdness within the past week or so.

Good Ol' Donnie - A Wild and Crazy Guy

It’s all been cleared up for me. The President of the United States is a different guy. He’s a breath of fresh air who’s just a little eccentric. He’s just wacky Donnie.  Don’t take him too seriously.  It’s just the way he is.  He's a harmless cross between the weird uncle who farts and tells ethnic jokes at the Thanksgiving table and an exaggerating salesman.

 

It’s Party Time (or The Disunited States of The GOP)

“…the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”

George Washington – 1^st President of the United States and one of the founders

“There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”

John Adams – 2^nd President of the United States and one of the founders

“I just don’t think it’s useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party,” We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do like repealing Obamacare if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense.”

Rand Paul – A United States Senator

I’m going to draw up a petition.  Draw up a petition and then go stand in front of the local supermarket with a copy on each of about a dozen clipboards.  You’ve seen those guys.  They camp out at one of the store entrances and you do one of two things.  You either take a detour to another entrance or, and this is the option you often regret, you walk slowly past the guy so that he’ll engage you and you can find out what all the hubbub is about.

My petition is going to propose changing the name of our country from The United States of America to, The  Disunited States of GOP.  Seriously folks, let’s stop pretending.  That gang of knaves from the Republican Party doesn’t really give a shit about America.  America, the country and people that the Republicans are supposed to be serving is located somewhere in the deep dark bowels of the GOP priority list. There’s a lot of lip service paid to “the American people” and what “we will leave for our grandchildren” but the only American people they’re interested in are the ones that feather their nests.  And as for the grandchildren; unless they turn out to be large donors or CEO’s the GOP won’t leave them a pot to piss in.  

The Logan Act, Nixon, and the Current President

The Logan Act, in place since 1799, is a federal law intended to prevent unauthorized individuals from meddling with foreign governments which are having a dispute with the United States. The Act was passed following unauthorized negotiations by George Logan, a Pennsylvania legislator, with France in 1798 during the Quasi-War between the U.S. and France. The Logan Act was signed into law by President John Adams the following year. Violation of the Logan Act is a felony.  To date, nobody has been prosecuted for violations of this law.

The Nightmare in Number One Observatory Circle

Since 1977, Number One Observatory Circle in Washington has been the official residence of the vice president.  Besides being the Presiding Officer of the U.S. Senate, the V.P. (or Veep) is often thought of mainly as the person who would ascend to the presidency if the president died, resigned, or was removed from office.  John Nance Garner was FDR’s V.P. for 8 years and is most remembered for saying that the vice presidency was not worth a bucket of warm piss.

In our country’s early years, the V.P. was the person who lost the presidential election.  The selection process then evolved into what we currently have.  Too often, the Veep has lived up to Garner’s statement.  Here’s a test of that.  List the presidents of the 20th century.  Now list the vice presidents.  Unless you’re a scholar of political history, you’ll probably miss at least a few of the Veeps.  Lyndon Johnson, arguably one of the most qualified because of his tenure in the Senate, was not well-known by most Americans until he took the oath of office as president on Air Force One in Dallas in 1963.