At the risk of offending morons - I truly believe Donald Trump is a moron. Watching his presidency, at first I thought he was only a.....hate mongering, clinically paranoid, misogynistic, insecure, spoiled, racist, dictator wanna-be playground bully so far removed from the real world he can't even see us common folk. An embarrassment to our country?  Most definitely. Dangerous? Absolutely.  But its only now beginning to dawn on me that he also may simply be, stupid. I don't know how else to explain his actions. Lurching from one drama to the next, getting absolutely nothing done beyond putting a smile on Putin's face - and making sure you me and everyone else who cares about this country looks like an idiot. 

The USA is the biggest joke going. A big, stupid really really dangerous joke. Because you elected Comrade Donald. 

Nothing new to report.  I'm too amazed with how bad this is going to be able to focus enough to write about it.

"Trump invites Philippines' Duterte to Washington, White House says"
Which of course brings up the obvious wardrobe question:
What does someone wear when dining with a mass-murderer?
I'm honestly asking.  Do you go full-on tux, or just a simple suit and tie?  Your favorite Charles Manson jumpsuit?  Bit of Kevlar, sure.  I'm thinking a flak jacket might be in order.
Tag-a-log Trump, and Trump. 

Heil Donald.  Heil Rodrigo.  Oh, and Heil crazy, short, fat North Korean dude who required zero skill and energy to draw the Donald into a Twitter pissing match that could cost us Planet Earth. 
Sadly, that chubby little fuck is the smartest of the bunch.

"Trump has not been cunning but credulous; not an authoritarian but a pushover.
Ultimately, Trump is failing because he has little knowledge of the world and no guiding star of moral principle. The best of our leaders — think Abraham Lincoln — have been sure about the truth and uncertain about themselves. Trump is the opposite. His mind is uncluttered by creeds. He knows what he wants at any given moment, but it can bear little relation to the moment following. Who really believes that he would be sleepless if the wall were not built or if NAFTA ultimately survived? Who believes he would not be sleepless because of a nasty joke at his expense during a dinner party?
Without deep and thoughtful beliefs, persuasion is impossible. It is public reasoning that allows others to follow a leader’s footsteps in the snow. What has Trump done to rationally and respectfully persuade his critics?
During his campaign, Trump looked down on the weak; now it is revealed HE, is weak." 
*Michael Gerson, WP

"A federal judge on Tuesday blocked any attempt by the Trump administration to withhold funding from "sanctuary cities" that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration officials, saying the president has no authority to attach new conditions to federal spending" (this apparently from a judge on some little island in the middle of California.)

"This is why we have courts — to halt the overreach of a president and an attorney general who either don't understand the Constitution or choose to ignore it," the San Francisco Attorney said in a statement.

If it wasn't for the Judiciary, Comrade Donald would have us back in about 1937 Germany.
Where his fresh off the boat trophy wife would have never been allowed in.

re-post.  still valid and I don't know how better to say it -

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Today, I am Muslim.
Always - I will be a human who supports basic human rights. I am not referring to rights associated with being a woman or a man or having lighter or darker skin color or your sexual orientation or what God you worship or don't.   I'm talking about the bigger picture.  HUMAN rights. And in fact until we stop separating ourselves into groups, demanding OUR rights for whatever group we identify with, until we stop doing that, we can never truly be equal. Your president is proving just that.  By picking and choosing who gets rights and who doesn't. 

I am very sad. Anxious, worried. I am truly embarrassed to be a citizen of the United States of America. A country built by immigrants.  A wonderful beautiful place created by people from somewhere else (well, you know - after we sliced and diced the indigenous folks, AKA the first immigrants.)  A country who's very founding documents require us to welcome those seeking sanctuary. Instead our leader is slamming the door on those fleeing the largest humanitarian crisis since WWII. A crisis that in large part WE, you and me, the United States, created.  Your president is discriminating against, oppressing literally millions and millions of people - based on their religious affiliation.  It is immoral it is un-American.   It is wrong by any civilized standard.  History has proved it to be extraordinarily destructive.   It is opposite of what this country is supposed to stand for.    

And this is only the start. Generations of diplomacy are circling the drain. The new foreign policy akin to what happens on a second grade playground. Except this is real world. The president of the greatest country on earth pouting and shouting and tweeting and otherwise acting like a 70-year old toddler, sowing confusion and fear across the globe. And angering really big, really well armed nations.  Why? Aside from feeding the oversized ego of somebody who has never even lived real life........what possible benefit is there to anyone?

Donald Trump. The best president Putin could buy.

I am embarrassed to be a citizen of the United States of America. You can tell me to leave, go somewhere else if I don't like it here. But I won't. It isn't ME being un-American.  I'm not the one violating so many principles this country was founded on.   It's not me tearing up the constitution and stomping on the flag.  And it wouldn't be prudent for me to go anywhere else, anyway.  Your president is making sure of that.  By leading with hate and paranoia, your president is making sure that being a citizen of the United States is becoming a very unpopular condition.  Increasingly unsafe for all of us. 
Both abroad and at home.

I'm probably getting too told to be climbing over all these walls he wants to build, anyway.
Yes, today I am Muslim. 

I like to think, or hope there are fewer dems and republicans than those who vote their conscience, e.g. many could more accurately be labeled "independent." Unfortunately Oregon is one of many states that penalizes such folks by limiting voting rights in primaries (something which, along with the electoral college has lost it's reason to exist. It is time for both to go.)  One of the most effective ways available to make change is to work from within. To do that I must vote. To do that as often as possible in Oregon, I must register with one of the major parties. Regardless, I am feeling a little (tiny bit) less worried this evening. It seems cracks may be appearing in the foundation of support/fear of reprisal on the Republican side of the House. While the group of swing votes come from a corner of the club I wouldn't normally spend time with, at this point we need to take what we can get. 

With regards to health care reform Comrade Donald has had his tantrum (I swear, I can picture him with his hands balled up into fists stomping his little feet up and down) and taken his ball and gone home. Once again showing himself to be Master Statesman and King of Compromise. Not. 

Hopefully the Republican side of Congress is at least a teensy bit emboldened and will try to insert more common sense into things. It will be slow but I believe it may have started. 

Oh - ObamaCare (or however you want to describe it) is far from perfect. A downside to Captain Pouty walking off the court is we have lost an opportunity to actually improve on it.

It's late, sitting here with a glass of wine. What the heck -
The country has one less Republican. I officially switched teams. I am now batting Democrat. Surprisingly easy to do. Just.....hop online and git 'er done. Anyway, I figured, why not? The Republican party is pretty much dead, anyway. Certainly Trump is not Republican. Trump is Trumpian. He would have aligned himself with Satan if Satan had a political party Little D thought would help get him elected. 

So I have gone from being middle-of-the-road, even slightly conservative republican to full-on Democrat. I suppose I was more independent when it came down to particular issues, but more often than not fell on the R side. Not anymore.

I continue trying my best to stay away from the news. Continue being embarrassed cause I am a US citizen. Bits of information still get through, however. Just enough to remind me that Comrade Donald, in his short time in office, has done more to make the world a dangerous place than the scariest, most effective terrorist out there. In close second place is the vast majority of "Republicans" in the House and Senate lacking the kahonies to do what they know is right. Like little puppies, following Trump down his self-serving paranoid path to God only knows where.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I usually vote when given the opportunity but have never been politically active, or activist. Not really, anyway. Now, though....I am very worried. The longer this racist, misogynistic, out of touch possibly clinically paranoid wack-job you elected is in charge of  this country, the world is less safe. He may actually have the ability, and the will to fuck-up the whole thing.

And he'll do it via Twitter.

Cool

If we can get by the fact his ban is illegal immoral unconstitutional and completely lacking in decency, dignity, and anything else resembling the difficult to define characteristic known as “class” that our so-called president is completely without (not to mention it flies in the face of the values this country was founded on, e.g. it is Un-American) – it also simply does not make sense. No actual data to support the effort. The ban appears to be based largely on his near clinical level of insecurity, even paranoia (while selectively avoiding conflicts with those countries within which he has business interests. You know, countries that actually DO send terrorists our way. Saudi Arabia, etc etc etc.)

And then he goes on a twitter rant pouting about a bad ‘ol judge doing his job and stating the president’s actions are not legal. A twitter rant he continues. Because that’s what presidents do. Act as would a child. It worries me that without any difficulty at all I can picture the leader of the free world covering his ears closing his eyes real tight stomping his feet and screaming like a two-year old when he doesn’t get his way.
 
That’s who we elected president of the United States. A pouty child with dangerous entitlement issues who has had a silver spoon shoved so far up his backside and for so long he has completely lost touch with reality. A pouty child who in barely two weeks has gone a long way towards alienating us from the rest of the world.
    
Sure, his actions provide wonderful material for SNL. In fact, about the only reason we are not the laughing stock of the entire world is because most any sane person out there is too afraid of his inconsistent, dangerous behavior. So far the only people he seems to be making happy are the terrorists he claims to be protecting us from including his BFF Vladimir.
           
Two weeks in office and already this country is a joke and each and every one of us is less safe. Thank you Comrade Donald.

Slovenia. I think that’s where she’s from. One of those Muslim countries. Or Baptist, or maybe that’s where Mexicans come from. Whatever. The evil people. Anyway, it’s the same amount. I think it less coincidence and more conspiracy that the numbers are exactly equal. Of the seven countries Trump named on his immigration ban, if you consider all the terrorists those countries have produced over the past several decades who attacked us, add them up and compare them to the number of terrorists Slovenia has bothered us with, it is the exact same number. The only logical conclusion? Melania must be deported. The so-called "first lady" must be put back on the boat and sent home. This is a matter of national security for crying out loud. At the very least we should build a wall around her.

Meanwhile, we all get to wonder and worry what major problems our fearless leader will produce THIS week.
It isn’t funny anymore.