The government shutdown

The U.S. federal government officially shut down as of early this morning. This has happened before, e.g. back in 2013 under President Obama, but it is interesting to listen to the recriminations from both sides this time. Not unexpected in any case. It's just more proof that America is a deeply-split country at present (it was under Obama also and has just gotten worse), and it's not likely to change any time soon. We need a new leader (president), one that can unite both parties, or at least appeal to their compromise instinct. Because the compromise instinct exists on both sides. Leaders in both parties need to find the common ground and get rid of the rhetoric. They need to stop blaming each other and get on with the business of governing. We need to get back to a time when people talked to each other and really listened to each other. We need more Lincolns and less Trumps. We don't need another Civil War. We need more focus on respect for the other side. We need more politicians who 'agree to disagree' for the sake of their nation. We need more politicians who truly love their country. We don't need politicians who are only interested in ripping those in the opposing party to shreds. We don't need more politicians who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the American taxpayers. There seems to be little in the way of strong moral and ethical focus in many politicians these days. 

Mostly, we need a president who appeals to the best nature in people. The current president does not. He appeals to the base instincts in us, those instincts that would have us hate rather than love or try to love, those instincts that would have us exclude rather than include others, those instincts that compel us to be selfish, narcissistic, self-involved, arrogant, proud, superficial, lazy, and ultimately unintelligent while screaming 'I know it all'. This is the complete opposite of how we were raised as Christians. I have no use for priests and clerics who praise Trump for his pro-life stance while ignoring his support for white supremacy, racism, poor business ethics, greed, lack of respect for women, and other such issues. He is no role model in any of those areas, and no role model for children. And yet, he is held up as a good role model on church pulpits across America because he is (claims to be) anti-abortion. I'm sorry to say that those who promote him are at best, misinformed. His philosophies and way of living bear little resemblance to the Christianity we were taught to practice.

In any case, a Facebook member (Nick Velander) posted the following statements made by Trump back when the government shut down under Obama. Can you feel the hypocrisy in these quotes? Can you feel the 'do as I say not as I do'? Aren't we waiting for Trump to say these quotes are 'false news'? Because if he says they are, the Trumpers will believe it. We are living in strange times. I have come to believe that we are moving toward dangerous times, and I take nothing for granted anymore. 

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"Obama's complaints about Republicans stopping his agenda are BS since he had full control for two years. He can never take responsibility." - Sept. 26, 2012 - Donald Trump - Twitter

"Does any Republican have the ability to negotiate?" - Jan 2, 2013 - Donald Trump - Twitter

"Just shows that you can have all the cards and lose if you don’t know what you’re doing." - January 3, 2013 - Donald Trump - Twitter

"FACT – the reason why Americans have to worry about a government shutdown is because Obama refuses to pass a budget." - Aug 9, 2013 01:33:39 PM - Donald Trump

"My sense is that people are far angrier at the President than they are at Congress re the shutdown—an interesting turn!" 2:05 PM - 7 Oct 2013 - Donald Trump - Twitter

"Congress must pass a budget and hold Obama to it. No more continuing resolutions and no more excuses. Republicans soon hold both houses." 12:00 PM - 3 Dec 2014 - Donald Trump - Twitter

Is this any way to run a country?

Is this any way to run an airline a country? You bet it is……

My apologies to National Airlines for re-imagining their slogan from many years ago, but for some reason it popped into my mind today after reading yet another article about someone else Trump has criticized publicly and turned his back on. This time it was Steve Bannon, of all people. I mean, this is serious, folks. These two were once as thick as thieves. Steve Bannon’s alt-right supporters voted for Trump because Bannon told them to. Bannon himself served as chief strategist in Trump’s administration, a role that gave him a direct line to Trump. Trump cannot turn around now and say that Bannon’s influence on his decision-making was negligible during his first half year in office and during his campaign. But he is doing just that. Turning his back on Bannon and saying that he 'lost his mind after he was fired', after Bannon said the following in the new book Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff:

"The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government (Russia) inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor -- with no lawyers. They didn't have any lawyers. Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s***, and I happen to think it's all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately."

Wow! Bannon finally admitted what all ethical individuals know already. But it was good to see that he is finally coming around to the ethical way of thinking. Who knows? Maybe there’s hope for him yet. Time will tell.

But watching Trump lurch from one chaotic mess to another, destroying everything in his path—people, institutions, laws, agencies, etc.—only makes one wonder what the hell this man is thinking. Implosions, explosions, tantrums, endless conflicts, pissing contests with other world leaders (some of them as unstable as he is)--all in the space of just one year in office. One of my friends said today it's like a Greek tragedy. But it’s a Greek tragedy in many acts that are unfolding as we go along. That’s the scary part. We don’t know how this tragedy will end. Will Trump be impeached or brought down? Will he bring down the country or involve it in a nuclear war? It’s hard to know. I would hope that his supporters understand the stakes involved when supporting their boss’ penchant for upping the ante regarding a nuclear conflict. If you’d like to know more about how a nuclear bomb kills people, you can read about it here: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects5.shtml  I call it game over.

How many people can Trump alienate (afford to alienate) before enough is enough? Before there are no more supporters/friends/allies/family members/ lackeys/boot-lickers/brainwashed individuals etc. left to alienate? More importantly, is there any serious governing going on at all? Is this chaos his political strategy for how to run the country? A diversionary tactic to distract us all from what is really going on (enriching himself and his family at the expense of the country?). Because I have to say I really just don't get it. Is this any way to run a country? I’m betting that Trump thinks it is. He thinks he’s doing a bang-up job of running the country. There are many ways to define a bang-up job. I’m going for the literal interpretation, because the only images that comes to mind are collisions, damage and destruction. He's like a wrecking ball. I wonder what will be left when the dust settles.