Number twelve.
Okay, someone needs to please wake me up. Because, seriously - I must be dreaming...
Right? I mean, this isn't REALLY happening, is it?
Donald Trump is in the White House and... No, come on... Really? Wake me up!!!
Sigh. Well, what now?
I confess that I haven't had much to say about this since the whatever-it-was-that-masqueraded-as-an-election put the self-obsessed mogul in the Oval Office - but my confusion over this has left me in a somewhat - let's say mortified state - almost refusing to accept the reality of such a misstep by America (regardless of how the hell it actually came to be).
I consoled myself with the belief that such a vile human being with absolutely no experience in the political-conundrum-of-how-things-work couldn't possibly survive more than a year - or perhaps, two - before either falling on his own poisoned sword (or that from someone or someplace else) and vacating the Oval Office - leaving it at least somewhat intact.
I reasoned that his own incompetence (or the likely possibility that he couldn't keep his privates in his pants) would do him in sooner than later, and myself and the other Americans with a modicum of sense would just have to be patient and let things happen as they will; hoping with all seriousness that he didn't completely ruin the country in the process of trying to somehow run it.
I knew that there were people with intelligence and resources who would monitor and keep a close watch on the orange man - though I had little confidence in the man himself to do anything worthwhile or significant that wouldn't make me want to scream at the mere thought of it. The short and long term consequences of having such a blatantly arrogant, greedy, bottom-line-driven-mega-mogul at the top end of important decision-making proposals were difficult to imagine - and frightening to even think about.
Yet the reality of such consequences was a forthcoming danger I knew I could not control. Sigh. What was the future to hold - now that the orange man had the country in his greedy (and most likely, dirty) little hands???
So many scenarios played out in my head... What would he do to the environment? What would he do to health care? The middle class? The poor? The unlucky less-than-wealthy Americans who aren't at the top one percent - or ten or twenty - or even thirty percent financially in this country? What was going to happen to the majority of Americans now that this most out-of-touch greedy mega-mogul held the fate of so many in his seemingly unscrupulous hands?
As much as I didn't want to think about it (maybe, just maybe, my worst fears would not come to pass and everything would be fine?) - I couldn't not think about it. And, due to the sheer insanity of it all, there was still that remote possibility that none of this was real and I was just having a very very bad, very very long and awful dream... Ha, I know... If only that were true...
But, I digress...
So, here we are - in the midst of what will likely go down in history as the absolute Worst Presidency Ever - and who the hell could have seen this kind of nonsense coming???
I suppose that given the source, no one should really be all that surprised by the actions of the Trump administration.
Right???
Rolling back environmental protections which have been in place for fifty years; making it easy for Corporate America to dump more toxic materials wherever and into whatever they want; lowering taxes for the wealthy but not for the middle class or the poor; attempting to place staunch, anti-choice conservatives in high ranking positions... No one should really be surprised by any of that.
But, and I cringe as I write this - those elements of the Trump residency seem tame when compared to other events which have occurred since the orange man stepped foot in the biggest and most important house in America. Or, before that day, as it turns out.
And I thought G.W. Bush was going to ruin us... C'mon, someone - pinch me!
It all started out disturbingly enough:
Blatantly lying about having had a nearly one year long affair with a Playboy Bunny (while his wife was pregnant, no less) and then lying again about a night with a porn star - even after the two women had come forward with information of having been paid off to keep quiet about their experiences? So as not to hinder his chances of being elected? (I don't know, his supporters didn't seem to care much about his admissions concerning groping women on that now nearly forgotten Access Hollywood tape - so I suppose a couple of affairs didn't matter much to them, either. Nor, as it turns out - devising a whole sordid scheme with the National Enquirer to squash the story and bury it in the land of it-never-happened-and-they're-not-allowed-to-tell-anyone-that-it-did).
Denouncing racist groups carrying burning crosses and Nazi flags as being "good people"? (Considering his assertions that he would fill his cabinet with "All the best people" - most of whom are currently in prison or awaiting their opportunity to be there - I suppose we can all get a pretty accurate idea of what he means when he uses the word, "good").
Doing his damndest to disrespect our own Statue of Liberty and everything this country stands for; preventing immigrants from other countries with darker complexions from being able to enter into America, no matter how (truly) good, decent or honorable they may be? (Though he seems to have no problem with people coming over from the light-skinned, northern region of Norway...)
Separating thousands of children from their parents because they don't have a proper paper document - despite the non-existence of any prevailing legal precedent? And - and! - cramming them all like human sardines into tiny-celled detention camps and paying so little attention to their well-being - denying them soap and toothbrushes, and any assemblance of much needed and necessary hygeine and medical attention - that several children have died while being held by the border patrol? (Hmmm... I'm going to take an educated guess that the Norwegians would fare much better under Trump's rule than our darker-skinned human friends to the south).
And, oh - let's not forget shutting down the government - causing thousands of people to go without pay (many needing to choose between food, health care or childcare) because (Statue of Liberty, be damned!) Trump can't get $5.6 billion dollars to build his anti-American, immoral, ridiculously stupid wall between the U.S. and Mexico that, oh! - Mexico was supposed to pay for.
???
Did anyone really believe that was ever going to happen?
And, as if that weren't enough...
Praising (repeatedly!) and carrying out the most treacherous (and treasonous) desires of ruthless leaders Vladmir Putin, Kim Jun Un and Mohammad bin Salman - who are guilty of worse-than-unethical and deeply despicable crimes against their own people?
And now, now (!) we know why... Oh, heavens - what a mess Mr. Trump has gotten himself into... (In my head, I'm both grieving the damage he has done to our Earth and the deep pain he has inflicted on innocent human beings - and doing a happy dance just seeing the walls closing in on the orange man...).
But, really - who wouldv'e known that Mr. Trump was not only a greedy, bottom-line-driven, anti-environment, anti-liberty, racist, pro-corporate-America mega-mogul - but a compulsive liar and manipulator aligned with more than just a handful of considerably questionable characters deeply engaged in some serious criminal activity?
I will admit that although I never trusted the illustrious Mr. Trump and figured the orange man had to have his hands in some dirty stuff - even I am surprised at the depths of his deception, and his dealings into so-many-things-criminally-reprehensible that this continuing story appears to be unravelling.
Beginning (not so surprisingly) with the months, weeks and days leading up to the November 2016 election (if it can even be called that) - there is a mounting hill of evidence that Mr. Trump was indeed a co-conspirator involved in an illegal payoff and cover-up to keep the american public from learning about his extra-marital affairs - believing that the public's knowledge of those indiscressions would likely thwart his efforts to become President.
If that weren't despicable enough (despite the spineless, scaredy-cat Republican mouthpieces' efforts to deny it) - the determination that Trump Inc. was deeply embedded with the Russian government in its efforts to control and invade the american political structure in order to help Mr. Trump become president - is becoming more and more evident. Hmmm... Has the definition of the word "treason" changed in the last few years???
And recently, we've learned of Mr. Trump's efforts to withhold much needed and congressionally approved military aid to the Ukraine - unless they agreed to "investigate" the 2016 election interference (to throw the blame off of Russia), and find dirt (or create it, which Dirty Donald chooses to do when he can't legitimately find anything) on the family of Vice President (and Presidential Candidiate; who Mr. Trump thinks is likely to receive the Democratic nomination and run against him) Joe Biden - including the Ukrainian company his son worked for. Aside from the legal and ethical equations which arise from such behavior, this should make everyone wonder if the Trump man is so uncertain of his own chances, that the only way he might possibly win is to play dirty. Very, very dirty. And in the case of the Ukraine - he's showing us that he is (unfortunately) more than willing to put our National Security, our Nation's Integrity, and the lives of innocent people in harm's way - to serve his personal needs.
This is a sad time in American history.
To make matters even worse, although the Republican party was quick to condemn Bill Clinton for his indiscressions whilst in the Oval Office - they seem disturbingly complacent with regards to the orange man. I am no fan of the Republican party and their lack of integrity in most circumstances - but their behavior in light of recent events is downright appalling. Other than a much-too-small number of brave souls who have just recently begun to criticize Mr. Trump on his dealings with the Ukraine, that organization seems to be unwilling to speak up and call out their leader for his unlawful and unethical actions - when it is more than apparent that those illegal acts were committed, and appear to be far more reaching and damaging than anything Bill Clinton did while he was President. What the hell is up with that? Somebody in that corrupt organization needs to do some serious soul searching and then step the hell up. It's time.
Maybe it's the seemingly defiant loyalty his own party is showing him, but I find myself shaking my head at both the audacity and blatant obliviousness of Mr. Trump to what is happening around him. He talks about people "flipping" - telling the truth about him instead of remaning loyal and staying silent - like it's the wrong thing to do and should be illegal. What??? Let me get this straight; Mr. Trump believes it is wrong for someone who has evidence of criminal activity to speak up about it - and right for them to stay silent? Hmmm... Well, that's a bit twisted, isn't it? And this is the belief of the top man in the White House???
The american public is entitled to know the truth. And regardless of what the silent Republican party seems to be ignoring - the american public is entitled to have a leader who has the balls (if not the decency) to own up to his own disgressions and take responsibility for his own actions; not a lying, side-stepping mega-mogul with zero integrity who thinks he's above the law and can spin his way out of being held accountable.
A-c-c-o-u-n-t-a-b-l-e. We do have a Constitution which spells out what is acceptable - and not - within the United States of America. Our forefathers created that most inportant document for a very good reason - and we are seeing not only a blatant disrepect for its sentiments, but a call to rise up and uphold its very foundation - and all that it stands for.
This pattern of "just say it and people will believe it" (regardless of whether or not the words contain even an ounce of truth) has to end.
The people of America need the leader of the free world to have some damn integrity.
We should all find this deeply disturbing.
America has lost its way. America got Trump'd.
As much as I have difficulty understanding how anyone could have fallen for his verbal garbage, I'm not going to blast those who were led astray and voted for him to become President. (The racist community who consider him to be their leader is a whole other thing). People make mistakes (although it looks like those people had a little help in being swayed) - and I am hopeful that the truth will help those individuals find their way out of that mistake and see what lies ahead of us in a different light.
Make America great again? That statement didn't carry much weight when Mr. Trump was parading around saying it during the election. And I think by now we know that what he was actually saying - was to Make America "white" again. Hmmm... Mr. Trump cannot make this country something it has never been - and will never be. We are a nation of immigrants. We are many shades, and our strength is in our diversity.
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free..." So it says on the Statue of Liberty.
Those words mean something. If Donald Trump doesn't like it - he can leave.
And, Make America Great Again? That means something now.
So, let's do that. Let's make America great again. Hold Trump Inc. accountable - both politically and criminally - and make America America again.
And that's all I have to say about this.
For now, anyway.
Peace 2 u.
Last Update 10/2019
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