Seemingly Best That We Are Kept In The Dark About The President’s Incompetence, Huh…
Why Should We Be More Concerned About Information Leaking Rather Than The Information Itself Being Leaked?
This is remarkably a sycophantic administration whereby nothing but obsequious self-interest can actually bestow once in a lifetime opportunities — in exchange for undue adulation of the president. The result of which pander to baser instincts and ignores duty of allegiance to country. It actually begs the question, My country, tis of thee’?!?
Let’s Just Face It, The Optics Surrounding The White House Can Only Get Worse
If ever there were a set of standards and decorum that no longer apply, President Donald Trump is that exemplification. Our president epitomizes why absolute monarchies should never be contemplated let alone exist. But majoritarianism can allow for such collusion to occur and oftentimes such contemporary episodes of populist sway gets misinterpreted as democracy. Enter stage right: the populism behind Donald Trump.
For those of us who remain paradoxically colorblind and unconvinced by the gravitas of indignation, this is exactly what white male privilege or patriarchy looks and feels like.
The Russian Interference Investigation
‘Stupid Americans’ has taken on a new significance, and this very lot — conspicuously seen at rallies — more recently in West Virginia and the like, are steadfast in believing that President Obama had made the racism and therefore the country a whole lot worse, and that Salem Witch trials should have already commenced with Hillary Clinton. This has been instigated and prompted by their electoral college vote.
Actually there is enough valid outrage that embarrassingly and depressingly enough, lead you to mistakenly do nothing. It instead summons you to find various excuses and false justifications, like the commonly overused sentiment of chalking up his behavior to just being infantile or provocative. No, this man is simply dangerous. Or to pull from this noxious bag of copious benefit of the doubt — further exonerations of inexperience or highlight campaign promises that entitle and validate Donald Trump’s winning electoral vote to act in ways that we struggle to accept.
We struggle to accept circumstances that are undemocratic or unbecoming in our chosen leaders, but in the same moment in a bit of misdirection we are made to gloss over or dismiss Trump’s presidency as maybe just what the country needs, even though…
To be president, [Obama] had to be scholarly, intelligent, president of the Harvard Law Review, the product of some of our greatest educational institutions, capable of talking to two different worlds … Donald Trump had to be rich and White. — Ta’Nehisi Coates
But on the flip-side one can conjure up some plausibility to redirect what is factual and evident. Mr. George F. Will, writing for the Washington Post had me considering this notion as a possible upside, albeit with skepticism…
“To see what is in front of one’s nose,” George Orwell wrote, “needs a constant struggle.” An unnoticed reason for cheerfulness is that in one, if only one, particular, Trump is something the nation did not know it needed: a feeble president whose manner can cure the nation’s excessive fixation with the presidency.
Oh so it’s the infatuation and celebrity ingrained in the position itself, with all of its pomp and circumstance that is the problem, and not just merely the man himself and what he represents.
To be exact, Donald Trump is not just a political problem, he poses a huge perception problem of representation, even for those who see some benefit to his presidency. As Congress becomes more constitutional in its approach to governance and less reliant on political foil and party chivalry.
According to some schools of psychological thought, we’re motivated to pay attention to something when we assign more value to it, whether because it threatens us or offers the potential for some kind of reward.
Fact: This sort of representation is troubling.
I can only surmise that these ill-conceived anxieties that prop up Trump’s platforms — from building a wall, selective immigration, jobs-stealing vs jobs-creating, to inner city criminality are by design to substantiate falsehoods and once again prioritize privileges that make America great again.
I guess the emotive response emanating from these ill-conceived anxieties that strongly induce these irreverent falsehoods actually encourage the political media complex to divert our attention. Focus on the leaking, and its leakers, not the actual information leaked. It would be incredibly difficult to try to ignore the transcripts of Trump’s phone conversations with other leaders…
And we have the drug lords in Mexico that are knocking the hell out of our country. They are sending drugs to Chicago, Los Angeles, and to New York. Up in New Hampshire — I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den — is coming from the southern border. So we have a lot of problems with Mexico farther than the economic problem. We are becoming a drug-addicted nation and most the drugs are coming from Mexico or certainly from the southern border. But I will say this — you have that problem too. You have some pretty tough hombres in Mexico that you may need help with, and we are willing to help you with that big-league. But they have to be knocked out and you have not done a good job of knocking them out. We have a massive drug problem where kids are becoming addicted to drugs because drugs are being sold for less money than candy because there is so much of it. So we have to work together to knock that out. And I know this is a tough group of people, and maybe your military is afraid of them, but our military is not afraid of them, and we will help you with that 100 percent because it is out of control — totally out of control.
There is plenty of terribleness in this short excerpt of a phone transcript between President Trump and President Nieto of Mexico. While most are focused on the New Hampshire bit and the fallacious statements surrounding it, there are far more troubling rhetoric that should too be called out. The reference to Mexicans as hombres, and this idea that only the US has this problem with drug addition posits this as more of a concern to Americans and not Mexicans as people themselves, in particular, American people are the exception and therefore should be treated as such. When the Braggarat-in-chief speaks lowly about the Mexican army and its control of the situation it comes off as remarkably insensitive and contradictorily stupid. It would behoove any rational leader to approach this matter and its resolve from a humanitarian standpoint of cooperation and empathy for those who fall prey to addiction under a myriad of possible circumstances and to disincentivize illicit drug trafficking. This train of thought remains elusive under this administration because Trump as marketed himself as Lord, Savior-in-Chief.
“I built a truly great company worth many billions of dollars. That is a big part of the reason I was elected.”
“As President, I can make far better deals with foreign countries than Congress.” — President Donald Trump
“Congress has very broad authority over foreign commerce. It’s explicitly given the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. It could have, if it desired, imposed those sanctions without giving the president any waiver authority whatsoever.” — Michael Glennon from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts
When Congress rebuked Trump’s laissez-faire advances towards Russia’s Vladimir Putin by an overwhelming 419–3 vote in the House, followed by a 98–2 vote in the Senate it should have been seen as a clear message, not only to Trump, but to the people and country they actually represent and not merely just a president that in appearance only stand behind.
Trump, still doesn’t get it though
Trump reluctantly signed the measure yesterday to avoid the humiliation of a veto override. But he issued two defiant signing statements, saying the “seriously flawed” legislation includes “a number of clearly unconstitutional provisions” by “limiting the Executive’s flexibility … to strike good deals.”
“The Framers of our Constitution put foreign affairs in the hands of the President. “This bill will prove the wisdom of that choice.” — President Donald Trump
This guy has no real concept of the democracy he presides over and the proviso separation of power with that governance.
Trump’s call with the Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull on July 28, a day after his conversation with President Nieto is more of the same foolery.
You should really read this transcript to get a sense of the incompetence occupying the highest office in the land. At one point PM Turnbull is briefing Trump about laws he presides over. Turnbull goes on to explain to President Trump that the US is not required to take in the refugees, just look and examine them for consideration. Trump appears to lack any critical listening skills and the negotiator is very bad at dialogue. Trump appears to hear the words but is unable to grasp the meaning let alone read his own briefings to comprehend the existing deals in place. It is as if he is stricken with Wernicke’s aphasia in his responses with the two leaders and presumably other leaders as well.
This is not good.
What is worse we are about to get cutoff with the appointment of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. We are also seeing Attorney General Jeff Sessions crack down on leaks by issuing media subpoenas, all in an effort at hiding incompetence in the name of national security when our own national security has already been compromised by the election of Donald Trump.
