Thoughts Musings and Random Nonsense

[jarheadmd]

Truths On Display in a Single Redirection

I must admit to being a little surprised that trump even addressed the tragedy in Christchurch, New Zealand today. Based on his rhetoric and actions I think we can safely say that he has no real concern for a group of murdered Muslims. 

It didn’t take long for him to return to type. After expressing his “sorrow” and calling the murder of 49 people a “horrible, horrible thing” he quickly made sure to defend the larger group of ultra far right “nationalists” by claiming that violent white supremacists like the murderers in Christchurch are just a “small group of people that have very, very serious problems.”

Here’s the thing, Timothy McVeigh was just one person nurtured and trained by these "very fine people" in the neo-Na2i and ultra-far right world and he managed to murder 168 people, including 19 children. The support and indoctrination networks for him and his kind are far larger than trump will admit to and his rhetoric feeds them. trump can count David Duke as one of his ardent supporters and the rates of hate crimes are at their highest levels in 10 years according to FBI statistics. He's made it easy and acceptable to openly be a racist - as evidenced by the fact that the number of hate groups has reached its highest levels in twenty years (Southern Poverty Law Center).

trump couldn’t wait to redirect the conversation after quickly mouthing his platitudes to his favorite subject - the "invasion" of criminal brown people from the south. He takes pride in being supported by bikers who are not only heavily involved in the meth trade and gun running, but many of whom espouse the very same Na2i ideologies of David Duke and the KKK. He even uses them as thinly veiled threat for violence if they (read: trump) don't get what they want. This is the kind of person you are supporting, trump voters.

Threats of thuggery against fellow citizens to force the country to give him what he wants. Threats against citizens of this country who happen to have different political, religious, or cultural views. His office is supposed to support and defend the Constitution which requires the recognition that ALL men and women are created equal with certain inalienable rights - namely the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And they may exercise their rights as they see fit by doing and saying what they will and practicing the religion and cultural traditions that they see fit to practice. Those that support trump have long ago forgotten and abdicated their understanding of what this country is truly founded on and that it applies to everyone. Not just those white enough or narrow minded enough or ignorant enough to march in lockstep behind their neo-Na2i bandleader.

[relatablepoetryandquotes]

via @extramadness

[jarheadmd]

So very true. Memories are weapons of your conscience. Time is your only defense.

[aelockhart]

Birth Announcement

For Deirdre and Siobhan

Pink is the shape of the heart, pumping blue shadow breathing bright into cleared airways, praying hope into open hands, counting round minutes an hour past midnight, tears suspended, four clenched fists reaching for life, one uncertain day at a time.

[jarheadmd]

A beautiful mother’s sentiment for two beautiful girls. 

[jarheadmd]

Reflection in a Dirty Mirror

Chris Cuomo had an interesting editorial/monologue that I just saw this morning. He talked about how and why trump’s supporters continue to defend him despite demonstrable lies and behavior that would embarrass an emotionally healthy 2nd grader. His take was that trump is not only exactly what they want him to be, but is exactly what they expect him to be. He fits their expectation of what a politician is and has always been. After decades of scandals, lies, self-service, racism, and concerns for reelection over what’s best for the country he is exactly what we’ve come to expect. Or at least he represents the next generation of our expectations. Extreme, but hardly unexpected.

I think that Cuomo didn’t take it far enough. Sadly and painfully, he represents what we as a nation have become. He represents a far too large segment of our society on both sides of the political divide who have concluded that there is only one political orthodoxy and that “by any means necessary” is the way to pursue their ends. Be it lying to ourselves or others. Justifying our bad behavior by pointing out that of others - exaggerated, true, or patently false is irrelevant. We scream our message and refuse to hear that of others. It’s never our fault and no amount of evidence will change our minds. “Men of good conscience may agree to disagree,” but are we truly of good conscience when we’re only spouting rhetoric without thought or introspection? Are we intellectually honest when the only information we’ll believe comes from sources, dubious or credible, that fits our narrow view of the world? We corrupt ourselves every time we lower our standards to allow an even more corrupt, but better connected and funded individual to step over the bar and commit even more corrupt acts as we turn away or cheer them on because at least we’re “winning.” Words that should truly mean something like racism, patriotism, and national pride have been so abused that we hardly flinch at their use as pejoratives and some revel in the worst connotations of that label. Third-grade name calling has replaced adult debate. Clever if childish nicknames and cheap theatrics have replaced reasoned debate and and an exchange of ideas.

We have reached a point in our history where very few can look at themselves and see anything but a reflection in a dirty mirror.

[jarheadmd]

The Dictator Effect

It fascinates me that so many trump supporters are upset that most of the rest of the world has accepted KIm’s version of events at the Vietnam “summit” (and no, the irony of trump in Vietnam is not lost on me). trump has earned the scorn and skepticism that he is met with. He has lied so often that it has become the norm. We expect him to lie. Telling the truth would be news. He thought that his much ballyhooed “negotiating skills” chiefly bluster, threatening, and walking out would work here and he’d have some piece of paper signed that he could wave at the press and his base to distract from Cohen’s testimony. The only problem with that was Kim might be a murderous sociopath, but he and his government aren’t stupid. They know he’s in trouble at home and they had already gotten what they wanted from him.

Unless Kim and his propaganda machine haven't been paying attention, they knew long ago that trump is a laughing stock and runs on ego, not information. Do you think they missed the world's leaders laughing at trump during his UN speech? Do you think they were unaware of the dead silence that met trump's self-aggrandizing, self-congratulatory greeting to the EU leaders that he's belittled, demeaned, and called names? The leaders of countries that have stood by ours, shed blood and lives with us in some instances since the Revolutionary War? Kim knows weakness when he sees it and saw it long before he ever agreed to the Vietnam summit. He wanted and got political legitimacy for his government in a photo op with the US president and moved on. It's all the summit was going to accomplish and all Kim wanted. The fact that trump and his supporters believe otherwise demonstrates an incredible naivete and ignorance of 70 years of North Korean behavior. 

[jarheadmd]

When Silence Speaks Volumes

It fascinates me that those who enable trump can somehow spin the stony silence that greeted Pence’s absurd long-distance ego stroke to trump and trump’s greeting itself as a positive. The consensus among his enablers runs along the lines of it’s a good thing because he’s holding them accountable so they hate him or it’s a good thing because who needs them anyway or it’s just fake news, ignore it.

A bully thinks that twisting an arm to get what he wants is justified because he wants what he wants. Threatening and posturing and juvenile name-calling is not how an adult goes about resolving what may or may not be an inequity. 

We don’t need them? Canada, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France represent over $1.5 trillion dollars in trade between our countries. All but Mexico have fought and died along side us as we sought justice for the September 11, 2001 attacks. France has stood by us since the Revolutionary War. trump thanks them by spitting in their faces.

What is fake about reporting how your Vice President was greeted by assembled European leaders? It would be fake and dishonest not to report that the absurd ego stroke of an introduction to his greeting and the greeting itself was met with silence. Fake news would be pretending it doesn't indicate a level of unprecedented contempt for this administration. trump represents everything the world considers wrong about America. Empty bragging. Self-centered belief that the world should be just like us. No one is worthy of our respect, but you sure better respect us. Get outside the boundaries of your prejudices and visit the world and actually talk to the people in it. You'll find that the belief in the "ugly American" is alive and well because people like trump and his enablers revel in being just that. I've been through Europe, Australia, and lived in Mexico for 4 years. People are shocked when I treat them with simple respect and courtesy. They expect so much less of Americans. To the point that they thank me for not "being American." That is a truly sad commentary on how the people of the world perceive us.

[jarheadmd]

What Constitution and the Joseph Goebbels Playbook

Up to today’s announcement that trump was declaring a “national emergency” over his vanity shower curtain on the US southern border he has only hinted and suggested and “wouldn’t-it-be-nice-if’d” about the depth of his contempt for our Constitution. His actions in cozying up to political strongmen like Putin or autocrats like the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Kim Jong-un that murder their own citizens speak loudly to his true feelings. He is woefully - and thankfully - ignorant of the fact that he cannot just eliminate inconvenient Constitutional amendments like birth-rights or the 4th, 5th, and 6th by executive order. His action today finally puts on display his utter contempt for a separation of powers and the Constitutionally mandated control of the Treasury by Congress. In his own words from 2014, trump is “subvert[ing] the Constitution of the US for his own benefit & because he is unable to negotiate w/ Congress.” If there is one thing our founders feared more than anything it was the rise of an autocrat or dictator. The Constitution was specifically designed to inhibit that possibility by putting the money out of one person’s reach. They knew then that without money to keep his sycophants and thugs on-board, a dictator is sitting in the White House playing by himself. 

So how has he created this “crisis?” Joseph Goebbles established a very effective method for whipping a populace already restive and looking for a target for their anger into a total frenzy. trump has mastered the Goebbles directives that “The bigger the lie, the more it will be believed” and “If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes the truth.” This he repeats on a daily basis from the ludicrous: “I’ve spoken to all 4 living presidents and they fully support me on the wall and wish they’d done it themselves.” Which all 4 living presidents promptly denied saying or supporting - to the ridiculous “I’ve gotten you a 10% raise this year” to the military. It was barely 3% and based on legislation passed under Obama. Throughout his campaign and his presidency trump has spread a false narrative about a flood of murderers, rapists, and terrorists crossing our southern border carrying tons of drugs and bound and gagged humans on their backs. If there is one thing that trump has used to greater effect than identifying a singular, powerless, and historically suspect group to target for his followers anger, I don’t know what it is. He has demonized intellectuals as elitists, but he savages Hispanics as Goebbels did the Jews: “The Jew [or for trump and his supporters “the HIspanic”] is contrary to our being. ... He desecrated our people, spit on our ideals, paralyzed the strength of the nation, made our customs rotten, and polluted the morale.” Does this sound familiar? 

trump refuses to acknowledge statements and facts put forth by his own Department of Homeland Security, DEA, State Department, etc all of whom have repeatedly refuted the lies he continues to spew. As Goebbels advocated - “Lie, Lie,  and Lie some more” and make sure it’s a big shiny lie to keep everyone’s attention focused on it so no one notices the theft of their Constitutional rights and the emergence of tyranny.