Category: Trump effect

June 3, 2018

The news this week has provided the strongest evidence yet of the hollow hypocrisy at the core of Republican orthodoxy. Literally for decades, Republicans have insisted that free trade and unfettered market capitalism are best for the country. In light of that history, consider the major policy decisions made this week.

First, Trump launched a trade war with our staunchest allies, announcing 25% tariffs on steel and 10% tariffs on aluminum imported from Canada, Mexico and the E.U., in the name of national security, (Source: “White House to Impose Metal Tariffs on E.U., Canada and Mexico,” by Ana Swanson, The New York Times, 5/31/18). These inexplicable moves drew an immediate rebuke from Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who condemned it as “an affront to the longstanding security partnership between Canada and the United States, and in particular, to the thousands of Canadians who fought and died alongside American comrades in arms,” (Source: “Trudeau: Trump tariffs are ‘an affront’ to Canadian soldiers who ‘fought and died’ alongside Americans,” by John Bowden, TheHill.com, 5/31/18). Continue reading “It’s later than you think”

May 31, 2018

Since the spate of stories regarding the Trump administration’s heinous policy of ripping children from their parents at the border and immediately transforming them into “unaccompanied minors,” we have learned more about the context of the 1500 “missing” immigrant children. That number represents children who were released to the custody of a sponsor, which in 80% of cases, was a parent (Source:  “Following Up on 1500 Missing Immigrant Children in the U.S.,” transcript of interview with Celia Munoz (Obama Domestic Policy Advisor in charge of immigration, Morning Edition, NPR.org, 5/29/18).  Their failure to appear is in all likelihood a result of their well-founded fear of engagement with the immigration authorities of the Trump administration. Continue reading “What can we do?”

May 27, 2018

This is how it begins. For weeks, we have read that the administration was going to separate children from their parents at the U.S. border to deter asylum seekers and other Latin American immigrants from coming to this country. Earlier this month, serial perjurer and committed racist, Jeff Sessions, announced that, as part of its stepped up prosecution of people crossing the border, ICE would separate children from their families, (Source: “U.S. says it will separate families crossing the border illegally,” by Jennifer McEntee, Mica Rosenberg, Reuters.com, 5/7/18). This was on the heels of a “zero tolerance” policy, announced in April, to treat each attempted border crossing as a federal offense to be prosecuted in court (ibid). Continue reading “This is how it starts”

May 23, 2018

The sinkhole that has opened up on The White House lawn is an apt metaphor for what is happening to our democracy. Like sinkholes, the crisis we are facing has been caused by the constant erosion precipitating what seems like a sudden collapse.  In the last week, we have been alternatively confused and alarmed by a series of over the top accusations that the FBI “implanted” an informant in the Trump campaign, presumably to entrap them all into committing treasonous acts. Hardline Congressional Republicans, led by Devin Nunes, demanded to see the FBI’s case files. Over the weekend, Trump tweeted that the FBI’s actions were an effort to frame him and demanded that the DOJ commence an investigation into the FBI’s conduct. Continue reading “Leave nothing to chance”

May 20, 2018

The news bulletins flashed across our screens mid-morning on Friday, alerting us to an “active shooter” on the grounds of a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. By the time the day was over, ten people (nine of them students) had been murdered and another 13 hospitalized with serious injuries. The 17–year-old shooter had been captured alive. The post shooting Kabuki theater unfolded almost instantly, with conservative Texas politicians offering thoughts and prayers, together with a resolve to prevent it from happening again, as long as the preventive measures had nothing to do with gun control. The absurd proposals included the suggestion of having schools with fewer doors (although this wouldn’t have prevented this shooter, as he was a student entitled to enter). Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has called for ramping up the effort to arm teachers (even though there was an armed officer at the high school, who was shot by the gunman), (Source: “Texas Lt. Governor Blames Everything but Guns after school shooting,” by Terence Cullen and Erin Durkin, The New York Daily News, 5/20/18). Continue reading “Government by gun”

May 17, 2018

The last twenty four hours have seen a flurry of developments relating to the Russian investigation and concurrent Stormy Daniels’ lawsuit, none of it good for Trump.  In rapid succession, we learned that the Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”) relating to Michael Cohen’s bank account was one of three and that an anonymous official had leaked it because the other two SARs were missing from the FinCEN database.

Trump then filed a financial disclosure form that confirmed what we already suspected, that he had reimbursed Michael Cohen for his hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.  The Office of Government Ethics reacted to that disclosure by sending a letter to the Justice Department asserting its view that the disclosure was “relevant to any inquiry you may be pursuing regarding the president’s prior report that was signed on June 14, 2017 (Source:  “Trump Discloses Cohen Payment, Raising Questions About Previous Omission,” by Steve Eder, Eric Lipton and Ben Protess, The New York Times, 5/16/18). Continue reading “Not on our watch”

May 15, 2018

In a chilling article yesterday in Vox, Matthew Yglesias cogently made the case that the raison d’etre of the Trump administration is cruelty.   The evidence is there in the hundreds of policy decisions, large and small, that seem to have no other purpose than to inflict the maximum amount of misery on the targeted groups, whether they are immigrants seeking asylum or  transgender troops seeking to serve their country.  Yglesias warns the complacent majority that a government fine tuned to deliver pain doesn’t turn on a dime and become benevolent when it runs out of targets.  It simply pivots to other ones — be they journalists, or Democrats or Californians.

Trump has made no secret of his admiration for murderous autocrats and it is his most profound desire to achieve the same absolute power and obeisance borne of fear that they enjoy.  As a result, he has deputized everyone in his administration, and instructed his Republican accomplices, to work feverishly to hasten our descent into penury and ignorance. Continue reading “Cruelty is the point”

May 13, 2018

As we approach the 64th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, (S. Ct. 1954), we should consider the history of the principle of equal protection under the law. Considered a right of all Americans, “equal protection” is enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; …nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Continue reading “Equal protection under the law?”

May 10, 2018

We sit with our mouths agape, watching an idiotic, corrupt racist storm the world stage like an enraged toddler, torching the Iran agreement, with no plan for next steps, merely because of his irrational hatred of President Obama. As Trump careens from one foreign policy disaster to the next, the willing Captain of “Team Bad Decisions,” his only animating principle is that if President Obama was for it, he’s against it (Source: “Everything that scrapping the Iran deal says about Donald Trump,” by Stephen Collinson, CNN.com, 5/9/18). Amanda Marcotte of Salon summed up our situation perfectly when she tweeted: @AmandaMarcotte, “I can’t believe we might end up in WW III because a half-literate racist couldn’t accept that the first black president is smarter than him.” 5/9/18, 10:26 AM. Continue reading “American Id”

May 8, 2018

Shock, revulsion and disbelief.  We all find ourselves cycling through these emotions after the stunning revelations in The New Yorker that progressive champion, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, was simultaneously an alleged serial abuser of women.  According to the meticulously reported article by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow, Schneiderman subjected his romantic partners to horrific physical and emotional abuse.  Four women reported being slapped forcefully in the face by Schneiderman.  The two women who went on the record by name recounted a litany of demeaning comments; alcohol abuse and physical assault.  It is impossible to square Schneiderman’s public persona as a hard charging champion for progressive causes,  and specifically, as an advocate for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, with the sociopathic monster depicted in The New Yorker. We shouldn’t try. Continue reading “Things fall apart, Part 2”