The U.S. Commander-in-Chief...

The Twitterverse is lit up like a Christmas Tree.  With the POTUS impeachment trial underway, the nasty, name-calling insults are flying, and in part, being led by America’s Commander-in-Chief.  Here’s one interesting example:

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

Our case against lyin’, cheatin’, liddle’ Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, Nervous Nancy Pelosi, their leader, dumb as a rock AOC, & the entire Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrat Party, starts today at 10:00 A.M. on @FoxNews, @OANN or Fake News @CNN or Fake News MSDNC!

9:37 AM · Jan 25, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

I know that it is said that geniuses can be quite eccentric.  I can get that.  They say even Einstein had a problem tying his shoelaces. But to me, in my opinion, this tweet, these musings, are of someone not quite in control of his mental faculties, let alone some “stable genius.”  And these apparently are the thoughts of a man who, it is said, occupies the “most powerful political office on the planet.”

Questions:

1. Though there are many to choose from, what is your assessment of this particular tweet by Donald Trump?  If there are any psychologists in the house, we’d especially like to read your considered, qualified thoughts.  But all feel free to analyze.
    
2. Is Donald Trump a good role model for our country, for the rest of the world, not to mention his young son, Barron, still in his somewhat formative years?
    
3. Should a man of Donald Trump’s mental state have access to and complete control over the nuclear launch codes, which cannot be questioned by (apparently) anyone?
    
4. Is America in big trouble?  If so, is it “fixable?”  If yes, “how?”

“Oh the Humanity…”

According to Axios news, "politics are driving Democrats mad."  Yep, I’m one of them.  I’m also one of the 83% who discusses politics every day.  I’m haunted by it.  It’s unnatural to be so obsessed, and I know it.  Oh, I have bouts of sanity, where I think “Que sera sera.  Out of your hands, so don’t worry about it.  Get thee to the mall©, with everyone else.”  But like some kind of vortex, I get dragged right back in by the latest news flash popping up on my phone, as the madness creeps its way back in like some sadistic grim reaper, getting his jollies at MY mental expense.  It’s sick I tell you!  Sick!!

Case in point: I was thinking this morning about how Donald J. Trump is a lot like those troubled kids, usually teenage boys, who go into a school or a movie theater and shoot up the joint as some kind of “revenge” for perceived harm done against him.  Oh, we, the family (Democrats and Republicans) see all the warning signs: his nasty, name-calling tweets; his hate-fomenting rallies; his skewed vision of reality, and aversion to actual truth/facts; his daring to push the envelope against all odds and get away with it... yet again.  All that’s left to do is make one of those videos telling us, with crazed eyes, of his future destructive plans before he acts on them.

Still, aside from those suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), we as a society seemingly stand powerless, at least for the moment, to do anything about Trump’s dysfunction.  We report it to the police (the Republicans) and they brush it off.  “Not enough evidence yet.”  Yeah, but when does the evidence, enough evidence, finally come?  When it’s too late and he’s shot up the joint?  When a nuclear war ensues?  Why do we continue to play with "Trump fire" (a deranged man)?  IReallyDGI.

Anyway, I think in my “madness,” this OP is just my way of venting today.  Venting helps.  Do you want to vent a little today too?  Go ahead.  Get it off your chest.

Tell me, how do you see the Trump legacy playing out?  Prognosticate that Trump future for us.

Thanks for recommending.

To impeach or not to impeach... that is the question.

A friend and I were discussing Trump's possible impeachment, on another blog.  While s/he thinks Trump should be impeached for ethical reasons, I imagined how that might play out:

As a progressive democrat, I also think Trump deserves impeachment for what I see as his unstable actions.  So I wonder, do we democrats do the ethical thing and formally address his seemingly bad behavior with impeachment proceedings?  Or do we do the practical thing and let him keep destroying himself and his credibility, daily, to our political benefit? It really seems to come down to those two options.

Let’s say the Democratic House formally impeaches, but the Republican Senate doesn't convict. That likely riles up his base, getting the “feels sorry for ‘poor persecuted’ Trump” crowd and the “we’ll show ‘em” crowd even more indignant and pissed off, as Trump emboldens and encourages them, via his tweets and rallies. His supporters come out in force for the 2020 election, and Trump not only gets four more years, but maybe a complete republican congress again, to back his policies. Then, for Trump and McConnell, the sky's the limit... and then some! No holds barred! The statute of limitations has expired on Trump's previous actions, and he can no longer be held legally responsible (by a powerless democratic minority) for his so-called "wrongdoings." Plus, a new precedent has been set as to how a POTUS can act and what s/he can get away with. Yes, a lot of tentacles, as always. Many alternate scenarios can play out, granted.

Barring something coming out of the (semi) blue (e.g., he has a heart attack and dies [btw, look for a "fake one" for next year's October's surprise], or he up and quits, or he’s proven to be involved in a scandal of inescapable and monumental proportions, or he manages to get republicans to finally turn against him, openly and in force, etc.); barring such events, we have 14 official months (16 if we count lame duck period) of him to still put up with.  "God help us" in those two intervening months!

Our country is already a political mess, IMO.  We're losing worldwide support from all our allies who no longer trust us, plus all the other problems festering out there. I’m thinking, just wait it out and hope not to stir his hornet’s nest of followers into reacting in his favor, and hope a democratic administration takes over (i.e., gets their chance to mess things up too ;).

But it’s really difficult (at least for me) to guess which way to go: To do the (ethically) right thing, or to do the practical (selfish) thing? IDK.

What is your opinion?  Should Trump be impeached?  Please present your argument(s).  And thanks for recommending.

So What Went Wrong?

In light of #sharpiegate and Hurricane #AlaDoriangate, Donald Trump's latest personal meltdown, I feel I have to make this comment, for what it's worth.

I have to wonder if Trump knows he could have been the greatest president in the entire history of the United States, something he hopes for and would complete his fondest dream.  After the usual shenanigans of the rough-and-tumble primaries and 2016 election, he could have done a complete 180°. 

It was already widely known that his friendship with and financial contributions to both sides of the political aisle (Democrats and Republicans) had always been a plus going for him, and something he could have built on and used to his and everyone's advantage.  With complete backing of a GOP congress for the first two years, he could have gotten so much done that basically all the people of America want:

• a major infrastructure program which would also have further stimulated the economy
• some sort of affordable healthcare for all, as he once promised
• comprehensive immigration reform, including for DACA
• a full-speed-ahead, no-holds-barred green energy program
• higher education promotion and assistance, a tide that lifts all our boats
• reasonable gun regulations to mitigate mass shootings, our U.S. way of life today.  

He’d still have kept his entire 30-something % base relatively happy (since he can do no wrong with them), and he’d have won over political factions of all stripes, including progressives who say they want all these things too. He would have been considered godlike, going down in the history books right alongside of Washington, Lincoln and FDR. We’d even be seriously suggesting putting his face on Mt. Rushmore. Wow!

But did he try to address and accomplish these difficult problems?  No.  He squandered his political capital on, among other things:

• a border wall NOT paid for by Mexico, but out of our states’ military budgets
• a trillion-and-a-half dollar tax break to the already wealthy, most of whom reinvested it in stock buybacks of their own companies
• managed to make our society, this beautiful melting pot experiment called America, even more xenophobic

As history played out, to Donald Trump and everyone else’s surprise, he became the unlikely President of the United States, was handed the keys to the most powerful office on the planet which was served up to him on a silver platter, but wasted that kind of power and influence on self-interest.

Do you agree with this assessment?  What did I get wrong?  Let’s discuss.