Victory Lap

Was I let down when Special Counsel Robert Mueller chose not to lower the hammer on Trump & Co. in his recently released report? Sure. Was I surprised? No, not really. I never really believed that Trump & Co. were really capable of pulling off a John le Carré-esque bit of intrigue and conspiring with the Russians in any meaningful way. If for no other reason, they are all a bunch of bumbling fools for whom putting their shoes on the correct feet in the morning constitutes a minor miracle.

No, what I've been waiting for is more indictments (and convictions) for the corrupt practices that are more the rule than the exception with this crowd. The number of open cases involving Trump and his family and associates, most of which have little to nothing to do with the 2016 election, never mind "collusion" with the Russians, continues to increase. Again, none of this is at all surprising, because what we're seeing is a continuation of the kind of "business" practices Trump engaged in on his way to six bankruptcies and a myriad of suits and court cases for his sociopathic lack of ethos.

What worries me is the seeming effectiveness of Trump and his GOP enablers to turn the tables and go after the Democrats, at least in the court of public opinion. No, I don't see Adam Schiff or Jerome Nadler being frogmarched off to Gitmo anytime soon. However, the fact that Trump even tries to use the machinery of the state to go after his political opponents (often with the GOP leadership's blessing) reminds me of my time living in developing countries, working on democracy and governance programs. In these countries, the thin veneer of institutional checks and balances on the executive branch was so flimsy - IF it existed at all - that most political opponents were lucky to stay alive.

Here in the U.S., we'd like to believe that nothing like that could ever happen. But let's take note of the well-documented increased levels of terrorist attacks made on the basis of Islamophobia, misogyny, racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, nativism, etc, many of which have assumed a more political intent. Let's also acknowledge that all of these diseases of the heart have been around for decades if not centuries in our country. Finally, let's recognize that they manifest themselves at dangerously high prevalence rates in our security sector forces, which, if we're really honest, we'll recognize as having been originally designed to safeguard white lives, wealth and supremacy.

So as Trump takes his victory lap, using his Attorney General's whitewashed summary of Mueller's report to falsely claim "total exoneration" and "complete vindication," let's make sure to put a few speed bumps in his path. Let's return our focus to methodically gathering evidence and making the case for prosecuting what has clearly been a corrupt presidency with a dual mission: the pursuit of self-enrichment and the execution of a relentless hit job on our nation's institutions of governance. Otherwise, we risk giving him license to continue on his merry, psychotic way, running over all who dare to place themselves in his path with his out-of-control golf cart.

Godawful Toddler

The events of the past week have been horrific. The tragic crash of the Ethiopian Airways flight, killing all aboard, and the massacre of 50 innocent Muslims by a white supremacist in New Zealand are two of the big ones that come to mind. But what would a week of disasters be without our very own Donald Trump.

I'm speaking, of course, of his proposed fiscal year 2020 budget. Unless you're wealthy, white and male, fuggedaboutit, you're shtupped. Not only is the budget horrible fiscal policy, it also reveals in no uncertain terms the utter moral depravity of Donald Trump and his GOP enablers. Why slash the social safety net when you can light it on fire and toss it in that burning dumpster that is the Trump administration? Why bother trying to overturn "Obamacare" when you can practically zero out Medicaid instead? Pollution? Global warming? Who cares? Let's begin to zero out the Environment Protection Agency's funding and capacity to do anything about it.

You say you're concerned about the federal deficit? Thbbpthbpt! That's so last administration...

Right, go figure. The great chicken hawk himself - Ouch! Those pesky bone spurs! - is leading the party that once claimed to be the true fiscal hawks over the cliff and into the Red (Ink) Sea. While they are at it, the GOP 2017 tax cut for the über wealthy will reduce the federal government's revenue collections significantly while also failing to make good on their promise to eliminate any of the loopholes in the corporate tax system. To paraphrase the Donald, "Lies made. Lies denied."

I realize, of course, that this budget has no chance of being accepted as is. I just hope and pray that the Democrats don't try to channel their inner ca. 1980s Republicans in beating the breasts as a sign of sanctimonious fidelity to fiscal discipline. You want to reduce the federal deficit? Try reducing military spending, which was one of the few areas to receive a plus up from the White House, on top of it already being bloated, excessive and bursting with bogus corporate welfare for armchair imperialists. What about eliminating the intelligence agencies? They're never right about anything anyway (end of the Cold War?), and on the rare occasion when they are, nobody in power bothers to listen to them (9/11).

On the revenue side, how about a tax on financial transactions? What about ending corporate welfare as we know it? Carbon tax anyone? You know, because we have about a dozen years and counting before the planet begins its irreversible descent into spontaneously combustion?

At some point, probably not in my lifetime, the American public will wake up to the huge swindle that is the whole federal budget. It consistently transfers wealth upwards to those who need it least, either through tax cuts or an expansion of loopholes, as well as through discretionary spending that favors corporate interests with little to no net social benefit for the vast majority of Americans. This skewed fiscal policy is a direct result of asymmetric access and influence by the small army lobbyists serving the various interests of the wealth elite, a situation that will remain in place well into the foreseeable future, thanks to the GOP bought and paid for Roberts' Supreme Court - "Corporations are people, too, my friend!"

But that is a topic of another rant 'n' rave. Meanwhile, we are left with this hot, stinky mess left by our very own Godawful Toddler, which will likely need more than just a few butt wipes to clean up.

A Very Fine Fellow

Not surprisingly, Trump and the rest of the GOP have been all over the Democrats' recent attempts to address the genuine differences that exist among their ranks. The Democratic-controlled House finally managed to pass a resolution condemning all forms of hatred, including anti-Semitism as well as Islamophobia, homophobia and white supremacy. I'm not going to unpack all of the angst and inner turmoil the Democrats went through to finally get to that point. Let me instead just say that I salute them for taking on the issue, hashing it out, and coming to some form of an in-group consensus...unlike the very fine people on the other side.

And that is the subject of today's rant 'n' rave. Any time you have Donald Trump trying to shame someone else for anti-Semitism, you have truly summited the Mount Everest of hypocrisy. Here's a dude who has spent his entire adult life marinating in a toxic bilious brew of misogyny, white supremacy, and anti-Semitism. The idea that he or his spineless Republican lemmings have even an iota of moral authority remaining to castigate anyone else for anti-Semitism...Well, let me just tip my hat to Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League CEO, who tweeted, "Those who truly care about the Jewish community shouldn't politicize #antiSemitism. No one should be grandstanding now. Elected leaders can best help us move forward by ending the blame game & genuinely committing to rebuild bonds & fight #hate in all forms."

Exactly. Because that's what Trump is and has always been about - grandstanding - transparently baseless buffoonery, puffery, bullying and the amoral, sociopathic pursuit of gratifying his painfully insecure ego. Despite all that, deep down underneath, I'm sure he's probably a very fine fellow... Nicht.