Puppet Is Too Polite

By the time of the pre-election debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump it was already clear that there was something wrong with the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. And when Hillary Clinton pointed that out by calling Trump Putin's puppet the Donald denied it. “NO puppet,” he said. “You're the puppet.” It is the same tattered tactic Trump always employs; he always accuses his critics of doing what he is being called out for doing. It is doubtful that Trump's attempted verbal jujitsu actually fooled anyone in this instance, but there were obviously enough people who did not care about his fawning over the Russian dictator to allow Trump to win the election.

Now Trump has displayed such a disturbing subservience to Putin that it is causing normally cautious people to question Trump's loyalty to the United States! What I am talking about is the joint press conference with Trump and Putin at Helsinki in which Trump publicly accepted Putin's denials in the face of every one of our intelligence agencies saying that Russia has and still is attacking our electoral system. And no, those agencies did not say they “think” Russia hacked Trump's opponents and weaponized the contents of the purloined files; instead they definitively stated that Russians (both in the military and civilians) participated in the hacking and other subversive efforts to help get Trump elected. It should be noted here that the indictment of members of the Russian military for this attack is convincing evidence that Putin is lying. Saying that members of the Russian military were not involved or acted on their own without Putin's knowledge defies credulity in light of the detail and evidence presented in the indictment.

The press conference referred to above was preceded by a private meeting between Trump and Putin. The fact that this meeting was private, with interpreters being the only ones other than Trump and Putin present, was of great concern to America's diplomats and security personnel, and with good reason. Trump prepared for that meeting by doing things he knew would greatly please Putin -- things like criticizing NATO and the EU and insulting both British Prime Minister, Theresa May and German Chancellor, Angela Merkle. It does not take a genius to figure out why this pleases Putin? Vladimir Putin calls the dissolution of the Soviet Union a great tragedy, and he is determined to restore it. Harry Truman established and promoted NATO, the Marshall plan, and trade agreements between the European countries and members of NATO as a defense against threats posed by what Ronald Reagan described as the “evil [Soviet] empire.” In that regard Putin sees the military alliance of NATO and the prosperity of the European Union nations as a grave threat to his ambitions. The very frightening thing about the private meeting is that we do not know what agreements were reached or what Trump promised to Putin. What we do know is that the press conference following the meeting was a puppet show featuring a smirking Vladimir Putin pulling Donald Trump's strings right there in front of everyone. I was an embarrassing and appalling spectacle. The fact that Putin can pull Trumps strings should scare the hell out of everyone who values freedom!

Pundits are at a loss to explain what many have called this bromance between Trump and Putin. We keep hearing that Trump is insecure and emotionally immature. We keep hearing that he has no intellectual curiosity and is very ignorant and naive. We keep hearing that he cannot admit that the Russians attacked our electoral system because doing so might make people question the legitimacy of his election. All of those contentions are probably true, but they leave a lot to be desired in regard to explaining why Trump is acting like Putin's man ho. And yes, I do mean man ho! Calling Trump a puppet is far too polite and describes the what but not the why. I have a one word explanation for the why, and that word is, “Corruption.” Trump has been bought and paid for!

I know what I wrote in the preceding paragraph may seem too harsh, but we cannot ignore Trump's unsavory reputation as a businessman, his refusal to produce his tax returns, and his refusal to divest himself of businesses that create conflicts of interest. When American banks responded to Trump stiffing them by refusing to loan him or any of his companies any money, Trump turned to Russian Oligarchs for his financing. Many of his financial dealings with those oligarchs and the banks controlled or influenced by those oligarchs are very suspicious, many people even say shady. In light of those shady dealings I believe the most cogent explanation for Trump's panic over the Mueller investigation is that that investigation is likely to uncover the festering corruption that is making Trump work against the best interests of this country and its allies. Why else would Trump purposely weaken our ability to defend ourselves by attacking the credibility of the FBI and all of our other intelligence agencies while undermining the European Union and NATO?

Whether you agree me or not in regard to Trump's motives, there is one thing that is irrefutable: the only choice the Republican Party now gives us is between the worst government Putin can buy and a government minus Trump and the Republican diapers covering his ass. Wake up America! Our economy and our democracy have been placed in grave peril by a corrupt president, a feckless Republican Party, and a vicious adversary! If you do not vote to replace the soiled diapers covering Trump's ass with Democrats who will hold Trump in check and protect the very legitimate and necessary investigation Mueller is conducting do not complain about the corruption, the economy, or the fact that America is giving up its influence in the world and its well recognized greatness. By the way, how do like the price you are now receiving for your soy beans and other farm products? 

Embarrassed American

Consider this an open apology to the world. Donald J. Trump makes me embarrassed to be an American. Even though I am proud to be a Democrat and a critic of Trump, I still feel the need to apologize to our friends and allies for the fact that so many of my countrymen still support Trump and the Republicans who are covering his ass like a soiled diaper. To the British people who are apologizing to us for some of their countrymen flying over London a blimp that is an effigy of a diaper clad infant Donald Trump let me say that I find this effigy and the fact that it is a blimp quite appropriate. The Google Dictionary's definition of blimp is in part, “a pompous, reactionary type of person', and as an example of its usage it says,"no Colonel Blimp could have been more nationalistic." But in Trump's case the nationalism is not real. It is rather the sort of demagoguery that exploits xenophobia and paranoia while trying to transform flag waving and other ritualistic patriotic observances into a quasi religion with Trump as its head priest or its patron saint or even its god. To put it bluntly, Trump's brand of nationalism is nothing more than snake oil with very nasty side effects.

Far from defending or promoting our interests abroad Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to them. His phony nationalism manifests itself in destructive protective tariffs that are precipitating a trade war with our friends and most loyal allies, including the EU and Canada! As Delphine Strauss quite correctly stated in her July 8, 2018 Financial Times article:

“Donald Trump raged against his G7 allies this week, accusing them of charging the US “massive” tariffs and erecting barriers to keep American farmers out.

Economists, however, have heaped scorn on many of the US president’s claims, saying they were a distortion of reality that betrayed a lack of understanding of the issues or of what mattered for the US economy.”

Furthermore Trump is conflating trade policies with defense policies. At the NATO breakfast meeting, the he accused Germany of being “totally controlled” by Russia because of the gas Germany buys from Russia, but as Bess Levin stated in Vanity Fair:

“By pointing a diminutive orange finger at Germany, Trump is trying to spread the blame, deflecting attention from his own administration’s all-too-cozy ties to Putin, whom he’ll visit later this week. It’s the same move he pulled in October 2016, when he so eloquently told Hillary Clinton, “No puppet, no puppet. You’re the puppet.” For their part, the Europeans were not impressed; Merkel, who grew up in a Germany that was literally partially controlled by Russia, remarked that the country had been “free of Russian control since the fall of the Berlin Wall”

A long term goal of Vladimir Putin has always been the destruction of NATO, and Trump is greatly aiding Putin's efforts to undermine NATO by falsely

claiming that the US is paying 90% of the costs of the alliance. The real percentage the US pays is 22%.

Just in case you are wondering, the answer is no. I am not going to apologize for any of the vitriol in this post. Miss Levin was justified in using it, and the Brits are correct in showing their displeasure with Trump by flying the effigy of him! Even many Republican lawmaker are beginning to understand that Trump is a disaster for their party, their country, and the world. It is a pity none of them have the courage to do what is necessary to remedy that. So far their response to Trump's dangerous actions has been far too timid. Still the resolution in House of Representatives supporting NATO in contradiction of Trump's unwarranted and false criticisms of the alliance is progress, as is the rebuke the Senate handed Trump in the form “...a non binding measure calling for a greater role in overseeing Trump’s trade decisions, [knowing that the measure will be seen as] an implicit criticism of new tariffs the president has levied on some of the country’s closest allies and largest trading partners."

Injustice For All

I strongly disagree with the people who call Justice Kennedy a Moderate, and I am not the only one voicing this objection. As Amelia Thompson Deveaux said:

“Although he was appointed by a Republican president, Kennedy earned a reputation as a moderate thanks to his willingness to join the court’s liberal wing in important rulings on gay rights, abortion, affirmative action and some criminal-justice issues...[But an] analysis of Kennedy’s voting record during his three decades on the court shows that he voted with the court’s right wing in the majority of cases — including controversial, closely decided cases — throughout his career. And although he was likelier to side with the liberals once he became the court’s swing vote, legal experts say that he occupied the ideological middle ground on relatively few issues.”

Indeed, as Steven Rosenfeld warned on June 24, 2013, “corporations are getting whatever they want.” And this was in no small part thanks to Justice Kennedy acting like one of the tools of the oligopoly by joining the so called “conservative” justices or injustices in decisions such as Citizens United! Now as if the stolen seat Gorsuch is squatting on is not bad enough, Kennedy has decided to give Donald Trump another Supreme Court appointment, but not before upholding Trump's latest Muslim ban. Atta boy Kennedy! Give 'em a head start on lamenting the loss of your moderation!

Giving Trump another Supreme Court appointment is bad news for any individual or entity legally defined as a person, unless that person's name ends with “Inc.” or that person is at least close to being included on Forbe's list of wealthiest people. According to the New Yorker the addition of another Trump appointee, vetted by the Federalist Society or some other right wing organization, means the court:

“... will overrule Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortions and to criminally prosecute any physicians and nurses who perform them. It will allow shopkeepers, restaurateurs, and hotel owners to refuse service to gay customers on religious grounds. It will guarantee that fewer African-American and Latino students attend élite universities. It will approve laws designed to hinder voting rights. It will sanction execution by grotesque means. It will invoke the Second Amendment to prohibit states from engaging in gun control, including the regulation of machine guns and bump stocks.”

And, as the New Yorker points out, “these are just the issues that draw the most attention. In many respects, the most important right-wing agenda item for the judiciary is the undermining of the regulatory state.” And judging by Janus v. Afscme, in which “a 5–4 majority (including Kennedy) said that public employees who receive the benefits of union-negotiated contracts can excuse themselves from paying union dues” I am sure we can count on more decisions that are adverse to labor.

Any hope that Trump will appoint anyone who even resembles a moderate is delusional. He, Trump, is Putin's man, and kleptocracy is his plan! He is rapidly turning the swamp into a cesspool.