What They Want?

Right now we have a meeting in Finland between our dontard and his manipulator.

I'm sure it will be described as historic and the greatest ever, as our Mohammad Ali of a President likes to exaggerate.

Going into it he talked about how relations between the US and Russia were the worst ever, would think the Cuban Missile Crisis and pretty much the whole cold war would be worse.

Its almost impossible to take anything he says seriously, but you have to since he is also dangerous in many ways.

Its odd how many people who seem reasonably intelligent simply buy into his BS if they are Republicans.

Many of them have to know better and I wonder how they persuade themselves to ignore his idiotic comments and support his policies.

They may want fewer regulations, but do they really want to sell off the National Parks?

Have they no interest in protecting the Earth for future generations?

Do they really believe that reputable publications like the Times and the Washington Post are inherently biased?

Do they really want to alienate our NATO allies and allow China and Russia to expand their influence?

Its hard to believe they want to balloon the deficit and national debt by giving tax cuts to businesses and wealthy people, although some of them might be included.

I now they can't be in favor of a trade war that will ultimately hurt profits.

Do they really want to close our borders to those who want to start a new life and reverse the message on the Statue of Liberty?

I know many of them want to attack entitlement programs, but they do realize Social Security and Medicare will be included?

Is it really their intent to increase the number of uninsured people in this country, and end up paying more because they have less preventive care?

Its what they are supporting so I guess it must be.

Unless they just don't realize it.

Republican Retirements

You see a rotation in the republican party where those who grew up in a party that believed in America are deciding they've had enough.

Good riddance, they mostly turned into hypocrites.

Forced to run an election supporting the ridiculous positions of the current administration is just too much to accept.

It should be noted that generally things in America continue to go reasonably well.

Of course we have problems, one of which is the amount of gun violence in this country, and we know that while companies are doing well the people at the top benefit far more than the workers, most Americans who want to be employed are.

Immigration isn't really any issue as much as some want to say it is, the great majority of documented and undocumented immigrants simply work and live like their neighbors to the extent possible.

We still have issues with our health care system and despite attacks on the Affordable Care Act, we see more people with coverage than before it existed.

Almost everything started under the last administration has helped the recovery along and the attempts by the current one to disrupt these initiatives are not very effectual, at least yet.

You see some of the uncertainty reflected in the way stocks have started behaving as potential trade and military conflicts cause uncertainty.

Of course we see that civil liberties for many Americans are taking a hit although the opposition of this administration to minorities and the LGBT communities isn't reflective of the broader views in America.

The real question is when will there be a tipping point?

Considering the expressed viewpoints of the millennial generation as well as the view of most of the rest of us, social progress in America is going to continue.

The last election was influenced by a series of events that will be unlikely to reoccur and the core supporters of our oligarch will be forced back under the rocks they generally live under.

They drove out the real republicans in so doing.

Water, Water Everywhere

Pretty much an apt description right now for Houston and likely for the future of a lot of low lying areas if we don't decide to do something about rising sea levels.

Let me ask a simple question.  Even if you don't believe that spewing trillions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere impacts the climate, can it be a good thing?

The only argument for it is that if we make companies clean up their emissions or require cars to reduce emission it will make us non-competitive with the rest of the world.

The fallacy there is that the rest of the world has agreed to do something about it and we have backed out of the deal.

Now, if you actually believe stuff the president says, I guess you are convinced that all the facts and data that are so widely available are fake and provided by someone with a desire to harm this country.

Of course that does require you to believe that all the American scientists are in fact traitors who serve some evil purpose, probably why they stayed in school in the first place.

There is a popular fantasy TV show that has as some of its main characters manipulative sinister characters who will do anything for power.

Now the only difference between that and real life is that we get to see the lying and manipulation so we know who they are.

In real life, they usually don't show us the behind the scenes look to help us.  Of course some of it is coming out in the current Russian investigations but where that leads is yet to be determined.

Its not really complex though, just follow the money.

If a business wants to make more money they donate to the right people, help them get elected and the regulations get lifted.

Simple enough?

Yes they have to breathe the same air as the rest of us and live on the same planet but being wealthy affords plenty of opportunity to keep your feet dry as the water rises.

Unless of course you are on the French Riviera at the time.

They Can't all be Crazy

So an elected representative from Idaho thinks its plausible that Obama and the Democrats staged a Nazi rally in Charlottesville to bring down Trump.

This fits into the world inhabited by many of these people who listen to conspiracy theories without questioning them.

His comment that it is plausible fails the test of sanity since any theory can be fabricated in a way that can't be disproven.

Its equally as easy to say its plausible that it was really invisible Aliens that we can't detect. and therefore can't prove it didn't happen that way.

Its pretty clear how the rally in Charlottesville got stated and organized but that has never stopped these crazy theories before.

People still believe the we never went to the Moon or that Sandy Hook is a hoax.

One of the reasons our President thinks real news is fake news is because it contradicts the fake news he listens to with his fellow crazies.

I think the issue that needs to be addressed even though it seems ridiculous is how to get people to actually stop being so easily convinced that they live in a topsy turvy world.

Up is actually up folks.

Now there were always some looneys watching this sort of stuff and you use to see sensational headlines on "newspapers" at the checkout counter.

I've read some of these and you know they are funny but I'm not sure they're meant to be.

I sometimes think that the illegal Aliens these folks are worried about most came here in invisible spaceships and control things.

Where are those Men in Black when you need them.