They said it would never happen, could never happen. People would never allow it, would wake up and see the folly of the movement. Nah, never happen. And yet ....there he is, Trump as the presumptive Republican candidate for President of the United States. So shudder you might and shudder you should but that is the situation.
The man who cannot keep his statements aligned from one day to the next. The man who accepted endorsements from questionable characters such as David Dukes has now repudiated them. So what is the truth? The man who said he will build a wall and have it designed - and have Mexico pay for it - and deem its design a major triumph of his first 100 days in office, those mythical 100 days of any presidency - that is to be considered an accomplishment? The term America First is now being thrown around again and we all know what comes along with that. Are we to have marches in the streets of our cities advocating the policy of to hell with the rest of the world, forgetting that we all live together on one little orb in space? Are we to have the most divisive inauguration ever?
People will hopefully be able to soon sue big bank and big business when they cheat, such as pushing through mandated arbitration when there is a dispute and we all know who wins that. Will Trump change that? Trump is a major business person, a businessman himself - sometimes successful and many times not, but running a country is not the same as running a hotel and/or casino and then going into bankruptcy on it and starting again. Not so easy to do that with a country, especially one as big as ours. Will he just stand there in the middle of the hallway outside the Oval Office and shout, "You're fired!" and take on new hires? More important, will he ever run his hand through his solid hair in a moment of stress?
Many times I have stated, be it in writing, clear or in references and implications and within conversation that I am nervous about the governmental rule we will have here in the future as there appears to be no boundaries any more. Everything goes. It is frei, free, as my Bubbie used to say, and not in a good way. When there are no walls to anything then there are no bounds and society breaks down. That is the time ripe for takeover and if you think I am nuts, then just take a look at the most recent issue of the New York Magazine and see their cover story of the ripeness of the country for takeover.
So if he wants a wall in our south is that then okay? Nope, because it is a wall to wall us off from the world. Walls can be tunneled as we see in Gaza. Walls can be climbed - ask the migrants who do that every day over there in Europe. And increasing the number of military advisers is not necessarily the way to go nor the way to assure our allies of our staying on our true path. Do we need changes? Oh, yes. Obama has done us no favors in the international world of diplomacy. The USA has become a laughing stock of the world in many cases as people have lost their concerns about what we would do, our big stick has turned into a limp noodle, but we do not need a confused wielder of a big stick either.
Trump has no sense of government. He has no understanding of the checks and balances of our system and what we will have will be a further breakdown between executive and legislative branches and who knows what will be in the Supreme Court and who will fill the newly opened seat and any other ones that arise. Will we get another Clarence Thomas or another Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Will we have shutdown of the government as Party members will not support their supposed leader and who, for Heaven's sake, will truly lead us?
Does he have some good ideas? Yes. I am not particularly happy with these trade deals we have made and feel we have received the short end of the stick. But it needs negotiation, not summary pullout. I am certainly in favor of fines for companies that move out of the USA so they can maximize their profits. That is us they are screwing around with, our jobs, our people and for what? All so an inanimate entity such as a corporation can get wealthier? It is supposed to use that money to build with, not destroy. So here, I support at least some of his plans,
However, any one who thinks they can mess around with certain programs such as Medicare or Obamacare, have lost the truth of the matter somewhere. For the first time people who never had insurance can now go and take care of themselves, avoiding bigger runups of finances later because these big stuff items will have been avoided. It is kind of like the policy of broken windows of the police - take care of the little things and the big things will be resolved before they arise. I know people who were never able to afford medical coverage before and with companies cutting that benefit these people were 'naked" and now not. That is called progress.
I also cannot endorse a candidate who speaks so negatively, so insultingly about women and never mind the backtracks and the apologies. They mean as much and are as sincere as the apology forced out of two kids who were in a fight or two siblings who are still hissing at each other.
Two candidates - neither of whom is the ideal but there is a clearcut decision and choice here. Perhaps it is the lesser of two evils but then again, have the last two elections been anything different and perhaps we all made a mistake in those in our choices. Whatever one thinks, this man cannot become President. It is bad enough that he actually might be able to be a seemingly serious candidate for the office. We need to reassure the rest of the world that we truly have not gone off the trolley tracks, that this is a mere moment of teetering on derailment, but we will rebalance and chug along, with changes, with a reappraisal of relationships with other countries, but no derailment.
Further, we will not lose the progress we have made in our society. Pro choice will remain. Programs to help those in need here in our own country will remain and if you think they are not needed, trust me, we have enough poor and starving kids and families all on our own - through no fault of their own. We need to reevaluate and adjust our thinking. So Prince died - we all do - but the man was a drug addict, perhaps worthy of some sympathy for the mess he was in, but he was luckier than most since he had the funds and ability to fulfill his twisted needs, unlike many others in the same boat. Choose our heroes properly. This was not a hero and a talent (which I did not evidently appreciate) is not a reason for hero worship or ignoring of the truth. Nor is our main concern to be where people go to pee!
We have a long road ahead of us, a difficult one, one fraught with many dangers, potholes and complications. But it can be done if we build bridges and not walls, if we keep the progress we have made and adjust elsewhere, if we return to being the strong and capable leader of the world, a country that knows where it is going, knows what has to be done and has the inner strength to do it. No more lies. No more selfishness. No more opaqueness and lots more transparency. Huh! Sounds like what we need here in the Village, but I guess bad government is bad government no matter where or when.
Do not think that it can not happen, that he will not be elected. Who the hell thought he would get this far. We have had awful presidents before but the world is so much smaller and larger at the same time and this is a time fraught with danger. We cannot afford him.
And by the way, speaking of bridges, why has WPRF not fixed the Wellington bridge. The underpinnings are becoming more and more visible through the concrete, more exposed to the damage from the air and dampness and the salt in that air. Do we need to wait till it collapses and one falls in and meets the alligator who just loves our "fresh" water? Seriously, WPRF, Eva, a little fixin' up here, please.
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