So, Trump, the "laughingstock," is on his way here to Europe. Here's my take on what is going on:

[DFW]

I live in Germany, which borders on about ten other countries. Hardly a month goes by when my work doesn't take me at least once to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Spain. For those who don't know me, I speak German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Catalan and Schwyzerdüütsch (Swiss German). A few others, too, but not of countries I visit with any regularity. When I speak to the locals here, it's not just with English-speaking tour guides and hotel receptionists.

I haven't been to Asia, Africa or South America since the election, so I have no first hand knowledge of how Trump is going down there.

However, here in Europe, the reaction is indeed a mixture of derision and apprehension. Mix that with a healthy dose of disbelief ("how, as a nation, could you allow this to happen in the first place?&quot . One German conspicuously called him a "laughingstock." That's easy to do if you don't have to suffer the consequences of his executive orders and cabinet appointments.

The reaction would be mostly one of ridicule if so much weren't dependent on our leadership (or lack of it). They see Trump as a bumbling figurehead who is unaware of his figurehead status (thus his "I don't get no respect" routine), a paranoid egotist with an inferiority complex as wide and as deep as the Grand Canyon. The euro has gained over 6% on the dollar in the last two months, and the euro is not exactly on solid ground. So much for the Republicans' love for letting the markets have the final say. That speaks volumes.

People here may not be thrilled with their own politicians, but after centuries of being led by monarchs and religious nuts, they recognize poor leadership when they see it. The Europeans' reaction at the end of the presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama was generally: "If you can't give him a third term, can we have him?" That was NOT what they said at the end of the terms of Reagan, Bush I and Bush II.

What they don't get is that we didn't have safeguards in place to prevent such an obviously unpopular and unqualified person from ascending to the presidency. THAT, more than anything else, has shaken Europe-wide confidence in the United States. They were convinced, after the fraudulent elections that gave W his two terms, that safeguards would be put in place to prevent this ever happening again, especially with such devastating consequences. They don't know who exactly is pulling the strings, but they are rather certain it isn't Donald Trump, who probably thinks that Luxembourg is a Jewish deli on 7th avenue.

The Germans do not see a parallel between Trump and Hitler. Someone got the wrong impression, there. Hitler knew exactly what he wanted and set out a plan to achieve it. He was clever enough to manipulate popular opinion behind him, and did enough for the people to make it seem like he was on their side. He built the autobahn system, and supported education and research, if only for his evil purposes, etc. Hitler didn't whine about fake news." Hitler made himself the news. Trump is seen more like the rebel leader in Woody Allen's "Bananas," who, once in power, was mostly concerned with being cheered by the crowds, and then started ruling with ridiculous decrees ("From now, the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish!&quot . Trump is more destructive than that, though, since his decrees and appointments have been to the financial benefit of his cronies and to the detriment of the nation as a whole. No one that really cares about education, housing, diplomacy or the environment appoints cabinet secretaries like DeVos, Carson, Tillerson or Pruitt. The Europeans follow these appointments closely--more so than half of America, it seems.

If people in Europe "are less worried than they were six weeks ago," as one German put it, it could be easily attributed to the fact that the European nations, one by one, have been rejecting the Trump model as a blueprint for their own future. In the Netherlands and France, the Trump model has been rejected, even with blatant Russian interference (at least in France). Here in Germany, the contest is between two different, but equally "non-Trump" figures. The SPD, the Social Democrats, have stupidly nominated a pure (though far from moronic) bureaucrat for chancellor--a guy who has spent most of his career taking lots of public money to sit behind a desk, much like the hated Hollande in France. Schultz is cleverer and more charismatic than Hollande (no great feat, there), but so far has had little more to offer than tired old slogans ("mehr Gerechtigkeit!&quot . Three state elections in a row have reflected that. Merkel has proved solidly pragmatic, despite her missteps, such as the mismanagement of refugee flow and her initial tolerance of Erdoğan. She has shown more common sense than most leaders dare to even attempt. The decision, after Fukushima, to do a 180° on nuclear power enraged her own party's business backers, and thrilled her green opposition. She went ahead anyway, convinced it was best for her country. How's THAT for a novel concept in a leader, eh? Who does she think she is? Obama?

Trump as leader of the USA, at least here in Europe (Hungary possibly excepted), is essentially DOA. A new American president is closely watched here, and first impressions take hold quickly--usually because they are accurate. Europe hasn't written the entire USA off. They can't, and they know it. They are not stupid. But they HAVE written Trump off as a serious partner for dialogue. They will deal with those Americans that they consider aware and coherent. They will smile, shake hands for the cameras, and then write off those Americans they consider useless (Trump) and always watch over their shoulders those Americans they consider to be a danger (Trump's backers and "advisers&quot . Yes, Trump may be a laughingstock, but Europe is remaining very wary. So far, the joke is mostly on us. The Europeans are remaining vigilant to make sure the joke doesn't turn out to be on them, too.

[uponit7771]

1. +1, "What they don't get is that we didn't have safeguards in place"

[Bernardo de La Paz]

17. In this case the safeguard (Electoral College) was stolen and worked backwards.

Hillary Clinton is won the majority and in any other presidential democracy would be leading the nation. In the US, the Electoral College is supposed to safeguard against popular incompetent demagogues who would be a danger to the system. It failed by doing the exact opposite of what it should do.

[uponit7771]

21. +1

[DFW]

52. The institution of the Electoral College did not foresee systemtic voter suppression

If we had gone after voter suppression efforts like Lyndon Johnson did, Hillary would now be president. For that matter, Al Gore would have been 43. A healthy dose of "surely they wouldn't resort to THAT?" blinded us to the fact that "oh, yes they would, and in a heartbeat!"

Had all voted who wanted to in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now. We not only need a rejuvenated Voting Rights Act, we also need a Voting Rights Enforcement Agency division of the Justice Department, with willful denial of voting rights punishable by ten to twenty years without parole. This would apply to Republican "operatives" who "register" voters and they throw the registrations in the trash right up to those who fraudulently re-program vote-counting machines. ALL vote-counting machines should be subject, by law, to forensic examination by impartial experts before and subsequently to all elections, and any manipulation should be grounds for nullifiying the results reported and new votes being taken immediately.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

54. Every point you made is a great one. Thank you. . . nt

[3catwoman3]

61. And Kris Kobach...

...should not be allowed anywhere near anything to do with voting.

[brush]

62. Good points. The Dem party should also have a standing committee to combat repug cheating...

in all it's ways — vote suppression laws, Interstate Crosscheck, vote machine manipulation, the practice of putting broken voting machines in POC precincts, curtailing of early voting, etc.

But why not just ditch the EC (not easily done of course), it's a relic designed to give southern states an advantage by counting an additional 3/5s for enslaved people.

That original compromise has little relevance for today but has become an advantage now for the right in low-info and low population states.

[DFW]

66. Howard Dean was particularly interested in combating voter fraud from the right

When he retired as DNC chair, the cause got shoved to the back burner.

Ditching the EC is getting into constitutional territory. Under present circumstances, two thirds of the States will never ratify such a change to the Constitution. It's practically the only way a minority can put their president into the White House.

[maddiemom]

107. That Dean "retired" is putting it nicely.

[DFW]

111. I've known Howard for over 15 years.

He told me that when your party has the White House, the party committee chairman is no longer a pivotal warrior but support staff, as the president is the head of the party. He didn't want to fade into the woodwork like that, so he bowed out gracefully. Rahm wouldn't have made his suddenly second-tier job any easier, so he went to, as he put it, taking some nominal job for steady income and spending the rest of his time raising hell for causes he believed in. As usual, Howard did exactly what he said he was going to do.

[BarbD]

67. Voter apathy -- 45% didn't bother to vote

Howard Dean had the right idea in 2008 campaigning in all 50 states. I sincerely hope that this Republican nightmare has awakened enough resisters so that we can save this country.

[DFW]

69. That makes two of us.

Howard was working on the 50 state strategy in 2006--that's how we won the House and the Senate then. Rahm Emmanuel, head of the DCCC wanted to go the tried and true route of only fighting for safe seats and a few risky ones, and had a famous screaming match with Howard in the Spring of 2006. Rahm's face was red as a beet for hours after that (I saw him less than 2 hours later, and I thought we might have to call the medics). Howard, as DNC chair, didn't give an inch, and was right, of course.

[suffragette]

76. Exceptional post. This is what we need.

[LiberalLovinLug]

95. Voting supression and electoral fraud should have been #1 on the agenda right after Dubya won

For the Democrats. Ever since that sad sight of Al Gore, the rightful President, banging his gavel in the Senate and dismissing one by one the D reps that came up one by one to plead for a Senator to back them to contest the results.

#1 they never should have conceded that 2000 election so soon, but then after, it should have been raised right away and many more times whenever a Dem was interviewed on MSM. From exit polling dramatic inconsistencies, possible voting machine hacking, Crosscheck, gerrymandering. They should have had a lot these issues, and new laws to curb them or investigate them all ready to go once the Dems got back in a position to do something. Which was very short as it turns out, Obama's first month or so. But like the GOP is passing bills and dismantling everything Obama worked for in their first months, the same frantic pace should have been happening when Obama first began his terms. Instead he went with the "moving forward" and thinking he could single handedly reach across the aisle and find the "third way" and not disturb the apple cart, even while at the same time the GOP was screaming about making him a one term President.

[DFW]

96. The answer to the rhetorical "how bad can they be?"

The answer is always, "however bad you think they might be, they're worse."

[erronis]

110. Great post. You touch on so many of the important reasons the dems are ineffective.

It almost makes you wonder if they (the dems) are infected by that parasite that causes prey animals to expose themselves to the predators.

Let me roll over and expose my belly...

[flibbitygiblets]

98. In Oregon we vote exclusively by mail, problem solved.

Every election I am stunned that this reasonable, easy and safe method of voting isn't being DEMANDED across the country Imagine being able to do one's voting research in the comfort of your own home, with weeks to decide? No last-minute decision-making on the fly in the voting booth! No need to take time off work to vote! No waiting in lines! No fear of intimidation, trickery or the ol' polling place/time switcharoo! All it costs is a friggin' postage stamp.

Also did I mention it's SAFE? They validate the signatures on our mailed-in vote envelopes, so fraud is next to impossible (I actually received an inquiry once because my signature was deemed inaccurate. This was easily remedied by me sending in a second signature, done in less of a hurry.)

Republicans do not want mail-in voting to be implemented nationwide because it solves most if not all voter suppression issues (which obviously benefits the Democratic party). Please do your part and make your voice heard; demand mail-in voting in your state!

[DFW]

99. If it's practical and makes sense, guess who will fight it tooth and nail

The answer is one of the two major political parties in the USA, and it doesn't begin with a "D" except on VERY rare occasions when one member does something very bad or very stupid and the story appears on Fox "News." Then and ONLY then does that party get represented by a "D," otherwise it is by a letter closer to the end of the Alphabet (no inclusions from "On Beyond Zebra," please).

[yardwork]

102. I always enjoy your posts and you are right on with this.

[DFW]

103. Thanks for the kind words, and I HATE being right about this particular issue!

The USA is the last place it should be necessary to worry about this.

[yardwork]

104. When the Democrats get back in power, we must insist on safeguards.

[DFW]

105. I hope the next Democratic leaders are bunch of smart dedicated people I'm too old to have met yet

But if any of the old guard is still there, I'm gonna shout til I'm blue in the face that we CAN'T let this happen a third time.

[erronis]

112. Don't we say that every 4/8/12 years? When we get back in power...

We'll provide healthcare for all americans. We'll end poverty, we'll ensure every citizen can vote without prejudice, ...

And then when we seem to have a pretty good hold on power, we say "We don't want to be like them. We don't want to rule by fiat. We'll give them a nice big seat at the table."

I have always called myself one of those 80/20 people. I like the challenge of getting 80% of the job done but have a hard time with the final 20%. Winning elections is easier than making your platforms/programs/dreams into reality.

[yardwork]

117. Democrats have certainly not done enough about vote suppression.

[SergeStorms]

129. I read somwhere.....

where a mere 80,000 votes IN TOTAL was the difference in the key areas of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Michigan that tipped the EC vote to the Trumpanzee. About 20,000 votes in each state, in key districts, would have made this election legitimate. I'd be VERY interested to see how many voters were scrubbed from the rolls in those areas, and WHO was responsible for scrubbing them?

[zentrum]

83. That's not my understanding.

It's actually as aspect of our systemic racism. It was created to protect the states with less population who wanted to keep their slavery, and allow them to be able to do that even though the majority of the population (from northern states) wanted to abolish it.

It's actually working as designed and needs to go, not only because it is not democratic, but as part of our country finally dealing with how much racism has been baked into our institutions.

I'd say racism, using the electoral college, worked its evil in 2016 as well.

[NBachers]

2. As you say, the only silver lining is that we're serving as a bad example, not to be emulated.

I see slightly encouraging trends in Europe, as if a direction once considered is now rejected. It looked, for awhile, like "Trump Similar" candidates and parties were making progress. They may still be, but I think their popularity is being blunted. No one wants a Trump running their country. They've seen what's happening here, and taken a step back.

I'm sure the Putin influencers are still there, still trying to find a way. But America's Bad Example has brought new awareness to Europe.

Don't be like us.

[Cha]

7. A Cautionary Tale

as it were.

Too bad trump's campaign and bush 2 didn't serve the low information voters well. I suppose Fake fox did too good a job brainwashing them.

President Obama and Hillary bad.. "trump normal".. or as jill stein Lied.. "Hillary is worse than trump".

[maddiemom]

108. I hope we've seen the last of Stein.

[Cha]

124. I wish, too.. but I doubt it. :(

[DDySiegs]

3. Thank You, DFW, For Your Informative Post

[Doodley]

4. What a contrast between Merkel and Trump. Merkel, the pragmatist, Trump, just a series of emotional

spasms. Merkel, an in-depth knowledge of every issue. Trump, no knowledge about anything. Merkel, respected around the world. Trump, a laughing stock, as you say.

In Britain, the hatred for Trump is intense and they are using him as a warning against the left, saying Americans didn't expect Trump to win, don't let the same thing happen with Jeremy Corbyn.

[DFW]

55. In 2012, I had the pleasure of spending an hour with President Obama

Last edited Sat May 20, 2017, 01:29 PM - Edit history (1)

In that one hour, we touched on (among others) voter suppression, health care, health care insurance reform as it related to the budget deficit, the Egyptian economy as it related to the political health of the Middle East, Latin America, Syria (already a top subject back then), and the upcoming 2012 election. I think if someone had an hour with Trump, he'd talk about golf and girls for ten minutes and then toss you out of the room because he was bored.

[spooky3]

82. And chocolate cake! The best ever!!!

What a contrast, eh? Sad.

I'm glad that Europeans are seeing the situation with greater clarity than some Americans see it, and are taking steps to protect themselves.

[DFW]

97. No chocolate cake that time

This was July, not the Christmas party

That the Europeans see our dilemma more clearly than we do should not be comforting, but rather, frightening!

[spooky3]

100. It's no comfort. It's just good to know that the damage

is being controlled to the extent possible.

[DFW]

101. Back in the USSA

Depending on where you live, it sounds like some areas will soon be like picking up the pieces of Dresden on Feb. 16, 1945

[erronis]

113. ??? I must have skipped over the backstory here

I can see lots of room to worry about the future of the USofA but the firebombing of Dresden wasn't on my radar. Perhaps it's something else.

[DFW]

115. I think some of the potential environmental damage Trump's pals are capable of doing

....will cause similar damage and suffering if allowed to proceed unhindered. More and greater earthquakes where there should be none, toxic poisoning of areas that will cause widespread cancer and suffering because the afflicted can't get treatment, and lack of money to improve infrastructure to the point where bridges and highways will collapse with many fatalities.

Probably a little apocalyptic, but if given long enough, a scenario that could develop over time, and wouldn't bother Trumppence in the slightest, which should bother anyone living in the lower 48 or Alaska plenty.

[erronis]

119. Not too apocalyptic. More like the metaphoric frog that is being slowly boiled

We (humans) now have the capability to kill ourselves in so many ways that probably weren't even conceivable 200 years ago.

- Nuclear war
- Nuclear disasters
- Climate change (global)
- Loss of habitat for interconnected species
- Death of sea creatures. Most don't realize how dependent we are on this food chain
- Atmospheric poisoning. Well, this was prevalent in the 1700's but not as universal
- Groundwater disappearing
- Mono-culture crops
- Antibiotic resistance (totally man-made)
- Rising sea levels with accompanying massive population shifts and housing/feeding requirements
- Vast differences in wealth in the populations
- Lack of basic healthcare for most of the world (and the US is nowhere near the top of the developed countries.)

I don't know anything that is close to the real list in a prioritized real sense of urgency. Fending off asteroids or worrying about walls between neighbors isn't there.

[iamateacher]

5. Just got back from Europe yesterday

Agree with everything in your thoughtful post. Thanks!

[flygal]

6. Former expat in Germany here

Last summer while visiting I got so used to the first question asked from friends being "what is the deal with this Trump?" that I would just start off with "hi, nice to see you again, sorry about trump". I'm going back this summer hoping for a little more sympathy than scrutiny.

and to your list of languages - how is your Schwaebisch?

[DFW]

9. Pladduetsch I can handle.

Schwäbisch I'm afraid I haven't mastered. Other Germans always chuckle about how people down there always mention the capital of Vietnam when they want to say "oh, really?" In Schwäbisch, it's "ha, noi?"

[flygal]

11. Ha! That's like that commercial where a woman wanted something to shipped to

Frankfurt..oder? and it was shipped to Frankfurt Oder.

As for Plattdeutsch - after four years in the North I prefer that over some of the Franken dialects.

[DFW]

46. So do I!

Fränkisch, ugh! I hate the sound of that. Sächsisch, too. My wife is from the flat farmland of the northwest (Cloppenburg area) and many of her relatives still speak Olderburger Platt as their first language. Her dad did, too. Her mom never spoke it, but understands it and still speaks her Hochdeutsch with a strongly pronounced accent of the region. Her cousins still speak it among themselves.

[erronis]

114. I spent some teen years in Schweitz and can't rid myself of the sing-song

However I'm told I must have learnt German and French in Belgium. So many languages and dialects and cultures. It's wonderful.

I hope the USofA can embrace the multiple ethnicities and languages instead of making everybody part of that old English-based "melting-pot". They say that "cuisine" really took off when you had separate bits of different foods on your plate at the same time instead of everything mixed into that one porridge, nine days old.

[DFW]

118. Way back in the dawn of time

I had sometjhing or other to do in Cherry Hill, NJ, and there was a place to eat in the hotel called "Ginsburg and Wong," and you could indeed order anything on the menu, half of which was straight Jewish Deli and the other half was right out of Chinatown. "Could I interest you in some hot and sour soup with your blintzes, sir?" My kind of place!

[Cha]

8. Mahalo for your experience in Germany with

our tragic situation here in the USA.

[DFW]

10. Noʻu ka hauʻoli

(My daughter graduated from HPA in Waimea on the Big Island, still considers herself partially Kama'aina)

[Cha]

14. That's awesome! I haven't been to the

Big Island but my friends have and took pics.. I'd really like to go someday.

My sister is coming here from San Diego on Sunday and, she's never been to Hawaii.. so it will be really nice to see Kauai through her eyes for 3 weeks.

DFW

[DFW]

42. We love the Big Island.

We're mostly familiar with the Kona side, having driven to Hilo only once for some administrative things and to see the Botanical Gardens and Kilauea. Mostly, we stayed in the area between Waikoloa and Waipio. We've only been to Kaua'i once, stayed in Poipu. Never even made it to Princeville, but did NOT miss the helicopter ride down the Waimea Canyon and along the Na Pali coast. Nothing else like that ANYWHERE!!

[Permanut]

126. Waipio Valley was a paradise in the 70's,..

probably still is. Wild horses, papayas by the dozen and taro fields by the sea. No development there at that time, people still skittish about the flooding in 1964. Stayed in a former CCC camp barracks for seven bucks a night. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[DFW]

140. I only saw Waipio from above, never went down to the black sand

You were required to use a 4 wheel drive vehicle to enter and drive down into the valley mainly because if you didn't have one, you'd never get back up again. I haven't been for 14 years now, but it was still unspoiled back then.

[Permanut]

141. Oh, man, that road..

we did go down by 4 x 4, and it still was like an E ticket ride at Disneyland.

[DFW]

144. I heard that

I was told that if I attempted it with my rental car, two things would happen.

First, I'd be stuck down there, because it would be a one-way trip.
Second, I'd be out the price of the car because the rental contract specifically said that if I took the car down a road that was clearly designated as being off-limits to non-4-wheel-drive vehicles, I'd have to pay all costs, including replacing the car and getting it removed (not sure which would have set me back more).

[Permanut]

146. You're really taking me back in time..

I'd forgotten about the rental contract on the car. We had the same restriction; we left the rental car at the top, at a little store as I recall. We had arranged beforehand (by snail mail) for the caretaker of the barracks, to come up and get us in his 4 x 4. Mr. Miyagi was in his seventies then, as I am now, and had a little companion dog that loved papayas.

Great memories, and just as a side note, I've never found anyone else who would know that area. Pretty remote. Thanks again.

[DFW]

147. The only reason I know that area

.....is because my younger daughter went to school in Waimea for 2 years. Otherwise I never would have heard of it. After all, it is 12 time zones from here. Go any farther, and you start to come back from the other direction.

Her roomie was from the Big Island, and she spent most weekends with her roomie and her family in South Kona. She was more into local life than even she realized. After her first year, we were all together in Massachusetts in a car when a Hawaiian song came on the radio. She started translating it for us.

Of the three languages offered at her school, she chose French, which she had studied in Germany (the other two were Spanish and Hawaiian). I said, "I thought you didn't speak Hawaiian." she retorted, "'I don't, but ANYbody can understand THAT much!" Yeah, anyone but her stupid parents who did NOT understand that much. You need some kind of dedication to learn a language in which the state fish is a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.

[JustAnotherGen]

12. Well done

I'm expecting protests when he gets to Italy.

Re this:

They were convinced, after the fraudulent elections that gave W his two terms, that safeguards would be put in place to prevent this ever happening again, especially with such devastating consequences. They don't know who exactly is pulling the strings, but they are rather certain it isn't Donald Trump, who probably thinks that Luxembourg is a Jewish deli on 7th avenue.

Trying to explain it to my "of age" niece and nephew in Italy - they came to a joint conclusion that the UN has dropped the ball in regards to the US. I find it funny that Emmanuelle in particular seems to know more about the flipped votes in Wisconsin than the average American does.

When your education system teaches critical thinking skills and world civics - that analysis is found in 19 and 22 year olds.

[DFW]

47. It never fails to amaze me sometimes

I can discuss local American politics with some Europeans in far more detail than with some Americans. Of course, in Texas, you get a lot of "what's that, where's that, who's that?" and our friends here in Europe are usually multilingual and well-traveled. One of our best friends was station chief for West German radio news in Moscow for 5 years. He sometimes calls me up to badger me about something Scott Walker did in Wisconsin (or some such subject), and sometimes, I have to look up myself what he's talking about!

[RKP5637]

13. The rise of Trump in America is startling, he saw the weaknesses in the systems, no safeguards, and

exploited the systems on purpose or by default. Is he the last or the beginning ...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. He did not exploit those alone. His comrades across the water and the optical fibres helped some. nt

[american_ideals]

25. And the authoritarian GOP. Without the GOP he would have ended like LePen

If the GOP were a normal party, a party of Americans who put country first, we would have never gotten here.



Norm Ornstein 2012: GOP acting like an authoritarian 18th century party
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-just-say-it-the-republicans-are-the-problem/2012/04/27/gIQAxCVUlT_story.html

Krugman yesterday:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/opinion/whats-the-matter-with-republicans.html

The G.O.P. is one branch of a monolithic structure, movement conservatism, with a rigid ideology — tax cuts for the rich above all else. Other branches of the structure include a captive media that parrots the party line every step of the way. Compare the coverage of recent political developments on Fox News with almost everywhere else; we’re talking North Korea levels of alternative reality.

And this monolithic structure — lavishly supported by a small number of very, very wealthy families — rewards, indeed insists on, absolute fealty. Furthermore, the structure has been in place for a long time: It has been 36 years since Reagan was elected, 22 years since the Gingrich takeover of Congress. What this means is that nearly all Republicans in today’s Congress are apparatchiks, political creatures with no higher principle beyond party loyalty.

(Just sharing for everyone's benefit what you already know)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. True. Good post. Welcome to DU. . . nt

[DFW]

39. Their propaganda arms ("media") cannot be underestimated

Norm Ornstein has been a friend of mine for years now. There are few in Washington I respect more than Norm.

I don't know Krugman personally, but he writes like a Nobel Prize winner (what a coincidence, eh?)

Today's congressional Republicans do somewhat rather resemble the Soviet-era apparatchiki. Tow the party line, scream it until you claw your way to the top, and then live of all the riches the government has been able to confiscate and distribute among their small elite. When East Germany collapsed, those who lived there and either didn't know or didn't want to, were disgusted when the opulence in which their beloved socialist leaders has lived was revealed. Like Orwell wrote, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

[DFW]

48. The last or the beginning2 I think that will be up to us ultimately

The question is when will the country finally stand as one and sing the song from the rock opera "Tommy:" We're Not Gonna Take It!

[bettyellen]

57. That's not The Who, it's Twisted Sister. First band I ever saw.

[DFW]

59. I was referring to this part of "Tommy"

Starting at 1:15

[maddiemom]

109. The Who did the original.

[bettyellen]

116. It's a different song- the TS version was used by Trump last year and Dee shut him down. LOL

[Roy Rolling]

15. The Trump brand

The world has an expectation of excellence from the U.S., a position of earned trust. Slapping a superficial Trump name brand on America is phony. Europeans see it, GOP anarchists do not. They hate the American government brand and wish to see it replaced by corporate leadership.

[MarianJack]

16. Well Said, DFW,...

...and thank you for your insights. Yours is one of the opinions I respect most here on DU!

PEACE!

[DFW]

35. Thanks for that

I'm just one guy, though. Others will see things differently.

[Ligyron]

19. Thanks for that report DFW.

It's about as I feared.

My daughter and her boyfriend are traveling around the world and she's in Hamburg just now. They are pulling the old, "We are Canadian" defense when it gets bad, lol.

Pretty sad when you're ashamed to be American.

[DFW]

33. You don't have to do that--but learn the local languages first

Case in point:

About 12 years ago, I was in Paris buying some fresh fruit on the Rue Cadet near the Opéra. Many of the stands are run by people from the middle East or North Africa. Israelis, Arabs, they are pretty mixed. One time, I was buying some of the famous "orange-red" apricots that are only in season in late June and early July. I asked the guy at the stand to pack them carefully as I was taking them back to Germany that evening.

He said, "oh, you're from Germany?" I said, no, I'm from Texas. He frowned. He said, "Texas. Bush is from Texas. I am from Iraq." Now this guy's French was VERY good, so he was not a recent immigrant. He had fled Saddam, not our invasion. Even so, he was very pissed at what Cheney-Bush's invasion had wrought. I explained to him that I fully agreed with him, that I was very sorry for what Cheneybush had done to his country, and he should not believe for a second that most Americans were behind this invasion. In fact, I told him, even in Texas there were millions of us who were against Cheneybush's invasion of his country, and had been from the beginning.

He listened, fascinated, and said he had no idea. This was the first he had ever heard that America had a huge number of people who against the invasion. He thanked me profusely for the information (he had never talked to an American about it before), and came out from behind the counter to shake my hand and wish my happy trails.

Now, this was just one tiny incident, and one guy, but could you imagine the effect of hundred of thousand of Americans abroad, all speaking the languages of the countries they visit, and explaining how our solidarity, and that of a majority of our country, is with them, our allies and friends, and NOT with the illegitimate regime now in place in Washington?

I'm just one guy, but I'll bet you that this fruit vendor had relatives back in Iraq to whom he recounted his encounter with the "man from Texas who spoke French." Imagine what good a quarter million of us could do!

[Ligyron]

56. You're right. Progressive Americans need to be ambassadors of sanity when abroad.

Ironically, my daughter and boyfriend are headed to Paris next and are boning up on their basic French. Well do they know about French people's aversion to speaking English. Like many cosmopolitan dwellers of large, crowded cities worldwide, Parisians can be especially difficult at times, lol.

[DFW]

68. I'm aware of the Parisians' rep, but don't full subscribe to it

I have seen/Heard some acquaintances there do an admirable job with English when they were confronted with someone who understood no French. I don't always know, of course, as my French is good enough that I never use English there. This sometimes leads to funny situations. I sometimes introduce friends from the States who are visiting, and automatically start translating when my French friend will suddenly say, "it's OK, we can speak English." I then say I never knew they spoke English, and they answer, "well you never asked!" It can be a compliment of sorts at times. In Frankfurt once, I was with a group of Germans and one of them made a remark about "Ausländer (foreigners)." I said, "hey, hold on there!" He said, "you don't count, you're one of us," which is something a German does not often say to an American. THAT'S when you know your knowledge of a foreign language has paid off.

But sometimes, even a few phrases are enough to win you friends. Two years ago, my wife and I were stuck in North America for two weeks during which we really didn't have anything planned. On a whim, we booked a cruise (first one we ever took). It was up the inside passage of Alaska. To get on the ship, you had to pass security, and I noticed that all the security people were Filipino. So, when I got to the checkpoint, I just said "magandang gabí (good evening)." Before their looks of shock wore off, I continued "angan Tagalog ko idi magalén (I speak terrible Tagalog)." BIG smiles, and I promise you that of all the faceless tourists they saw during that cruise, my wife and I ALWAYS got big smiles and were greeted by name. Show you care, even the slightest little bit, and often it breaks a lot of ice.

[Ligyron]

77. Interesting!

I am hoping their feeble efforts to speak French will see them through their stay there. IDK what they're going to do when they get to Borneo though, lol.

[DFW]

79. Aren't there like a hundred different langauges spoken in Borneo?

I don't even know what a common one would be. Maybe learn Orangutan body language?

[Ligyron]

84. That's what I heard.

They did arrange an Orangutan encounter since they missed Trump's inauguration. I told my daughter she best wear a head scarf when they get there just to be safe. Borneo is one place I've always wanted to go but never have yet - mostly for the fantastic flora and fauna.

[DFW]

86. That would be my reason for going, too.

Maybe I'll find the time after I retire, which, at this rate, I might have time for if I quit between the ages of 85 and 90.

[pangaia]

81. What a great story. And so true ..

[oasis]

20. Thanks DFW for your insightful and informative post. nt

[american_ideals]

22. Europeans vs. half of US - difference is Fox News and RW propaganda

The Europeans follow these appointments closely--more so than half of America, it seems.

The reason why Europeans are more informed than 35% (not half) of America is because Europeans are not receiving American right-wing propaganda.

Fox news, conservative right-wing radio, and now internet media like Breitbart are brainwashing half of America. Anyone who travels between the middle of America, America's coasts, and Europe can see this easily. This media stronghold is what patriotic Americans must stop to save our country.

[american_ideals]

23. Also, Murdoch (Fox News) is in the UK

Murdoch spreads his disinformation via his UK TV channels and his newspapers there too. It's not just the US.

[DFW]

29. Fox does not broadcast here in Germany

As a rare restriction on total free speech, Germany forbids Nazi propaganda by law. Get close to the mark, and you risk legal trouble with the authorities. Fox would love to set up shop here in Germany as Western Europe's biggest market, but they are wisely keeping away due the anti-Nazi laws. Everyone in Germany has heard of Fox Noise, and they would not be able to sneak in here under the guise of "conservative." People here know the difference between "conservative" and "radical right," even if the distinction is lost in the USA.

[Hekate]

32. My whole life I've thought it was a mistake on our part to tolerate neo-Nazis & their ilk...

...in the US under the guise of the First Amendment. Their worldview is a disease, not an opinion.

[DFW]

34. Thre ARE laws against hate speech

Unfortunately, they are mostly enforced (or not, as the case may be) by those who agree with hate speech.

[Hekate]

36. Yes

[sharedvalues]

65. And Europe (and Israel) also have stronger campaign and campaign finance laws

US politics in general, but more heavily the GOP, has been swamped with huge amounts of money.

If we want to fix America we have to work both on propaganda and money in politics. GOP politicians no longer represent the people, they represent about a dozen billionaire donor families.
(Krugman, yes)

[american_ideals]

37. So much propaganda in the US

An educated populace is important.

We'll get there. I have never seen progressives so mobilized in the US as they are now. People are not going to back down. For the first time that I can remember, Americans are talking about the role of Fox News and conservative media. And Americans are talking about the few very rich families that purchase GOP politicians and dominate the GOP agenda.

We still need more Americans to travel, to visit Europe and other countries and learn about the world. But if the 2016 election were held today it would be a devastating loss for the president, even leaving in place all the voter suppression, cross-check, voter id laws, gerrymandering, and propaganda outlets. America will get better.

Thanks for the post.

[DFW]

40. Ignorance is the life-giving elixir of the Republican Party

Making Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education is all the proof one needs to show that Republicans know that informed kids grow up to be Democratic voters.

Unfortunately we do not have any conservative media. We only have right wing media who have hijacked the term, but are devoid of any inclination to "conserve" much of anything.

[american_ideals]

64. YES! That's why DeVos is trying to destroy public education.

See also:
https://www.autostraddle.com/i-was-trained-for-the-culture-wars-in-home-school-awaiting-someone-like-mike-pence-as-a-messiah-367057/

GOP: an alliance between a dozen billionaire funders who want to destroy government, and millions of identity politics voters

[keithbvadu2]

122. Heavy article... insightful

[Hekate]

30. Hence Brexit

[ucrdem]

24. Interesting! One quibble: Hollande was not the payola guy. That was Sarkozy.

Hollande declined to run again mainly because he couldn't get unemployment below 10% except for one quarter of 2016. Also he raised taxes in an effort to stimulate the economy through state spending and it didn't have much effect other than to piss off the well-to-do, famously Gerard Depardieu and Brigitte Bardot.

[DFW]

27. Hollande already had all he could ever need from other people's taxes. He didn't need the rest.

But he did harass the middle class by sending out terror squads of financial police to do "audits" with the sole commend of "don't come back empty-handed." They confiscated things of value (sometimes for their own pockets), and levied unjustified fines on practically everyone. One guy I know was fined €1500 for the crime of not having his invoicing software updated to the fastest version available. When he went to the office of the finance authorities to pay it under protest, the head guy apologized and reduced it to €1000, saying, "it's wrong, but if I reduce it more or cancel it, then I get in trouble." Another guy I know had Hollande's terror squad in his shop for over a week. He offered them coffee. The boss of the squad snarled that his coffee didn't taste good. He offered to get her one from a nearby café. She said, "and out of what black money fund are you going to pay for it?"

France already has around 20% or more of all employees working in the public sector (compared with about 15% in Germany and the USA). We have an office there, and we pay a whopping 55% in payroll taxes on top of their gross salary. Our guys there take home about 25% or less of what it costs us to employ them. That is not exactly conducive to getting employment figures down, and Hollande, as one who sucked his entire lifetime income off other peoples' taxes, did nothing to make it easier to employ people in France. Having both the workers AND employers against you is not a good formula for re-election, and Hollande, with his 17% approval rating (less than the percentage of public sector employees!!), knew it. Sarko just got greedy, and didn't get away with it.

[ucrdem]

41. The first measure Hollande enacted was to lower his own salary by 30%.

Yes he raised taxes. That's socialism and at the moment it's unpopular in France. But to accuse Hollande of corruption is inaccurate.

[DFW]

45. I didn't accuse him of corruption, just incompetence.

Under France's system of deifying "les fonctionnaires," their top ones can grab all they'll ever need legally. It's a greedy one indeed who needs to stoop to corruption to augment his or her income. When you're living in the Elysée palace and have no personal expenses, and get a fat lifetime pension afterward, you can reduce your salary 99% as présdent of France, and still live like King Louis. It's not like Hollande went to live in some 50 m² apartment in the Vème.

Raising taxes is not socialism. State control of the means of production is socialism. Mitterand tried it to some degree, nationalizing several enterprises. He backed off quickly after the disaster that ensued. Any government can confiscate wealth. Just ask the people of Venezuela or Romania. It's what they do with it that matters, and so far the answer hasn't been satisfactory to the people of many nations that have lived under it.

[ucrdem]

49. Lining one's pockets or "grabbing all they'll ever need legally" describes Fillon,

who is also of Sarokzy's party, formerly the UMP, now renamed Republican, but Hollande made a point of cutting back on the Sarko bling. Also he was elected as a socialist so yes, his government was socialist. Your objections to it boil down to the fact that socialism requires wealth-sharing and the haves don't like it. Fine, but that doesn't make Hollande a time-server or pocket-liner, or incompetent. Economics aside he accomplished a lot and had it not been for the terror attacks would have accomplished a lot more. From wiki (excerpt function isn't working):
.............
Hollande announced several reforms to education, pledging to recruit 60,000 new teachers, to create a study allowance and means-tested training, and to set up a mutually beneficial contract that would allow a generation of experienced employees and craftsmen to be the guardians and teachers of younger newly hired employees, thereby creating a total of 150,000 subsidized jobs. This has been complemented by the promise of aid to SMEs, with the creation of a public bank investment-oriented SME's, and a reduction of the corporate tax rate to 30% for medium corporations and 15% for small.

Hollande's government has announced plans to construct 500,000 public homes per year, including 150,000 social houses, funded by a doubling of the ceiling of the A passbook, the region making available its local government land within five years. In accordance with long-standing Socialist Party policy, Hollande has announced that the retirement age will revert to 60, for those who have contributed for more than 41 years.
.......................
He also withdrew troops from Afghanistan, apologized for French colonialism, apologized for French failures in matters pertaining to the Holocaust, and warned Eastern Bloc countries not to reject mandatory migrant quotas. All of which helped bring his approval ratings into sub-10% territory. But corrupt he was not.

[DFW]

50. And how many of his "plans" got carried out?

Had he been a resounding success, he would have sought, and won re-election. It's not as if the French right had anything positive to offer other than "I'm not Hollande." You have to turn in a rather poor performance for THAT to work as a rallying cry for your opposition.

Like America's so-called "conservatives," you can hijack any label you want. Wading into the water still doesn't make you a fish. Being elected from the socialist party doesn't make you a socialist, either. A huge portion of France still maintains socialist sympathies. His 17% approval rate indicates he placated neither socialists nor social democrats nor the opposition. His government never attempted nationalization of the means of production, never even touched on the attempts Mitterand made, so no, his government was not socialist. That's like calling Trump "conservative," which he also is anything but.

[ucrdem]

51. I like the edit and gave it a rec.

[Hekate]

28. Good to see you as always, DFW. I find your news about Europe to be very encouraging...

But Christ on a trailer hitch, my friend, I never thought I'd be so terrified for the future of my own country.

Cheers (sort of) from SoCal.

[bresue]

31. WE SENT YOU A GIFT....

Please no returns...keep him or give him to another friend! But please, don't send him back.....lol!

[heaven05]

38. great analysis

of the "laughingstock" potus the despicable deplorables have offered up as a leader. The republiKKKan Congress....knew all this distraction would offer them a chance to hijack our democracy and looks like they were correct in their outlook. The republiKKKans are dismantling and destroying what was once a struggling and still developing political model called a 'democracy' and turning it into an oligarchy.

The rich play, the poor serve the rich. Yet this is what Fox Snooze was planned and created for by the now dead Ailes and the still breathing, sadly, Koch bros..... A citizenry full of fear of outside forces and inside danger as their racist and bigoted whitecentric slant on the news has engendered in the republicKKKan base for 20+ years now and are still breeding fear in an blissfully ignorant large minority of the american population....

I base part of that statement on american big business, banks and utilities now. It used to be they would grovel(just a play on words, insert any you please) to serve the customer, not so much anymore. If you are poor and struggling, they will dig a deeper hole for you. They also are very aware of their "too big to fail" status in the american scheme of things. And poor people just don't deserve respect anymore. They are not the example that rich people are to american business oligarchic fascist inclinations.

Ayn Rand is alive and well in 2017.

[Lucky Luciano]

43. Re the 6% move in EURUSD...

I would say only about 2% of that was the shitgibbon's buffoonery. Another 2% was Macron winning...and another 2% is from some hawkish rumblings coming from the ECB.

[DFW]

58. I agree that Macron's win was part of it, but only part

No one here realistically expected LePen to win, so that was factored in long ago. The ECB has been "rumbling" as you so accurately put it for a while now, but they are even more constrained than the Fed is. With so many of the Euro countries still in deficit mode, they are reluctant to go much beyond rumbling. They could always go up quarter or half percent for show, but they really have no more wiggle room than the Fed (maybe even less) to play with.

What is most feared here seems to be what is feared--with justification--every time a Republican is in the White House: they talk "fiscal responsibility" and then cause huge deficits (which "don't matter" if caused by a Republican) once they get their hands on the budget.

[smirkymonkey]

44. Thanks DFW. I always appreciate your perspective and the view from the

continent. It helps to know that there are still people in the world who desire true democracy and leaders who work for the benefit of those they were elected to govern.

I love your reference to the dictator in Woody Allen's "Bananas" because that is almost what this feels like!

Dictator: "all citizens will be required to change their underwear every half hour. Furthermore, underwear shall be worn on the outside, so we can check!"

Fielding Mellish: "What's the Spanish word for 'straight jacket'"?

[DFW]

53. Whoever thought that movie would be a blueprint for the USA?

Apparently no one has thought to tell Trump that "Bananas" was supposed to be comedy.

[RandomAccess]

60. My concern -

Great post, btw.

I found the section about not seeing a parallel between Trump and Hitler interesting. I'd be greatly reassured by their take on it, were it not for the fact of BANNON, and Putin too.

I've seen a number of moves - subtle things - that Trump has made that make me think he's getting strategic advice from someone who's craftier politically than he is. I imagine it's likely to be either Bannon or perhaps Putin himself through some of Trump's many Russian "friends." Like Rybolovlev, whose plane keeps showing up at airports near where Trump is??

Bannon is a huge follower of that Dugin guy, the avowed fascist political scientist who's a favorite of Putin.

Or perhaps Manafort who may have just the right background /experience for that.

Wish I could remember some of the things that Trump has done that made me think that but at the moment my mind's a blank on the subject. I just know there were 2 or 3 or possibly 4 things that made me go, "Hmmmmm, who's directing his moves?"

Some Dugin infoL
Putin and Trump could be on the same side in this troubling new world order

Everything You Need to Know About Steve Bannon, Breitbart, & Russia

Wikipedia: Aleksandr Dugin

[DFW]

71. Dugin is VERY bad news

Any connection he has to any of Trump's pals should be viewed with alarm. He is an unabashed, unapologetic brown shirt.

I find it disturbing that for all the smoke being produced about Bannon being "out," he doesn't seem to have moved a millimeter, just made himself more low key (and therefore not so much of a target). To me, that just means that you are right about the Russian connection being alive and well. The Republicans seem to tolerate this--either because they are being paid well enough, or because none of these prominent Russians are "kommanists." Don't even ASK a Republican to remember the Ribbentrop-Molotov deal of 1939. Most Republicans don't even know there WAS a year 1939.

Even more so than Bush lite, I think it has to be obvious at this point that there are a few pullers of Trump's strings. It has to be evident to just about everyone at this point that without "a little help from his friends," Trump couldn't tell you who is buried in Grant's tomb.

[RandomAccess]

93. Yes, he is an open fascist

He -- and Putin -- are favorites of the alt-right here as well, you may know. As for the Republicans, I don't know if they've been paid enough, but they do seem to have reasons why thy don't want any investigation into Trump-Russia:

Twitter Thread with lots more info: 1. Why Mitch McConnell is sabotaging Russia investigation–dark money trail leads right to him–Blavatnik, is pals with Putin crony Vekselberg

Link to tweet

https://goo.gl/2PWGDD


McConnell related PAC took $2 Million from Ukrainian businessman linked to oil co in #TrumpRussia dossier

Link to tweet

#Breaking: Ukrainian Businessman linked to Russian bank w/alleged server in Trump Towers-gave $4M to GOP PACs last election cycle #resist pic.twitter.com/SxZj6lEQQr

Link to tweet

Paul Ryan’s Connection: Russia Stole More Than Just The Presidency
http://www.bluedotdaily.com/paul-ryans-connection-russia-stole-more-than-just-the-presidency/


And there are amazing allegations by Louise Mensch about Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan:
It was, they say, Reince Priebus who was taped talking to Sergei Kislyak and other Russians at the convention, agreeing to accept laundered or disgused Russian contributions, and Speaker Ryan is on a later intercept admitting that he knew of this plot, which places him at risk of a large number of criminal charges. A RICO case is being examined against the GOP itself, sources say.

[DFW]

94. I did know that our extremist right loved Dugin

I did not know about McTurtle's money connection to them, although it doesn't surprise me in the least. Such a fervent "antikommanist" has been curiously silent on "the Russkies (to them a Ukie is a Russkie, too)."

[niyad]

74. welcome to du

[RandomAccess]

87. Thanks

[Lars39]

145. Appointing someone to every dept to report back

to WH.

[muriel_volestrangler]

63. I think from Europe, it's hard to appreciate what TV coverage of the election was like

Even with all the time I spend on DU, I didn't realise just how little was being said about actual policy, and how much coverage was dominated by idiotic "but her emails..." and similar garbage. It's only when I've seen post-election analyses that I've come to appreciate that.

And that I think is the no "safeguards in place to prevent such an obviously unpopular and unqualified person from ascending to the presidency" problem. European TV is not so ratings-driven, and so political coverage still tries to be serious. It was hard to understand why so many Americans didn't see Trump for the obvious bigoted con-artist that he is, and so didn't get out to vote against him.

One thing the election showed was the powerlessness of print media. Every notable print publication endorsed Hillary, or at worst said "can't recommend, but for God's sake don't vote for Trump". And that seems to have had no effect whatsoever. TV was obsessed with getting headlines, which Trump was good at manipulating; and social media was a mess dominated by the shameless idiots who love Trump and have no problem in being fools and bigoted in public, as long as it drowns out the sane people supporting Hillary.

[DFW]

70. I was appalled when I visited the States last summer, my wife even more so

Whenever I was in airports (which is a LOT) CNN was just running some report on Trump or letting him give some speech and run on. My wife, who is from Germany, was appalled, as commented that it seemed as if someone had paid the whole of the U.S. electronic media to report on anyone but Hillary, and when they did mention Hillary, then only negatively. Though I live in Europe, I'm so used to the US media being dumbed down and manipulated, I hardly notice it any more. My wife, on the other hand, was downright appalled, and said to me then (I'm talking July-August 2016), "you know Trump will win if this doesn't change and fast!" And what do you know..............?

[niyad]

72. thank you, as always, for such an informative post.

[DFW]

73. I'm glad you found something in there you considered worthwhile

Thanks for the word!

[niyad]

75. bookmarking because I only have a bit of time today, and want to read all the comments.

your insights are invaluable.

[Lifelong Protester]

78. Thank you, DFW. I always

read your posts and admire your ability to write.

[DFW]

80. Thanks! My biggest challenge is staying awake

Long hours day job and all............

[steve2470]

85. Excellent OP, as always

I do worry that if Trump is not taken out (via old age-related death, resignation or impeachment) within the next four years, that the Overton window will be reset way too far to the right, too close to Hitler-ian extremes. I can see the NEXT Trump-ian figure, who is far more intelligent and equally sociopathic, being like Hitler.

[DFW]

88. So far, though, we have always retreated from the brink

Where Germany went from the Weimarer Republik chaos to the NSDAP, where Russia went from Kerensky to Lenin, we instead went from Nixon to Ford to Carter, from Cheneybush to Obama.

This doesn't mean we are immune from plunging head first into the abyss ourselves, but so far, we have always pulled back from the brink.

[steve2470]

89. I really do hope we will do that again

I fear with FauxNews and hateradio and Breitbart etc, the public discourse will be too poisoned towards the fascist right. It just boggles my mind that so many people actually thought that Trump...of all people...would be good for the country. He makes Bush look good. He makes Romney look like a freaking saint. He makes Nixon look almost....acceptable. Jesus Christ.

God help our country, and we progressives need to help God/the Universe/rationality/whatever one believes in.

[DFW]

90. The crazies do have their constant vein drip of hate

But only a third of the country takes them seriously enough to let Fox or National Hate Radio be their sole media source. Actually, if Trump hangs on for a few more months and doesn't change, a LOT of his voters to whom he promised the land of milk and honey will figure out he was no more being serious with them than he was when he promised that piano dealer he would pay him for the pianos he delivered and instead stiffed the poor guy and nearly bankrupted him.

It's easy to hire a lawyer to tell a contractor to accept 25 on the dollar or face legal fees and a two year lawsuit. It's another thing to tell 20 million voters who got nothing at all that that's all they are going to get, or ever were going to get. No Democrat needs to even say "I told you so." They'll know it.

My wife, the even-tempered, justice-loving, benevolent social worker, is so disgusted, she wishes (VERY uncharacteristically for her) that hundreds of thousands of Trump voters who were convinced he would bring them jobs, prosperity and health care coverage--and will get none of the above--find themselves without jobs or the means to pay for medical care when they need it. What she DOES understand is that these people will refuse to accept that they were wrong until their circumstances get so dire, they have no choice but to beg the other side for help when it becomes evident that Trump and the Republicans never intended to offer them any. She also knows (as do we all), that the second these people are rescued from their dire situations by Democratic initiatives, over half of them will go right back to voting Republican.

[steve2470]

91. good points, all the best to your you and your lovely family! nt

[DFW]

92. Thanks as always, Steve

This weekend we are scattered to the four winds, as usual.

Next week, I'm taking 4 days off with my wife to enjoy that birthday present from our two daughters. Have to brush up on my Croatian--it's only been 35 years!

[exboyfil]

106. Evita Rainbow Tour

They equate Trump with Mussolini. I can't understand why.

They actually called me a whore. They still call me an admiral even though I gave up the sea long ago. (In fairness to Melania it is a joke).

[obliviously]

120. Do you interview everyone you meet or do random strangers just trot up and spill their

opinions about U.S. politics.

[DFW]

130. More like they interview me

Although Americans are everywhere, few of us bother to learn the languages of the countries they visit. With me, at any rate, when they know they can comfortably speak in their own language--or at least in the language of their adopted country--to an American who is willing to give his frank opinion on whatever is on their minds (mostly Trump these days), it's rare that a conversation doesn't spring up. As tourists, no one realistically expects the average American to be fluent in Dutch, Catalan or Swedish--or even French or German for that matter. Therefore, the conversation is limited to the level of knowledge of English of the local. As I travel for work (mostly), I have to know the local languages of the countries I visit. Anyone who visits them as often as I do and DOESN'T learn those languages is an idiot. I still work with people, not machines.

[DK504]

121. Your article/opinion is terrific.

"The Germans do not see a parallel between Trump and Hitler. Someone got the wrong impression, there. Hitler knew exactly what he wanted and set out a plan to achieve it."

Problem with idiots like Trump, he surrounds himself with people that will follow through on best laid plans to oppress others. While Europe may be taking a sigh of relief, we can't, he is still an out of control idiot child on a sugar rush running through a china shop. He also thinks he's brilliant, nothing worse than a moron thinking they are smart.

[DFW]

134. Maybe the thinking he's brilliant is a cover

I find it just as conceivable that he has an immense inferiority complex that can only be alleviated by huge outpourings of adoration. This can be orchestrated in show business, but as a globally prominent politician, you can't control what the press says about you all the time in all countries. He can't whine publicly too much about "how could they say such mean things about me, I'm a genius, right?" So, instead, any critical press must be fake news, because he can't handle criticism--especially when it is justified.

George W. Bush did not have a monopoly of being born on third base and thinking he hit a triple.

[keithbvadu2]

123. "paranoid egotist with an inferiority complex" - OUCH! Great OP with some excellent comments. (DT

"paranoid egotist with an inferiority complex" - OUCH!

Great OP with some excellent comments.

(DT hasn't copyrighted "great" yet, has he?)

[DFW]

131. Don't worry

If he does, he'll probably spell it it "grate," and we'll be safe until someone fluent both in English AND Republicanese points out their error.

[forgotmylogin]

125. We're sorry! We didn't all vote for him!

Last edited Sun May 21, 2017, 06:01 PM - Edit history (2)

I'm sure you know that.

A lot of us feel the same way and have passed despair into schadenfreude. You laugh or you go crazy.

I'm still eagerly anticipating the UK compulsory horsey-carriage ride. Or has that all been shot down in a fit of sanity?

[DFW]

132. I haven't heard a peep from the UK.

But fits if sanity are rare these days, so don't count on a sudden flurry of them.

[forgotmylogin]

142. Seriously.

If he bounces up and down in his seat holding air-reins and cracking an imaginary whip, my life will be complete!

[burrowowl]

127. K&R!!!!!!

Thanks DFW excellent reporting!

[LittleGirl]

128. Left CH in March

and everyone asked about #45. I can't use President with his name. Just can't do it.

I voted by email for my home district in AZ. it was the easiest way to vote ever. Every state should do that. I don't know why we have to go to polls. That's a poll tax just showing up during their voting hours. Outdated and unnecessary.

Thanks for the update. Hope wife is recovering well from her medical issues.
I know it's impossible to train someone for your job but at least train a few! ha ha.

well done DFW. You set a good example for us embarrassed Americans.
cheers.

[DFW]

133. I'm sure if email voting becomes prevalent, it will become hackable, too

Plus, I fully trust Republicans to devise programs to erase votes for Democrats, and then self-erase all traces of the malware that caused it to happen. Whoops, the Republicans pull off a surprise victory again due to low voter turnout! How could the polls be so wrong, etc etc. We all know how that song goes.

[LittleGirl]

137. There were

phone calls and emails exchanged etc before the actual voting occurred so it was labor intensive before the vote was cast. I had to provide my driver's license and voter registration card via email before they would register me.
But acknowledgments were received and I was very pleased.
Didn't do much good for us here in AZ who voted overwhelmingly for that con man in the white house now.

[Blue_Roses]

135. It's sad how the world

looks at us these days. With President Obama, our credibility was on the rise after the disastrous Bush administration. Now, we are back to sinking, ten-fold. I often feel like we are sinking into the abyss. I never thought there would be an administration that could be worse than Bush. Little did I know...

It's so embarrassing.

[DFW]

136. The embarrassment hurts

When I get ribbed about "no more White House Christmas parties for you for a while, eh?" I just say that the place has been temporarily occupied by hostile forces, and will be retaken when we regroup and counter-attack.

[LongTomH]

138. +1 Brilliant analysis, both in the OP and the thread.

[DFW]

139. He's supposed to arrive in Sprout City on Wednesday

Good timing. That's the day my wife and have chosen to cash in on our birthday present from our daughters. We leave for Dubrovnik at 8 that morning, so we'll be nowhere near him. Let him snarl up someone else's traffic.

[Liberal In Texas]

143. One of the best OPs and threads I've seen here in a long time.

Incredibly interesting.

(And living in blue Dallas County in Texas)

[FigTree]

148. Except that a US failure is strategically advantageous to Europe.

The longer the current situation lasts in the US, the stronger the Europe gets. And the longer it will take to correct the course.
After a full term, it might take a generation. Or more.
I believe European leaders are aware of that. Macron, for example, hinted in that direction.

[DFW]

149. I don't know where that one came from, but it's not the prevalent attitude here

No one I know here wants the USA to fail. They look to us for economic support, military protection, cultural offerings, and, believe it or not, even a few social things we get right. Less rigidity in our higher education, less paperwork in our daily lives, less control over our daily lives.

My German friends, before I moved here, used to ask in which city I had registered my residence with the police. Completely confused, I asked what they meant, and why in the world should I go tell the local police where my residence was? In Germany, you have to register with the authorities ("Polizieiliche Anmeldung&quot when you move, telling them when you leave, where you are going, and then tell the local police when you show up at the new place. I was amazed, and asked why they should want to do such a thing? They said it was easy to track potential criminals that way. I said that where I came from, society did not automatically assume we would become criminals, and that when you moved somewhere, you packed up and moved. Period. If you want anyone to know where, you tell them. Period. Leave a forwarding address if you want, and not, then don't. They were incredulous. The concept of free movement never occurred to them. It's alien here. When I registered here as a resident taxpayer, the local accountant asked my US accountant for information necessary to file German taxes. My US accountant made me sign a waiver, as the Germans were asking personal details that it would be illegal for them to disclose to anyone in the USA without a court order.

We spend an absolute fortune importing products from the EU. They love the strong dollar. With cracks showing in the economic fortress of China, and Russia long weakened due to the low oil price, Europe wants us strong, visible and successful--it's just that they don't consider Trump capable of making us any of the above. Come here, travel around, talk to the people. An American failure is the last thing they desire.