Trump Today [View all]

[H2O Man]

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.....
William Butler Yeats; The Second Coming; 1919.

Like many people, I keep up on the “news” by watching various television sources, and reading newspapers, books, and things on the internet. These often provide a wide range of opinions, or interpretations of the news. I've never sought to limit myself to exposure to opinions that I agree with.

There are numerous topics other than news about current events that I explore through television, books, and the internet. The evolution of life on Earth, archaeology, anthropology, the environment, sociology, psychology, and U.S. political history are all fascinating fields of study. Being retired allows me the opportunity to go at my own pace, satisfied in recognizing that I can only cover a tiny fraction of what is known about such topics. “It's a small world, but you can't eat in every restaurant,” a high school girlfriend once told me.

Like all human beings, I am a product of genetics and environment. (In fact, all organic life on and of Earth is. Genetics and environment are like the yellow and blue that combine to create green life.) So my limited understanding of life around me – and thus, my opinions about issues such as the current administration – are going to naturally different than other people's. And that's a good thing, because if we were all the same, humankind would soon degenerate.

We are currently spectators of the process of a type of degeneration taking place within the White House. Considering that the current administration was largely populated by corrupt figures to begin with, this is hardly surprising. And the decay brings to mind the old saying that a fish rots from the head down – for Donald Trump is a degenerate.

“It takes a lot of degeneration before a country falls into dictatorship, but we should avoid these ends by avoiding these beginnings,” Sandra O'Connor Day noted in March of 2006. A curious comment from one who selected Bush-Cheney in 2000, but true, nevertheless.

The list of people shed by the administration in thirteen month's time continues to grow. The combined slimy group has been hung out to dry, like a snake skin that still bears the stench of Trump. We have yet to see a single person leave due to conscience ….for this White House lacks conscience.

The presidency creates something of a bubble for every person in that position, even in the best case scenarios. As everyone knows, Trump has become more isolated – both physically and emotionally – within the White House over the past few days. Hence, his outburst about tariffs. I heard on critic on television say that since Trump has damaged everything domestically, he is now targeting foreign affairs. I think most of the world's people are convinced that he has damaged international relations since he was a candidate.

Trump's personality make-up – his character, resulting from genetics and environment – does not due well in isolation. This is particularly true when he is under pressure. Indeed, any one thing (for example, being made fun of on SNL) will fester in his mind, until he lashes out. This obvious lack of impulse-control is because his outbursts come not from his brain's frontal lobes, but rather, from the reptilian stem of the brain. Trump in isolation rapidly becomes a lizard, attacking imaginary flies.

When the perceived insults add up, they create a synergy. Thus, the president who boasts of being a “counter-puncher” becomes enraged when Jeff Sessions counter-punches him, by dining with the president's “enemies.” And no enemy poses as much of a threat of Robert Mueller. Reports indicate that Trump is willing to shed Ivanka and Jared from his White House, sacrificing them in a feeble effort to protect himself. (Reptiles are not noted for their parenting.) This intensifies the isolation.

The danger is obvious. Everyone on this forum already recognizes this. Trump will surely seek to increase both domestic and international tensions – in an effort to protect himself from the inevitable. His brain-dead followers are likely to crawl out from under their rocks, and react from their own reptilian impulses. These are the ones Trump has called “good people.” Petty dictators – and Trump is by definition petty – try to use such unrest to clamp down on their opposition with “emergency actions.”

To counter this possibility, it is vital that we focus upon the methods described in the Bill of Rights' Amendment 1, and in preparing for the 2018 elections. There is a great battle at hand. Let's kick their asses.

Peace, H2O Man