March 28

Plenty to report on Trump this week; this is one that really angered me:

Trump Says He Told Pence to Ignore Governors in Hard-Hit Areas If They Are ‘Not Appreciative’

So my kids, who are already stressed enough; can now worry that the President of the United States does not want to help us because of the state in which we live.

He is despicable. 

Here is what he said when asked what he wants from Washington governor Jay Inslee:
“All I want them to do — very simple: I want them to be appreciative,” he said. “I don’t want them to say things that aren’t true. I want them to be appreciative.” (March 27 briefing).

Here is what I see as one of the biggest dangers of Trump and those following him. He equates truth to agreement and support of him; not adherence to facts. 

One can speak truth and be in opposition to another. To be truthful, one must often be in opposition to Trump, because he lies constantly. That is verifiable. But he says any person or story or article that is critical of him, or doesn't agree with him, or doesn't show appreciation to him is fake news. False. Untrue. 

CNN is biased toward the left in how they present information, but the information presented in it's broadcasts and online stories is true. They communicate facts. CNN presents information that is critical of Trump, but THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT FAKE NEWS.

Trump, and his followers,would have you believe differently. Trump has convinced many of his supporters that the only place to get truth is from his Twitter feed, and often Fox News. 

It is the height of hypocrisy that Trump throws the accusation of fake news at all the other outlets, when Fox News is the one that most often presents false information. One only has to look at how many on Fox communicated about the Corona Virus.

And just as I'm wrapping up; this comes out:

People are dying, and Trump is focused on his ratings. 

I've had conservative friends tell me I'm being judgemental toward Trump supporters. I don't mean to be. But I believe strongly that Trump is leading us toward death, not life. Danger, not safety. Conflict, not community. If you support him, I can still love you, but I beg you to read beyond his tweets and fox news. Be open to the idea that he may be wrong. Compare what he says to what we hear from doctors, health experts, scientists.

Examine his words and see what he is truly focused on--himself. His popularity. His ego. Read that last article linked above. 

And for those of you who love Trump and hated Obama, read these articles and replace "Trump" with "Obama" as you read, and honestly ask yourself if you would be just as OK if it were President Obama making those statements and doing the things Trump does.

Trump and Coronavirus Crisis

I haven't posted for a while; but that doesn't mean the President doesn't continue to do things that are simply unbelievable. This has increased during the Coronavirus crisis. Here are a few important pieces to read:

The Trump Presidency is Over, from The Atlantic

It's certainly not over, his supporters will ignore anything he does that appears negative. But for those of us who see him clearly, he continues to astound.

He just can't take responsibility for anything. His communication on the Coronavirus has been confused, incoherent and dishonest.

Donald Trump's appalling, blame-shifting Rose Garden News Conference

Part of the problem is that Trump labels anything he doesn't like or agree with as "Fake News." And his supporters go along with it, so they refuse to believe anything but Fox News and similar sites.

Good piece by Rachel Maddow.  You may not like what she says, but that doesn't make it wrong, or fake.

This image shows statements by Trump about the virus over the last two months. These are all true quotes. Not fake news. 

Fake News from Trump
He claims a new drug has been approved to treat the virus, only to have the CDC say not true minutes later.

Trump's supporters in media, especially those at Fox News, have been the ones spreading untruth.

It's not just liberals/democrats who are concerned about Trump. Lifelong conservatives, who have served faithfully, recognize how dangerous he is. 

I just don't understand how people can continue to support him. I think people have dug in so deep, they refuse to see anything that challenges their opinion.

Good Media, Trump Character and Trump Quotes

Sharing some important media:

Great video from Fox News. You should watch this, whichever side you are on.

Good piece from Slate.

I've been trying to get news and information from multiple sources lately. I spent some time on Fox News today. If that is what you read, then you get a very different perspective of what is happening. It completely reflects the president's perspective--ignoring and deflecting what is really going on; turning him into the victim and everyone else as the villain. 

I can see that those who lean right and want to believe in him are having their view supported. One only has to read and listen to the president's words, past and present in press conferences and especially on Twitter, to really see what kind of person he is, and what his character is truly like. 

Those who believe that he is an honorable, honest, caring, wise, compassionate person who wants to serve all Americans cannot or do not want to see the truth. It makes me sad that many people I know, who have many of those same qualities, support a man who has none of them.

It is sad that so many Christians support a man who clearly does not seek to honor Christ in his personal or professional life. Look at his history in business and personal relationships. He stated that he does not feel a need to ask forgiveness. He has been involved in shady business practices for decades. He pursues policies that hurt, rather than help, "the least of these."

He bullies people. every. single. day.

Many Christians support him for two reasons--he claims to be against abortion (I believe he takes this position for political power, not out of moral conviction--none of his expressed morals or values, past or present, reflect a concern for the lives of others), and he is against equality for people who are homosexual.

For many evangelicals, these are the only two issues that matter. They support a bully, a man whose policies and positions and morals fly in the face of the teachings of Jesus in almost every other area, because of those two issues.

Want to argue against me about his character? Good luck.

These are actual documented quotes from the president.

"You know, it really doesn't matter what the media write, as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass."

"I did try and f**k her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look. I've gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything... Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything."

"The beauty of me is that I'm very rich."

"Before a show, I'll go backstage and everyone's getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it...You know, they're standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible looking women, and so, I sort of get away with things like that." 

"Ariana Huffington is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man--he made a good decision."

"Let's make a deal; if you promise not to get "personal" with me, I will promise not to show you as the crude, fat and obnoxious slob which everyone knows you are. Sincerely, Donald J. Trump." (letter to a journalist)

"Little Jon Stewart(?) Is a pussy, he would be hopeless in a debate with me!"

"If Hillary Clinton can't satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?"

"I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."

Is Trump Racist?

Random thoughts... I do think Trump is racist, but that's only one piece of what's dangerous about him.

He is not just racist, he is narcissistic. He does not care about anyone, unless they feed his narcissism.  That is what makes him dangerous.

A president who cares about people doesn't call a major US city a "rat and rodent infested mess" where "no human being" wants to live. He doesn't tell elected representatives; colleagues in government, to go back to where they came from.

Trump has convinced his followers that Democrats are evil. That we want open borders and crime and that we want to kill babies right before they are born. 

I am a democrat. I am a Christian. I am not for open borders. I am not for crime. That one is ridiculous. Lately we're seeing a lot of this--he says that people who are critical of him "hate our country." 

We just dismiss comments like this, but this idea is dangerous. He equates himself with the country. Building a culture among his followers that leads to this--anyone against Trump is anti-American. 

I love our country. I can't stand Trump. He is a bully, a liar, a narcissist. 

He lies every day. 

From his tweets: 

"We are respected again all around the world. Keep it that way!" Ridiculous. It is clear that most of our allies do not respect Trump. They do not trust him. They do not agree with him.

We are not respected around the world.

"We have prosperity & success like never before.." The middle class is shrinking. more people are living paycheck to paycheck. the gap between CEO salaries and the salaries of workers is widening.

"Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television, insinuated last night while asking a debate 'question' that I was a racist, when in fact I am 'the least racist person in the world' ....or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that."

"The least racist person in the world." really? even if you like Trump, you have to know how ridiculous that sounds.

Bullying and name-calling Don Lemon, who I am confident is far more intelligent than Trump.

This is wrong. The President of the United States denigrates and bullies fellow Americans over and over, while sucking up to murderous dictators. This is wrong! Why can't more people see that?

He Just Keeps Going

Every few days he does something further and further from decency. I am continually shocked--not so much by what he does, but by how many people just keep accepting his horrible behavior and continue to support him.

Make America Great Again. A great job for Trump, but God forbid anyone with a different perspective try. 

Trump didn't like what was going on in the US. So he had to step in and make it great again. 

But for four women, elected leaders like him, who see problems and want to step in and make things better, his message to them is "if you don't like it here, you can leave."

So let's get this straight--when Trump thinks something is wrong with our country, it's his responsibility to change it. When other elected leaders feel the same way, they are supposed to get out. 

At a rally tonight, spurred by his racist comments, Trump's supporters chanted "Send her back!" about a member of the United States House of Representatives. An elected member of Congress. 

He said that she hates our country. The President of the United States is declaring that fellow leaders in his own government are enemies of the state. It sounds unbelievable, but this is the kind of rhetoric that leads to violence, to the breakdown of government. This is the kind of stuff you hear about in Russia, or North Korea.

Trump condemns leaders in Congress by calling them socialists and communists, but buddies up to real communists. The level of hypocrisy is staggering. 

Yesterday it was reported that Trump hung a picture of Kim Jong-Un in the White House. It was from Trump's visit with the Korean dictator, when he became the first US President to step into North Korea. 

“Stepping across that line was a great honor,” Mr. Trump replied. “A lot of progress has been made, a lot of friendships have been made, and this has been in particular a great friendship.”

It is appalling that he speaks about Jong-Un this way, then speaks so horribly about members of Congress, his own government, and accuses them of being communists.

I don't usually like playing the comparison game. But I'm going to do it here. Can you imagine how most Republicans and right-wing media would have reacted had President Obama done what Trump did and said what Trump said?

They would have declared him a traitor. 

"She's Not My Type."

I've tried to not focus on Trump lately. He makes it so hard. 

"She's not my type." 

That's what he said about a woman who accused him of sexual assault.

The President of the US said this. "She's not my type."

So you didn't rape her because she's not your type? What if she were your type; would that make it OK?

If not, why? Because rape is wrong? Maybe you should have started with that. "I didn't rape her because rape is wrong." 

Would have sounded a lot better than, "she's not my type."

Here's another one that is alarming; spoken to a reporter about his conversation with Putin:

“I will have a very good conversation with him,” Trump said, adding, “What I say to him is none of your business.”

It has been verified over and over that Russia interfered with our election. The President continues to deny it and joke about it. Now he says what he says to Putin is none of our business.

This is not just about a person's privacy. What he says when he is speaking as the representative for our country is very much our business. 

Post-Mueller

I didn't write for a while; most days the Trump news was pretty typical. The Mueller Report release went as I expected--pretty clear that Trump did a bunch of bad/dumb stuff, but not enough to demand impeachment or arrest. 

But stuff just keeps building up. And every time it does, I'm dumbfounded again. How in the world did this happen? How does it continue to happen?

He is a disaster! An ego-maniac--everything is about him! Every time he speaks he shows his ignorance and arrogance. Ridiculing and criticizing everyone except his faithful supporters. 

He accuses everyone else of lying, but insists he and his family tell the truth. And his followers believe him. 

He just passed 10,000 lies/untruths since his election. EVEN if only 10% of those lies are really lies, that's 1,000 lies. Unbelievable. 

This week he lied about late-term abortion, saying that laws democrats are passing allow the murder of children. Ridiculous. No truth to it. But his people believe it. 

A couple other things lately got me.

First, tweeting congratulations to the number TWO pick in the NFL draft, while ignoring the number ONE pick in the NFL draft.

Guess which one is white, and which is not. EVEN if your reason isn't racial--you have to know this will APPEAR incredibly racial! 

Why do it? Maybe because the number two pick supports Trump? With Trump, it's not about what people do or accomplish; it's about how people view and treat him. It's always about him. 

This one floored me.

A bit older, but still hanging around...

"Kim tells me he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word,” Trump said in Vietnam.

This is about North Korean president Kim Jong Un. A brutal dictator who has killed members of his own family. 

Trump calls almost everyone a liar--Democrats, reporters, critics, colleagues in government... but a brutal dictator who kills and leads by force; this is whom he chooses to believe and trust.

Fast food for visiting college sports teams. I know he thinks it's cool, but it's really just demeaning.