A quick post today to bring your attention to a few things.
First, a recommended website from a good friend: https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/
The site is a good, daily round-up of news from sites that I consider to be sane. Not unbiased, necessarily, but certainly within the realm of realism that is expected in most journalism. It is not sensationalism. It is not ideological. It is not Pravda trumpeting for the administration (notice what I did there?).
Second, a few quick points that I want to highlight about this last week or two. Trump continues at a frenetic pace to sign executive orders and announce new policies or intended legislation that does absolutely nothing to help anyone that is not very rich. Let’s note a few things that we should keep in mind:
- Trumpism is not populism. Trump talked a good game of helping the “middle” class, but the unifying factor in all that he has done and talks about doing is really a militant nationalism. I agree with Josh Marshall, and if you are a fan of history, you likely agree — militant nationalism based on grievance of being “cheated” by other countries is extremely dangerous when you are a strong country. When you are the strongest country, it is downright scary. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-was-never-populism-it-s-nationalism
- Gutting the Dodd-Frank regulations is now a top priority because Trump’s friends can’t get loans. Not only is this just a farce (commercial loans are at their peak since falling during the Great Recession), but making policy based on your friends — your extremely rich friends at that? Using that as an excuse to roll back the regulations that are intended to prevent exactly the activity that caused the Great Recession? How is this in any way helping the working class?
- Trump is about creating grievances where none exist — creating an “other” as a bogeyman for people to hang their fears on. Currently, any group of people with non-white skin that are not generational U.S. citizens are included in this group — you can be from the Middle East, Mexico, Central America, China, and even Germany. . . and I expect this will include Japan, India, and other Asian countries soon enough.
Remember FDR? We would do well not to forget his admonishment in his first inaugural.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EuAZsz_z_U
Trump is asking you to do completely the opposite — to fear, for the sake of fear, because if you fear, you will blame and feed the flames of grievance upon which his politics is based. Stop the fear, and his power withers like the wicked witch encountering the fated bucket of water.
When Pigs Fly and Other Political Oddities 