The fool thinks himself to be wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
Donald J. Trump, elected President with the help of an authoritarian
klepotcratic KGB murderer who had ordered hacking of the Democratic National
Committee. Seventeen
US intelligence agencies agree and reveal an extensive, detailed, declassified
report to the President-elect.
Rather than acknowledge the facts of the reports, the
President-elect disparages the intelligence professionals upon whom our nation
depends, by alluding to the mistakes made in the run up to the Iraq war and
intelligence demanded by our most stupid President, George W. Bush, who under
the influence of Dick Cheney, plunged us into a quagmire from which we have not
yet emerged.
Trump uses this mistake to justify and denigrate the
dedicated intelligence professionals who have compiled a record of Russian
interference in our election.
This Trumpian hubris endangers us all because even though the election
is over, in his adolescent mind, it partially detracts from his
"win." Donald needs to "win,"
placing his ego above the national interest. The cognitive dissonance of this all resembles the most insane
Salvador Dali painting. The
distorted clock, the horrified contorted faces, the horrifying improvidence of
it all.
Americans are gradually realizing that they have a
psychologically deranged President about to leave the starting gate.
These are remarkable, frightening times. A President-elect who is in denial
about intelligence reports, climate change, Nato alliances, and Putinesque
wickedness. Many Cabinet
appointments harboring a plethora of financial interests yet to be disclosed as
required by law and a voting public
a majority of whom voted against Trump now scared to death. Congressional hearings possibly to
occur without full disclosure of his cabinet of gilded age billionaires. The ludicrous Mexican wall, the failure
to disclose tax returns, the failure to divest. Red flags dominate political discourse.
Trump has still not had a press conference, communicating in
tweet bursts, many of which are dangerous, disingenuous, and self-serving, threatening
to undermine the ship of state, now rolling in a dark, tempest-torn sea. Trump exults in misinformation, utilizing classic propaganda techniques
of Orwellian dimensions. Dr.
Goebbels would be proud. Bypassing the media, yet utilizing it masterfully to
pour out hatred, bigotry, birtherism, conspiracy theories; he has, with the
help of an antiquated electoral system, stolen the election of 2016. Unconscionable, by any standard,
the Electoral College, is complicit in this fiasco. And social media has
distorted the landscape even further having been employed by a Machiavellian
impresario.
A national movement must soon take place to restore our
democracy: one-person one vote.
All the nonsense advanced by traditionalists, originalists, or what have
you, must be seen for what it is.
An attempt to disproportionally favor rural America. Those who support the system
argue that the electoral college governs space, not population centers and spreads
the vote geographically. How
preposterous is this notion?
People in Wyoming have three times the representation as people in California. Rural America should deserve equal
representation, just as should we all.
Republicans in congress, including the cowardly,
pusillanimous Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell will not know how to handle the
hurricane headed their way.
They will rue the day that they could not get along with Obama, having
sowed the wind, will now reap the whirlwind.
As Kathleen Parker noted in her column today in the
Washington Post, the conspiracy theorists who thought Obama a Muslim, following
the same logic can call Trump a Russian spy. Equally silly theories, yet not without appeal for
Democrats who believe that the election was rigged, but not as Trump had
suggested. If it is shown
that Trump in any way knew beforehand what Vladimir was doing or had planned,
here come the articles of impeachment. And perhaps a trial for treason. Why were they jubilant in Moscow when Trump got the 270
votes in the Electoral College?
Why do we even retain such a slavery-induced system?
Three million Americans have been effectively
disenfranchised. Their votes did not count. And Trump is going to be
President of the United States.
We are engaged in cultural and religious wars both at home
and abroad and are now saddled with a President who knows nothing, sees nothing
except himself in a narcissistic, distorted, mirror of denial, deception and
self-promotion.
We must ask ourselves how this all happened? And how could we have allowed our
nation to fall into the hands of a latter day Juan Peron?
David,
ReplyDeleteUS intelligence DID make fatal mistakes under Cheney/W. And their biggest mistake was trusting Cheney/W. Trump is probably just jealous that they've smartened up since then.
Dali? More like Munch.
It's not so much that Trump is in denial about intelligence reports, climate change, NATO, or the rest. It's just that he has no use for anything that's not centrally about himself. Trump is the caricature of the "cult of personality." Except it's not really even his personality. It's just imagery.
As you can see from Trump's victory, the Electoral College serves a vital purpose in elevating the representation of those whose votes would not count in a different way. The question, which should have been every bit as cogent and every bit as important before Trump's elevation, is whether this trade-off is still a good idea. Trump's election may serve as a clearer object lesson. We should not be quick, however, to overthrow this system, just because we're angry right now. In my opinion, the Electoral College is a faulty and unworthy system, because it rests on the assumption that Electors are smarter or wiser than run-of-the-mill Americans, a proposition which, although based on apparently correct assumptions of run-of-the-mill Americans, assumes incorrect things about the Electors. It's a good conversation, and there are, in my opinion, compelling reasons to move "forward," and away from the College. But not in any way just because we got caught badly this time.
So what now? The election happened, and the result was just certified by the final authority. If it is proven before, or after, January 20 that the result was faulty, what recourse does the country have? Do we sue the federal government, and ask the Supreme Court to overturn the result of the election, and the certification? Can we do that? You're an attorney; do you want to initiate that case? Go for it now, arguing that the result of the election should not have been certified, and an inauguration should not occur, while this fundamental and potentially dispositive investigation is ongoing.
Fred