Ineptitude as Racism

I’ve been working on this theory for awhile – chalk it up to conspiracy-theoritis but here goes – it’s about why the Drumpfenator is screwing the pooch so badly on the coronavirus.
Simple ineptitude suffices as an answer except for the missing self-preservation angle.

If he'd actually simply done what the leaders of Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand (get the picture?) did, then he would have been golden – like one of his infamous commodes.

Who could touch him? Saving the nation from the Evil Coronamonster and salvaging the economy and saving Wall Street at the same time! It doesn’t come close to catching speeding bullets in his bare hands but it would do to win an election

So… WTF?
Why is he muffing this so big time? He’s fecking Bill Buckner booting the ball. 

144,000 dead, fercrissakes. 

And he’s babbling about tests causing viral infection and low water pressure in appliances.

Insanity, then, would also would fit the bill as the reason for this fiasco of negligent genocide.

So, I should be satisfied with a double-edged Occam’s Razor and walk away now… and you should, too… but…

What if Drumpf is both inept and insane? (That’s pretty much a gimme as far as I’m concerned.)
He’d be right easy to bamboozle wouldn’t he? As long as his secret world of ‘A-Big Brain-Donald’ wasn’t disturbed in his disturbed ‘best brain’ then one should be able pull off such a bamboozlement quite readily.

What I’m half-heartedly proposing is this:

What if, Stephen Miller, house fascist, and Bill Barr, of the missing ethics, and Pompeo of the righteous pomposity were to warp Mr Donald’s ineptitude in such a way that those of certain melanically predisposed demographic would be more adversely effected than those who were melanin challenged? 

The point being skirted is that COVID-19 has a more devastating effect on people of color.

If those minorities of color (and the poor generally) were to die off at a ratio that would possibly restore the previous racial balance which these shit-heels call the ‘good ol’ days’, these three racist arsewipes might very well refrain from trying to steer Donald away from being a total wanker.

That’s basically all that they would have to do – nothing.

Nothing but allow tens of thousands of people die unnecessarily.

 

I, for one, am inclined to bet on the low moral character of Miller, Barr and Pompeo. Would they consider such monstrous evil? Yes, I do contend that they would.

Mix in the vile influence of registered Nazi, Sebastian Gorka, and the conspiracy of hands-off evil is made manifest.

(The invasion and occupation of Portland by Barr’s Brown Shirts enters into this, as well…)

The salve I have for these fits of conspiracy-theoritis is that the aforementioned toss-pots are too fecked up to even be that evil.

Cold comfort, that.

Post Script:
It must be stated that this strategy of fear and paramilitary repression is NOT part of over-arching, master game plan by Drumpf.
It is most assuredly not.
It's doubtful that the Drumpfen-dork has ever been capable of such strategizing. Drumpf can recognize an elephant on a cognitive test, but Drumpf doesn’t even see the proverbial elephant in the room: the devastation of the pandemic as it roars around him let alone a broader vision of affairs. Drumpf’s ability to construct stratagem such as what is outlined here is beyond him.

THIS IS FASCISM

Pompeo, Barr  and acting Homeland Security Director, Chad Wolf, have made their play and tipped their hand by invading Portland with an occupying military force. Don’t think that home-office fascist, Stephen Miller isn’t part of this step-wise assault on civil rights and violation of civic order. Meanwhile, Drumpf is in Lala-Land; ignoring the pandemic and focusing on water pressure in dish-washers.(!?)

If you are unfamiliar with the unwanted and unwarranted para-military occupation of Portland, I strongly recommend that you do some reading. It smacks of Gestapo and  East German Stasi tactics of terror and civil rights violations when , during the night, people are abducted without due process in unmarked vans. Think what you will of the protestors in Portland; they have the Constitutionally guaranteed and protected right to assemble peaceably and demand redress of grievances from their government. That is clear. That is certain. That is not to be questioned or denied them.

What the Drumpf administration is doing is also within legal limits as far as the deployment of federal officers to protect federal property - OUR property. What is not within legal limits is the abduction of protestors and the clearly  unlawful confinement of those protestors.

This is the stuff of fascism. This is the stuff of totalitarian states. This is the stuff of nightmare. This is not the stuff of the Constitution. It is a page from ‘Man in the High Castle’. It is a page from the authoritarian playbook. If this sounds like ‘hair-on-fire’ rhetoric, so be it.  Sometimes, such fiery rhetoric is necessary. This is one of those times.

One can easily perceive an on-going plan being revealed by the action first in Lafayette Park in DC when the peaceful protestors were cleared by violently aggressive tactics. The natural extension of that is the violent occupation of Portland; an occupation that is so unwelcomed by the Governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland that the state’s Attorney General has sued the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Protection Services  for violating the civil rights of its citizens.

I contend that these para-military actions are only one prong of this strategy. The other is the on-going, worsening pandemic in the USA. State terror must be built upon another more palpable terror; famine, war, economic depression. In this case, that foundation of fear is pandemic.

COVID-19 is a killer, of that there is no doubt. However, except for a couple exceptions- outliers- the pandemic has been quelled and controlled. The nations of Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere have managed, if not mastered, COVID-19.

The USA and Brazil have not.

Moreover, the tepid, ineffectual response by the White House has exacerbated an already dire situation. Drumpf continues to harp on the utterly preposterous concept that testing creates infection! This theory s not just ignorant it is insane and devoid of any rational basis in fact or understanding of cause/effect. He also further refuses to direct the nation to wear masks under the feeble guise of ‘personal freedom’. Again; this is an utterly preposterous proposition; tantamount to allowing fire-building during fire season. All the while Americans are dying and falling chronically ill.

In contrast, Australia enacted a shut-down of its most populace states when 200 new cases of infection were discovered. India has responded in similar manner to a new outbreak. The People’s Republic of China did the same thing when a resurgence of infection was found. These nations understand that medical science must determine policy, not - as in the USA - magical thinking and denial of the problem. 

The USA is a disaster area; 70,000 new cases. 142,000  dead. Nearly a thousand news deaths every day and many, many more are expected in the coming months when ‘flu season’ starts in earnest. There is no end in sight to this fearful calamity in the USA. President Drumpf has washed his hands of the problem and moved on; as if tens of thousands of citizens were not dying; as if ICU beds were not filled to capacity and the health care services were not over-extended and doctors, nurses and health care professionals were not at rope’s end.

The fear of the pandemic is pervasive. Even in quarters when its morbid virulence is denied; where there is an obstinate, belligerent delusion that the virus can be challenged and stared down by refusing to wear face-covering and maintain social distancing.  It is, rather, false bravado of teeth-baring that succumbs to the infection despite the obnoxious displays of misguided merriment. The denial of the fear does not announce an absence of fear. the fear is not simply of the virus but of the loss of control.

This is the fear upon which Drumpf’s Gestapo tactics are built.

This is the underlying fear which preceded unidentified federal forces as they swooped into Lafayette Park and into the city of Portland to capitalize on that fear. These are fascist tactics. The tactics of authoritarian states. The tactics of dictators; dictators such as Bolsonaro of Brazil, Xi of China, Erdogan of Turkey, Duterte of the Philippines and Kim Jong-un, who sent Drumpf such beautiful letters of bromance and manly affection. Drumpf has voiced his admiration of all of these despotic monsters.

The nation must stand against these ruthless, violent tactics. The USA must not abide such tactics. The American people must not condone nor accept such tactics any more than they would accept the dictatorial rule of Bolsonaro or Stalin.

The GOP Betrayed Us

We have been betrayed.

The GOP has betrayed us.

They have betrayed all of us. 

They betrayed the Founding Fathers. 

They have betrayed their oath of office.

They have betrayed everyone who has ever fought to defend the Constitution. 

They have betrayed everyone who has ever served the Republic. 

They have betrayed everyone who has fought tyranny and injustice. 

They have betrayed everyone who has given the last great full measure of their own lives in service to the Nation.

We have all been betrayed by the craven mendacity of the Republican Party. The GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln. Honest Abe would pale and quake at the thought of the nation which he saved from Civil War becoming the bauble which Donald Trump toys with. The precious trinket that Trump debases with his criminality is the Constitution; a sacred document which he defiles on a daily basis by his open contempt of the Law and by his actions.

Donald Trump is a loathsome person. 

He has been a loathsome person his entire adult life. 

Unless you have been in a deep coma for more than four decades, you know this. 

By a bizarre twist of fate, by Russian cyber-intrusion, by byzantine means, he woefully gained the highest office in the land. 

He, Donald John Trump, simply must not be there. 

As a lifelong criminal, fraudster, huckster, con-man, cheat, pathological liar and serial sexual predator, he has no place as the President of the United States. His incompetence, irresponsibility and ignorance of so very much, is well known.

With full knowledge of who and what Donald Trump is, the GOP have taken him as a god-send. They have gutted the Republican Party and stuffed the dead carcass with the malicious substance that makes up the vain, vile, vapid nature of Donald Trump.

The GOP has betrayed us. 
McConnell, Barr, Pompeo, Collins, Graham, Rubio, Barrasso, Ernst, Murkowski, Cruz have all betrayed us.

The GOP betrayed us.

Drumpf's Tiny Peter Principle

It’s been bandied about that Drumpf is the poster child for the Dunning-Kruger Effect (Google it). Actually, Drumpf is the leading exemplar for the Peter Principle whereby a person is promoted into their own distinct level of incompetence. 

The irony is leaden with Drumpf, in that he’s never been competent at anything beyond the avoidance of repercussions for his incompetence.

He was, by accounts, a failure scholastically, but gained admittance to the Wharton School of Business, the wheels greased by Daddy Fred’s moolah. 

He avoided the repercussions of his numerous business failures. (How does one go bankrupt owning a casino? How does one manage to do it three times?)

He’s avoided further bankruptcy by the Russian mob throwing millions at him in money-laundering schemes with the duplicitous mendacity of Deutsche Bank.

He was able to avoid charges of child rape and other sexual assault charges through the strong-arm, gangster tactics of his minion, Michael Cohen, and other more lawyerly deflection.

Through the vagaries of the Electoral College, the digital finagling of Fusion GPS and the Russian Troll Farm, Drumpf was promoted to his highest level of incompetency; he became the president of the United States, on office for which he is totally unfit and unsuitable to hold.

Congratulations Laurence J. Peter, the author of the Peter Principle, for this horrific validation of his theory, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their ‘level of incompetence’.

Unless you’re a hard and fast MAGA-Moron, few would argue that Drumpf is as incompetent in his role as POTUS as he was as casino owner.

Now, it appears the poxy chickens are coming home to roost, at last.

The Racist-in-Chief

What President Trump tweeted about the four Congress-members was appalling in its blunt force racism. There is no rational way to dodge the base racism that Mr Trump expressed. 

'Go back to where you came from!' is an age-old trope of xenophobia and racism. It was shouted at the Irish, the Poles, the Italians, the Chinese. It has been a slur shouted at nearly every single ethnic group which has ever come to the shores of North America and endeavored to make America their home. 

Commentators of the media have been quick to respond by decrying Mr Trump's blatantly racist comments. That was to be expected. However, one aspect of their commentary seemed to miss the point that all members of Congress are, in fact, Americans. Whether or not they were natural-born or naturalized, each are American citizens. It matters not where their family came from. It matters not a whit that they or their ancestors came from Somalia, France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, England, Russia or Germany. 

Mr Trump today double-down on his impudent impulse to express his inherent racism (Who can deny it now!?) by blaring 'Love it or Leave it!' during a press conference. (A press conference, mind you. Not during a stroll to Marine One. Not a 'gotcha' moment.)

'Love it or Leave it' was a bumper-sticker slogan of the late 1960s. It was shouted at 'peace-niks'  and 'long-hairs'. It was shouted my way on more than one occasion.

When asked if he thought such openly racist sentiments were, indeed, racist, Mr Trump, inexplicably, tried to turn the tables and claim that anyone felt affronted by such racist tropes were themselves racist.

This is totally absurd and totally unacceptable. It is unacceptable from the local mechanic. It is unacceptable from the mailman. It is unacceptable from an I.C.E. officer. It is most assuredly unacceptable from POTUS.

What Will It Take?

What will it take?
Will it actually take Donald Trump shooting  someone in public before Speaker Pelosi  allows the formal impeachment hearings to begin?
Or would she require more evidence for that crime, as well?

Trump's old running buddy, Epstein, was arrested - AGAIN! - on charges sex crimes.  There are clear implications that 'The Donald' was complicit to some degree in these crimes.
Trump has directed various members of his administration to ignore Congressional subpoenas to testify, a clear obstruction of justice and contempt of Congress.
Trump has directed his DOJ to delay the release of his tax returns and financial records  as ordered by Congress; another clear obstruction of justice in contempt of Congress.
Rob't Mueller has presented clear examples of obstruction by Trump of his investigation which include firing Comey, ordering the firing of Mueller amongst other allegations.
Trump's daughter and son-in-law and advisors have been in clear violation of the Hatch Act.
Trump's daughter and son-in-law and advisors have been in clear violation of the Logan Act, as well.
The list of alleged criminality by the President, his administration and his enterprises is a long one that includes violations of the Emoluments Clause, Bank Fraud, Tax Fraud, Money-Laundering and conspiring against the US government with a foreign adversary.

When is enough going to be enough?
What will it take?

Allegations against Nixon were a fraction of those against Trump.
Allegations against Clinton were as nothing compared to those leveled with evidence and witnesses against Trump.

Taking those two together, they were as nothing compared to the charges which could be brought against Mr Trump. Yet, Clinton was impeached. Nixon was told to resign by the GOP leadership of the day before the House voted to impeach.
Demand that Speaker Pelosi begin the formal impeachment hearings with a special counsel.
Demand it for the sake of the Republic.
Demand it for the preservation of the Rule of Law.
Demand it for the preservation of our Democracy.

Demand it for the sake of decency.

Impeach Donald J. Trump. 

NOW!

  

Trump is a Bully

Trump is a bully. We all know that.
All bullies are cowards at heart. We all know that, too.
As a bully, he truckles to other, stronger bullies.

That's why he acts the whipped dog around Putin.
That's why he fawns like an adolescent in love over Kim.
That's why he kowtows to Xi Yin-ping. That's why he considers the monster, Duterte, a swell guy.

He would have sucked up to Franco.
He would have been Mussolini's lick-spittle.
He would have groveled before Adolf.
He would have acquiesced to Stalin.
He would have.
We all know he would have.

He would have blustered a bit and puffed out his chest, thrust his chin forward. He would have demonstrated all that alpha-chimp bravado to effect a place for himself amongst the other bullies. He then would have curled up like a cur at their feet. He would have growled at their detractors much as he does to critics of Putin.

He would have been one of their enablers.

For bullies must always be backed by a coterie of enablers; thralls, minions, stooges.

Michael Cohen was one of his stooges. Enthralled by Trump's bellicose posturing, Cohen was Trump's junk-yard dog, playing the bully's factotum and consigliere.

Cohen was Trump's man.
Cohen was the bully's fixer.

Until he wasn't any more. 

That's where hope lies if there is hope to be had.
The allegiances that enable Trump's bullying are sworn not in blood but in salt water.
His allies are apprentice bullies doomed to be abandoned by the Bully-in-chief.

Cohen knows this.
Manafort knows this.
We all know this.
We know this because we know how bullies end.
We know that this is how the bully's boys end, as well.
They end in abandonment and banishment.
Poisoned in a bunker.
Hung upside down and executed.
Imprisoned.

McConnell will learn this.
Graham will learn this.
All of Trump's enablers, schmoozers, apologists, sycophants, flunkies and underlings will learn this.

It is a lesson they will learn.

We must be their teachers.

Our lesson has begun.
It must continue.
The next stage in the lesson must be impeachment.
Yes, impeachment.

Impeachment is not only a tool for removal.
It is a tool for chastisement.
It is a process of castigation and reproval.
It is a means to demonstrate the criminality of the president by offering testimony by witnesses, offering prove of wrong-doing.

Impeachment is not simply for removal.
Any argument that assumes that removal is the sole function of impeachment is one based on a fundamental error.
Impeachment is the tool by which We, the People - through Congress - can express our profound aggrievement between presidential elections. 

The four-year term should not be considered sacrosanct.
It must not be considered inviolable.
It must not be thought of as a hair-shirt which we must all wear as penance for a grievous error in judgment.  

Without the pressure that the impeachment process brings to bear, the bully will continue to swagger, lie, defraud and display a general disregard for convention, the Law, the Constitution, the social compact, civility, decency, decorum and conscience.

We must demand that the impeach process move forward officially.

We do not want to learn what travesties the Bully-in-chief will be capable of at the end of 2020.