With all that is happening in the world, does our president really think that 140 characters are appropriate? So much can be misinterpreted, so much needs to be explained and there is no context. Is that too difficult for Trump to grasp? Supporters cried out (or rather shouted) that someone different is needed- not a seasoned insider. Well, how has that worked out? Do you like being the laughingstock of the world instead of a leader? Leadership is not making everything into a battle between winning and “losing”, but rather bringing everyone into play and arriving at something Trump does not understand- COMPROMISE. I am disgusted as so many others are. Of course, I was never a supporter because how can you support a liar and a cheat- someone who managed businesses and made money off the backs of the “small” business contracted to him by declaring bankruptcy 5 or 6 times. He came out a “winner” and those businesses lost everything. There is something more important than profit- it is how you conduct yourself. Ethics- a word that Trump has never shown throughout the campaign and after. Yes, erratic behavior, contradictions, spurious comments that hurt are not in the national interest. Hey Trump supporter- are you still feeling good about this guy?  Yes, the Donald is his own  worst enemy. Can anyone measure up to him? No, I won’t rehash all the things others have said, but to me, ethics matter. How we behave is a symptom of who we really are inside and I don’t like what I see.  I am increasingly skeptical that things will turn around and increasingly fearful of the future. Having a President who is not wanted in many countries for a state visit is itself, troubling, and each day is a new saga to “tsk” about. Bring back the most intellectual, caring, ethical White House of the Obama’s. To use a Donald term, this White House is a “disaster”. Well, at leas it is fodder for bloggers, but I feel stressed and out of sorts. The only one who is making money now is Trump-although that has never been a measure of success for me. Rather, how you live your life in relation to others means much more to me. I will shut up now and let the day progress…

It doesn't seem to matter how I feel- it only gets worse. I am embarrassed to say I am an American with a president who lies, cheats, steals and brags about how great everything is when he insults all our allies, is a laughing stock of the world's leaders and he listens to no one, gives away classified information, etc. etc. How should I feel? Helpless is the answer. I am certain he is so involved in this Russian scandal and obstruction of Justice that I cannot bear to listen each day to see his "tweets". I want to say something vulgar, but my pen doesn't work this way as nothing is accomplished by this. I really want to know how much Russia paid Trump because he and his cronies don't do anything for free!

I thought that things could not get worse. In a first press conference our new

president is more concerned with how many people were on the Washington Mall and that his inaugural was the biggest in history! This is something that needed to be said? Or that the great Donald appeared on the cover of Time magazine more than any other person–not even close according to a former editor of Time. (actually, not even in the top 15! I am sure he would like to know that Hillary has appeared more on Time than the president. Somehow I did not think things could be worse- but they were. He had to appear at the CIA to have something to report about, but even there, he had to lie.

He had to tell them how much he values them- yes, that’s why he doesn’t even read the special security briefing the President receives each morning.” It is too long,” he has remarked; he obviously needs the reader’s digest version (sorry reader’s digest). He prefers a few lines with bullet points- why should he have to read more? This man is so limited in his use of the English language. I find him inarticulate, nasty, and brash. Everything has to reflect back on him. “Nobody feels more about the intelligence community than I”- is what he said to the CIA. Please Obama, come back!

Where is the humility? Where is the connection to our history that the presidency reflects? What about heroism and bravery and sacrifice that so many unheralded people have given for this country? Where are the statements intended to bring people together? With his paranoia and his narcissism we are in for long days and nervous moments in time. I can’t even imagine the dangers that lurk in the coming months that await us. I am saddened as an American. We are all immigrants here. I am second generation. My father was born in New York City’s lower east side in 1904, his father having come to this country sometime in the 1880’s. Does this give me any greater legitimacy than a newcomer? Unequivocally NO.

Today had its great moments. The peaceful demonstrations in so many cities made me feel that if we can keep it together, maybe our voices will be heard. The more than 500,000 in Washington and the 250,000 in Chicago- the thousands in Los Angeles, Boston, Paris, Rome and other places was reminiscent of the marches I went on in the 60’s and 70’s against the Viet Nam War and the freedom marches for civil rights and the marches for the Equal Rights Amendment. I was a burn-your-bra feminist and  felt that marching is for a new, younger generation of people who have yet to establish themselves as activists trying to influence policy. I hope and pray that this lasts. I will watch and wait for another day. Let’s see what happens tomorrow and the next day.

To be continued…

 

 

 

 

I must confess that as the days roll by, I am getting more nervous about what will happen on January 20. Throughout my life, I looked forward to inauguration day–even if I was not enamored with the choice. This is a time for America to raise its awareness in the eyes of the world that we, too have pomp and circumstance–we have our own traditions and ceremonies. But this year is different. I fear the event and its aftermath and I will never be able to reconcile  my feelings of revulsion to a person who comes off as a dumb bunny (sorry , bunnies, I know you are not that dumb). He blunders into situations with little or no preparation (just like the debates where his mode was to deflect, attack and be nasty so you don’t have to answer the questions), says whatever jumps into his mind, knows more than the generals about our military issues, and doesn’t need the intelligence briefings because they are repetitive! He loves people who pay him compliments and is quick to anger at any person who voices their opinion of him when it is less than glowing. There goes our diplomacy- out the window and off with the wind to better climes- not in Washington. Does he really think he can be president and put up foreign dignitaries at his own hotel? We don’t know the extent of his foreign entanglements via his businesses because he refused to make his tax returns public as all the presidents have done for years- and all the candidates as well. So he’ll go along if Congress decides to gut the ethics provisions, he will stand behind the most horrible selections for a cabinet- people heading agencies that they want to do away with. How about an attorney-general who wants to gut the voters’ rights act, take away civil rights from as many as possible, do away with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security or at the very least, make these programs so small and inconsequential that the welfare rolls of previously managing families will skyrocket and the economy will tank (but the rich will get richer because all those pesky regulations that regulate business will not be enforced). I wonder when all those white laborers who voted for Trump will finally wake up and find that there are no roses for them. Trump does not believe that a full time worker deserves a living wage-even $15 an hour is iffy. So yes, the closer we get to January 20, the greater my fear.I don’t even know if I can watch. That’s enough for now. Another installment soon.

 

Yes, I am still beginning each day with a sense of foreboding. It is not because Obama was a perfect president, because I shook with anger that he somehow could not defend Israel to the utmost degree. Is there another country in the middle east that is a democracy? Does he not know that Jews love to argue and if they don’t have something to argue about, they will create it. I really should say “we” as I am included and have often exhibited such behavior. BUT- Obama was presidential, he brought honor, diplomacy and trust to the office of the presidency. He and FLOTUS were wonderful examples of how a good president acts. His relationship with his children, mother-in-law and staff was something one reads about in books- something genuine and uplifting. He lived his morals and ideals- to the highest degree. Now we come to Trump and all bets are off. He is unreliable, speaks before thinking, tweets whatever comes into his mind (not a very sharp one, either), and truly denigrates the office of the Presidency. I am embarrassed to refer to him as “president” beginning January 20. I am upset that he has been acting as president before his inauguration. I have never witnessed this before  and I find it inappropriate. But there is more, of course. The man lies so often that you cannot tell when he is actually truthful. He does not know what is in the Constitution, does not follow or even know the basic functions of our government, and constantly changes his views. There is no moral compass within him; everything is negotiable. But ethics are not and situational ethics are unreliable and often dangerous. No, Trump does not have what it takes to be president. He was accountable to no one during the campaign. A wall that Mexico will pay for? A Muslim registry? Total defeat of Isis because he knows better than the Generals? He goes on a rampage against people who are not “public figures” , denigrates the press and is taking office with the most conflicts of interest than can be imagined. No one knows the extent of his dealings with foreign governments and he even used the campaign to enrich his businesses rather than hire others. There is little transparency. Where are his tax returns? Does he not want us to know that he neither pays taxes on the millions he earns nor gives real money to charity? He has used his foundation as a personal piggy bank in contravention of regulations for a charitable foundation. These are the same things he castigated Hillary for and she did not do any of these. I fear for our country, I fear for the millions who were duped by his rhetoric and voted for him when their medical insurance withers and dies. I fear for the future of social security. And I cringe when I think of him foaming at the mouth and spouting off at will in front of heads of state. He is inarticulate, uncouth, loud-mouthed and a bully. Now, is that all? No- but it will suffice for awhile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day after the election I cried- for the great loss of Hillary, for the loss of pride in our electorate, for the loss of the election itself. I don’t want to read how Hillary’s campaign made a few missteps. Never there was a campaign that didn’t make mistakes. But Comey was way off- and should pay for the illegality he announced with no information  nor a warrant. I could sense the people who had decided to back Hillary and said to themselves,”not again!”

The biggest blow was the campaign by Trump. I was embarrassed as  a human being that someone who ran for the highest office in the land could be so crass, so mean, so misogynistic, so anti-semitic, so distasteful, in short a bore and a bully. I was on a cruise with many Canadians and Brits who could not believe what was happening in  America. Not only is Trump inadequate intellectually, but he is an imbecile who refuses to study. Has our electorate gone with the wind and rain that caused flooding throughout our land? He seemed to take pride in the fact that he did not need to know the issues, he did not need to espouse real policies to help us move ahead and continue the work of Obama. Everyone forgets what had taken place when President Obama was sworn in- the collapse of big banks, the undeserved foreclosures of millions of Americans with fraudulent paperwork invented by some get-rich-mortgagors, the collapse of our auto industry and the wrong bailout of AIG. Since when are companies “too big to fail”? I believe in capitalism, but only with regulations that are not stacked against the middle class.

So will we lose the right of women to control their own bodies? Even Catholic countries (Italy, Spain, etc.) recognize this right for women. But we are hypocrites- the right-wingers think they are more knowledgable than a pregnant woman,  espousing things they have no right to control. We lose campaign finance reform- sorely needed.Whoever heard of anyone spending a half a billion dollars on a campaign? Of course only the wealthy can be candidates. We lose out on everything- and who is the “we”?- yes, the middle class and all the ” worker bees ” that keep our country going. How can we ever lower taxes on the wealthy who don’t even pay their fair share as it is? Oh, but the new administration is set to doing just that. What happened to our system of checks and balances? It was thrown out with the proverbial bath water (and the baby, of course).

Americans, we are the laughing stock of the G-20. Even average Europeans joke about us. Yes, I am depressed and distressed that things will get a lot worse.

Nothing more to be said. And yes, I shed more tears for Hillary. My nose is stuffed.

’till next time,

mikkimendelsohn