Trust In Government In Trump’s America

Trust in Government in Trump’s America 

Just My Opinion: By Brett Kondratiew

From The Outside Looking In

At the outset, I am not an American, instead I live in Australia but I have an interest in American Politics. Pretty much because its brutality is unlike anything I have ever seen. However under Donald Trump, it has reached unprecedented ferocity. Is trust in government a victim of Trump intention and rhetoric? Or, a reaction to five decades of government disregard for a growing disgruntled and distrustful electorate?

Controversy And Division

To witness a presidential candidate, openly condone the physical and often violent behavior by his supporters, certainly piqued my interest. Yes, the battlegrounds of immigration and race will always cause controversy and division but when used as an explicit, electoral “plan of attack”, was extraordinary to watch. So here we sit, some two years into the Trump Administration and the question is, “Has Trump’s America altered our trust in government”?

Statistics May Have The Answer

As an observer I would say yes, America has lost faith and trust in her government. Statisticians examining and correlating their numbers all have reached a somewhat different conclusion. Fewer than three-in-ten Americans express faith that their government will do the “right thing.” This distrust in government has been consistent in survey after survey since 2007. So, increased distrust in government is not just a phenomenon of Trump. Perhaps Trump’s election was more about the lack of trust in government than we will ever understand.

How Low Can We Go

Confidence and trust in Trump, the man, is also staggeringly low. Eugene Scott, a writer for The Fix and the Washington Post, presents the following figures.  In Sept 2018, only 36% of people approved of Trump’s job performance. When questioned further, less than 30% believed that Trump would do the “right thing”.  This is the lowest figure seen over the earlier 10 months. Factor in the following stats; more than 50% of men believe that the media have more credibility than the government. It is significant that only 8% of African-Americans  trust Trump. His trust numbers among women are dropping so fast it is hard to get an exact number. Taking all groups together the average of expressed trust in government is at an all time low of 19%.

Is Trust in Trump a Ship that has already sailed?

I like to have a bet on horses but there is no way that I would put any of my hard-earned on someone with so little support. When I decided to write this editorial, I was given a copy of Bob Woodward’s new book “Fear- Trump in the White House.” I did not expect that so early into the read, I would find a man so ill-informed and totally unsuitable to be the “world’s most powerful individual”. Bob Woodward is a highly respected journalist and his book is based on many hours of interviews with multiple firsthand sources. The material presented doesn’t surprise me. Nor, does it surprise me that Trump has refused to comment, other than to call Woodward a “liar” and his book a pack of “lies.”

Continue reading

Trump Attacks The FBI

The FBI is a world-famous crime fighting organization. It is synonymous with solid professionalism. I have never heard anyone say they didn’t want the FBI working their case after a crime has been committed.

The FBI is like all organizations, imperfect. In the post 9/11 era, its anti-terrorism focus was at times thought to be overzealous, generating complaints from multiple sources including minority communities, and civil libertarians. The fast and loose ways of the J.Edgar Hoover FBI are long gone. The infamous founder of the crime fighting agency was famous for pursuing personal vendettas and agendas. But since FBI Associate Director, Mark Felt was discovered to be “Deep Throat”, the secret source for the Washington’s Post’s insight into the corrupt Nixon administration, a large majority of Americans have viewed the FBI as an honest and neutral bulwark against criminals of all kinds, inside and outside of the government.

Last weekend, in a rush of tweets Trump took aim at targets old and new. Trump criticized the FBI and raised questions about the special prosecutor’s investigation into Russian election meddling and the possible ties to the Trump campaign.

In that storm of tweets, more than a dozen–came after his former NSA, Mike Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. In one of his posts Trump once again denied that he had asked former FBI Director James Comey for a loyalty pledge, or directed him to stop investigating Flynn. Trump called the nation’s top law enforcement agency a biased institution whose reputation was “in Tatters–worst in History!” and urged FBI Director Chris Wray to “clean house.” Trump personally promised in his tweet meltdown to “bring it back to greatness.”

Eric Holder, former FBI Director, tweeted in response, “Nope. Not letting this go. The FBI’s reputation is not in ‘tatters.’ It’s composed of the same dedicated men and women who have always worked there and who do a great, apolitical job. You’ll find integrity and honesty at FBI headquarters and not at 1600 Penn Avenue right now.”

Trump had seized on reports that a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent, Peter Strzok was removed by special counsel Mueller last summer after the discovery of an exchange of text messages that were viewed as potentially anti-Trump. The agent, had also worked on the investigation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

Continue reading

Trump Moves Quickly To Reshape Appeals Courts

Trump Moves Quickly To Reshape Appeals Courts

D. S. Mitchell

Sounds pretty boring, talking about the US judicial system. But here goes, because what Trump is doing could change court decisions in this country for the next two plus generations.

There are 179 judgeships on the US courts of appeals as authorized. The judges are all nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. These positions have lifetime terms.

Continue reading

29 Things To Make You Smile

29 Things To Make You Smile

D. S. Mitchell

Sunday morning and Trump has slammed Senator Bob Corker and Corker slammed back. Tillerson is still denying he called the President of the United States an “‘effing moron”. Vice President Pence leaves Colt’s Game in Protest of the Protesters. Nate brings high water to Biloxi, MS. North Korean bomb test shakes China city. Movie producer Harvey Weinstein has sexually harassed women for 4 decades.

I could go on, but before I get any more irritated it is time to think of all the things that make me smile. Join me for a moment to reflect on the sweet and simple things in life.

  • Beach grass whipped by the wind
  • The crackle of Autumn leaves beneath my feet
  • The feel of cotton against my skin
  • Electric BBQ’s
  • Donating blood
  • A dash of Irish Cream in my morning Cappuccino
  •  Soldiers in their dress uniforms
  •  Children’s handmade cards
  •  Ed Sheeran’s “The Shape Of You”
  •  The shape of water
  •  Looking through freshly cleaned windows
  •  Montana’s endless skies
  •  Roller skating at Oaks Park, Portland, Oregon
  •  Paddle wheel river boats
  •  Finding that lost earring
  •  Homemade Clam Chowder and Cheese Bread
  •  Letters to the Editor
  •  Antique car shows
  •  A freshly cleaned garage
  •  NetFlix
  •  Cashmere and tweed
  •  Halloween’s “Haunted House”
  •  The thinnest, crispiest french fries
  •  A new supply of business cards
  •  Lunch with Mom
  •  A February 29th birthday
  •  Dancing cheek to cheek
  •  Random acts of kindness
  •  Circular driveways
  • That’s it. Hope you took a minute from the insanity of the 24 hour news cycle, put up your feet and smiled at a few simple things in life.

    Calamity Politics is a progressive news magazine dedicated to human rights, universal health care, elimination of the Electoral College and restoration of Democratic control of the Congress and the White House. Join the Resistance.

    Darlene

Part V: Behind The Curtain

Part V: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

At the end of Part IV: Behind The Curtain, David Cay Johnston told the reading audience that he had never seen evidence that Donald Trump was now a billionaire, or ever has been a billionaire.   I have no idea, and actually I really could care less if Trump is a billionaire or just a multimillionaire. That shit’s all in his head, not mine. Kinda like the guy who buys the biggest most gaudy truck he can find, to make up for some secret deficiency.

What I do care about is the obvious, and quite serious conflict of interest issues.  Trump has provided no tax returns, he has not established a blind trust, or divested himself of his businesses.  There are many questions about his deals with Russian oligarchs and his ongoing effort during the 2016 campaign to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, working behind the scenes with his long time attorney, Michael Cohen.

One of the character flaws noted by personal friends of Trump and discussed earlier in this series, is Trump’s poor judgment when choosing partners and associates. I can’t help adding my opinion on this matter.  I think, in addition to poor judgment, Trump just does not give a damn, that’s right, I don’t think he cares. The president’s  choice of Jared Kushner to be his Senior Advisor is a perfect example.

Continue reading

Gorka Joins Bannon Back At Breitbart

Gorka Joins Bannon Back At Breitbart

D. S. Mitchell

Sebastian Gorka, one of the most bizarre choices, for a presidential advisor in memory, has been cut loose, a week after his mentor, Steve Bannon resigned. Gorka came with Steve Bannon from Breitbart News and according to reports will be rejoining the alt-right puppet master back at his former job.

Gorka and the White House tell different stories about the events surrounding his departure as Counter-Terrorism Advisor.  Gorka submitted his resignation letter via the Federalist and that outlet published the document.  Furthermore, Gorka issued a statement complaining about Trump’s Afghanistan speech on Monday. Most particularly irritating to Gorka was the omission by Trump of the term “radical Islamic terrorism.”

The phrase, used constantly by Trump, during the 2016 presidential campaign, has been condemned by military and religious scholars and policy makers.  This omission is a very big deal with Gorka and Bannon. Gorka promotes the belief that there are no social or economic factors encouraging radicalization, but is rather a “flaw” in the religion that allows it to be manipulated and directed against the west.  Essentially, Gorka believes “Islamic terrorism is essentially ideologically motivated and rooted in a totalitarian religious mindset, where violence is an integral part of the Islamic faith.”

In Gorka’s formal statement, about his resignation he cited “the forces that do not support ‘Make America Great Again’ are ascendant in the White House.  The forces in the Administration have been internally countered, systematically countered, systematically removed or undermined in recent months.”

The White House declared that Gorka had been fired.  The truth is probably somewhere between to two separate claims. Whichever story is true about his leaving his White House job, it is known that Gorka will be back at Breitbart on Monday.

Gorka was born in the UK in 1970 to Hungarian immigrant parents.  He has a long list of “credentials” and “degrees” many of which are considered circumspect by colleagues and scholars.  Gorka is widely disdained my most of his counterparts.  He has been described as a “fringe” character.  His views have been roundly criticized.

Gorka’s views on Islam and radicalization–as well as his identifying with the Order of Vitrez, or supporting the European Union banned anti-Roma, and anti-Semitic Hungarian Guard have caused most of the controversy. The drumbeat for dismissal came almost immediately after Gorka wore the Order of Vitrez medal to the Trump inauguration.

The sight of that medal sent the anti-fascist and most liberals into attack mode.  The Medal, may, or may not represent Nazi sympathies. Sebastian Gorka has been accused of ties to Nazi sympathizing organizations, in the United States and Europe. I have seen no proof of that, however that seems to be one of the major reason for the mounting hatred on the Progressive side of the controversy against Gorka.

Gorka has authored several books, including, ‘Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War.”

Well, I certainly won’t miss this controversial character and I don’t think the average American, neither knows he was there or cares that he is gone. Most progressives are jumping up and down and cheering at the news.  I don’t know much about the man, but his alignment with the alt-right is enough for me to support his removal.

On Sunday, August 27, 2017, Sebastian Gorka threatened the “left” with a “big surprise.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I say, “Bring it on.”

I presume that Gorka was not taking on the large community of the Progressive left, but was rather taking on the “leftist influence” in the White House, specifically John Kelly, Gary Cohn and Dina Powell.

“Hasta la vista, baby,” is my final comment on Sebastian Gorka.

Topics of Calamity Politics analysis and commentary focuses primarily on U.S. political scene. So, please join me as I look at the good, the bad, the planned and the unplanned, daily.  It’s just my opinion, but I hope my thoughts and feelings connect with a segment of readers.

Join the Resistance

Dar

Racism At The White House

Racism At The White House

D. S. Mitchell

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Those words were put to paper 240 plus years ago when the founding fathers joined together to form the United States of America, a democratic nation.

Several days ago, in Charlottesville, VA, torch carrying, chanting protesters identified variously as Neo-Nazi’s, KKK, skin heads or white supremacists, carrying AK47’s and baseball bats threatened the peacefulness of one of America’s most charming cities.

Twelve separate white supremacists groups from around the country gathered together in Charlottesville, VA last week in a stated effort to start a race war.  The particular event drawing them together last week end was the advertised removal of a commemorative statute sitting on public property celebrating Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The Confederacy consisted of eleven Southern states which seceded from the United States in 1860 in a failed effort to protect and sustain the disgusting custom of slavery.  The south an agrarian society was “perfectly” suited to slave ownership.

The remaining states, known as the Union rejected the secession effort and a four and a half year long war tore the country apart. Affects of the social schism, war atrocities and the failed reconstruction have left an ugly scar on the face of this nation.

As severe reaction to the Confederate loss of the Civil War, a practice of “separate but equal” was instituted throughout the south, effectively separating the races in all aspects of life, whether it was using the a public bathroom, eating at a lunch counter, drinking from a water fountain, or riding a city bus.

Continue reading

Health Care In America

Health Care In America

D. S. Mitchell

The GOP nicknamed the Affordable Care Act, “ObamaCare” and spent seven plus years condemning the program, and promising to “repeal” the entire act, and  “replace” with some nebulous unspecified improvement.  Remember Trump telling the country’s voters they “will have great health care. Cheaper health care.  Everybody will be covered.” What the GOP Congress has offered, and Trump claims he will sign, is a bill that would gut services, slash Medicaid expansion and strangle insurance subsidies.

It has been made obvious since Trump’s inauguration that this candidate had no plan and his rhetoric was a total and complete fabrication.  In the recent struggle, the repeal forces are re-energizing and narrowing its focus to eliminate at least the most unpopular mandates of the ACA, such as mandating that everyone buy insurance, and companies with 50 or more employees provide employee insurance.  Those two issues, along with the rapidly rising costs, and decreasing policy options in the private marketplace deserve immediate attention.

Republicans have made hay deriding and chastising the Democrats for a less than democratic process during the drafting of the ACA (ObamaCare).  Truthfully, the drafting of the ACA was an example of transparency compared to recent efforts by Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan to bring their repeal and replacement to resolution by passage of a new health care law.

Continue reading

Since When Do We Establish Policy Via Tweet?

Since When Do We Establish Policy Via Tweet?

D. S. Mitchell

Trump gets an idea and decides to change carefully crafted government policy, and then throws it out via Twitter.  Since when should this be an okay thing? No plan, no developed policy, Trump just issues a “royal tweet,” as if it were a king’s decree.

Trump Tweets That Transgender Individuals Will Not Be Allowed To Serve In The U.S. Military

On Wednesday morning, apparently while he was in the can doing his morning dump, the President of the United States decided to announced his personal reversal of a carefully thought out Defense Department policy.  Trump assassinated the transgender military plan through a trio of early morning tweets.

“After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the U.S. government will not accept or allow–transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.  Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming–victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgenders in the military would entail. Thank You.”

The declaration blindsided his Defense Secretary, James “Mad Dog” Mattis, who is currently on vacation. Apparently, on Tuesday Trump notified Mattis and other key officials he was moving toward such a decision and left it at that.  So, during his 6:00 a.m. dump, Trump decided there was no reason to wait–on the announcement, so he fired away, in more ways than one.

Outrage from nearly every corner slammed back at Trump.  Many pointing out that the military spends more on Viagra than transgender medication.  Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war hero (D. IL.) called out Trump publicly about his questionable deferments during the Vietnam war, and indicated his lack of service put him in an awkward position when making Tweet policy for the military. Another pundit asked why the government was spending 3.6 M on every Trump trip to Mar-a-Lago and was now worried about the very minimal cost of transgender medications. Others were asking if the several million dollars for transgender care of military personnel was being done in an effort to find more money for the “Trump Wall”?

Questions hammered the White House Press Secretary at a news briefing later Wednesday.  Sara Sanders announced that the White House and the Defense Department would be working to figure out logistics of how “to lawfully deal with transgender troops who are already serving in the military.”  Huckabee Sanders admitted that to her knowledge no new policy had been initiated and further, that no conversations have taken place, and none are currently underway to insure a smooth transition of Trump’s new tweeted policy. Really, absolutely amazing, and not in a good way.

A statement from the Pentagon indicated there would be no change to military policy at this time. A 2016 Pentagon study estimated 1,500 to 7,000 service personnel were openly serving as transgender individuals.  A public group put the number of transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military closer to 16,000.  The Human Rights Campaign calls the military the “largest employer of transgender people in America.”

Calamity Politics offers opinions, analysis, and speculations, in a mostly critical examination of the U.S. national political scene.

Join the Resistance

Dar

80 Reasons To Smile

80 Reasons To Smile

D. S. Mitchell

The last two days have been full of drama and emotion. Jared Kushner is on Capitol Hill and talking to members and staffers from the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, behind closed doors. @POTUS spent 35 minutes last night giving a rambling disgusting speech to 40,000 boy scouts at their annual Jamboree. New Tweets from the president attacking Sessions hit the internet today, which brought significant push back from the conservative branch of the Republican party, including Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart News. The Senate is voting to bring TrumpCare out of committee today and I worry for the possible 30 million people that will lose health care.

I am jumping up and down and I am about to self-combust. But, I know that will not help. I know I need to keep up my efforts to derail TrumpCare. I have made twelve calls to Senators this morning asking a certain few Republican Senators to resist the White House and do what is best for the American people.

Calamity Politics is a political blog with a progressive leaning agenda. Calamity Politics intends to present relevant and engaging political conversation on a daily basis. Usually once a week I try to find something to smile about and share those thoughts with my readers.
As agitated as I am, I thought the best thing for my attitude and my blood pressure was to think of a substantially large number of reasons to smile. So, here are 80 Reasons to Smile, even on a day as disturbing day as today.

1.) Being part of a team 2.) Sunrises 3.) Sunsets 4.) Watching the turntable as an old vinyl plays 5.) Dimples 6.) Warm Apple Fritters 7.) Night games 8.) A checklist 9.) Arched doorways 10.) Search lights 11.) A day at the museum 12.) Finding a 4 leaf clover 13.) A loft for the little ones 14.) Antique claw foot tubs 15.) Sprinklers 16.) Popping bubble wrap 17.) Seeing a dream come true 18.) Baked potato “loaded” 19.) A “free month” of anything 20.) The sweetness of fresh corn on the cob 21.) Flipping pancakes 22.) Paper Airplanes 23.) Tic Tac Toe games 24.) Nervous energy 25.) Homemade onion rings the size of bracelets 26.) Cutting my own bangs 27.) Old perfume bottles 28.) Last nights spaghetti reheated 29.) Shari Lewis’ Lambchop 30.) Old things re-used and re-purposed 31.) Mozart 32.) Holding hands 33.) Salt water aquariums 34.) The caverns and mesas of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico 35.) A reading corner 36.) A secret admirer 37.) A talking parakeet 38.) Lingering over coffee with the Crossword Puzzle 39.) Persistence 40.) Celery filled with crunchy peanut butter 41.) Knowing you are appreciated 42.) Yes or No answers 43.) Floor to ceiling views 44.) Marinas and harbors 45.) Beachcombing 46.) Honeysuckle 47.) Ancient ruins 48.) History 49.) Jazz 50.) A window box garden 51.) Barge homes 52.) Potluck with family and friends 53.) A winning basket scored at the buzzer 54.) A weekly play break 55.) Sunday afternoon poker 56.) A lake cabin 57.) Black licorice 58.) Cobbled streets and tiled roofs 59.) Cast iron skillets 60.) Six layer cakes 61.) Magnolia trees 62.) The buddy system 63.) Old dolls and Teddies 64.) Caramel apples 65.) The Fusion of Tex-Mex 66.)Bead board ceilings 67.) Watching my grand daughter play hop scotch 68.) Loving what you do 69.) Koala bears 70.) Corner cabinets 71.) Elvis music 72.) The ability to change 73.) Tongue twisters 74.) Garden benches 75.) Losing weight 76.) Molasses cookies 77.) Nasturtiums 78.) Afternoon Croquet at the beach house 79.) Clean countertops 80.) Essential oils

Well by the time I got to the number eighty John McCain strode in to the Senate chamber, and cast a deciding vote to bring the Repeal the ACA bill out of committee. Some Republican Senator that I didn’t recognize came on Hardball and said he thought Kushner had been “open and straight forward and appeared to answer all questions thoroughly and honestly.”

I’m not in the mood to add a couple more reasons to smile, cuz I’m really angry and I think I need to take the dog for a walk.

Join the Resistance

Darlene