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The Expansionist
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
 
Trump Administration: The Keystone Kops Liv!
Most people today might never have seen a Keystone Kops short film, in that their films were made before 1920, but some were still being shown as short subjects between features in theaters (esp. during "kiddie show" matinees) and on television, esp. children's television, when I was a tyke in the years around 1950. One such short film presently appears on YouTube, so anyone who wants a clear understanding of what the term "Keystone Kops" means can check it out. Somehow, the term endures, meaning "to criticize any group for its mistakes, particularly if the mistakes happened after a great deal of energy and activity, or for a lack of coordination among the members."
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Sadly, the Trump Administration has already, in less than four weeks, revealed itself as being in serious disarray. Enemies of The Donald cannot take too much glee from that, because, like it or not (and most Americans do NOT like it, according to the polls, where only 40% approve of Trump's performance), he is President of the United States, and what he does or does not do can very adversely affect the Nation, internally and internationally.
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Do we deserve better? That depends upon whether you accept the notion that a President elected by a minority of voters is legitimate. I would say a minority President is NOT legitimate, and Americans deserve a legitimate, competent President who knows what the f* he's doing.
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Out Like Flynn.  The latest sign of chaos in the Administration is the forced resignation / firing of Trump's National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Other signs include the brazen defiance of legal restrictions on commercial endorsements by Government officials by Kellyanne Conway, a senior counselor to the President. She got into hot water for doing what she freely admitted was a "free commercial" for Ivanka Trump's fashion line in response to the Nordstrom department stores' decision to drop that line. Conway seemed not to understand that such behavior is at best a borderline ethics violation under current law, and at worst brazen defiance of the rules as to what Government officials may properly do regarding endorsement of private businesses.
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Further, some sources say that Trump was seen, and possibly heard, making a telefone call right alongside Japan's Prime Minister at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, that might have related to his Government's response to a missile-launch provocation by the lunatics in charge of North Korea. Altho every sensible person would like to believe that not even someone as reckless as Donald Trump would think for a second of speaking to sensitive matters relating to foreign and military affairs outside a secure facility where no casual visitor could see or hear him — remember that some people can READ LIPS! — neither can any sensible person think that he would NOT.
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I pass over Trump's illegal executive order banning people from seven dominantly Moslem countries, because it is still in the courts, so we don't know the outcome. Trump's order is consonant with observations I made here December 7th, 2015 that the First Amendment does not apply to people who are not already in the United States, because the U.S. Constitution applies ONLY to the United States, and no one outside the U.S. has any rights, of any kind, under OUR Constitution. The genuine legal issues relate to a President doing what only Congress is authorized to do, not the exclusion of people on the basis of religion. (FYI, I use "Moslem" rather than "Muslim" because no one knows how to say "Muslim", and different pronunciations have been in vogue at different times. Everyone knows how to say "Moslem".)
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In any case,Trump said he wanted to shake things up in Washington. He has certainly done that. He has replaced decades of competent Presidencies — no matter what you may think of their policies — with astonishing amateurishness.
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Maybe we should be thinking not only of abolishing the Electoral College, but also of abolishing the two-term limit upon the Presidency. Barack Obama was not a great President, but compared to Trump, he was a giant.

- posted by L. Craig Schoonmaker @ 3:11 AM




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