I was reminded of the 1986 music video by the group Genesis for “Land of Confusion”. It ends with Reagan making a choice between two buttons labeled “Nurse” and “Nuke” and hitting the “Nuke” button which sets off an explosion.
There are a lot of clever references in the video which are explained here.
A Time article shown on Yahoo states:
“In an open letter to Congress on Thursday, a group of 17 former nuclear launch officers argued that President Trump “poses a clear and present danger to the country and the world” and warned that “there are no reliable safeguards” to prevent Trump from deciding to launch a nuclear missile on his own.”
These people ought to know. If they’re concerned, I’m concerned. Can’t they get Trump a Staples Easy button and tell him it’s the nuke button?
I think we are at a greater risk of nuclear war than any time since the early 1960s. I’m too old to hide under my desk. Sad!
Trump said the FBI was “in tatters” and “dishonest”. Congressional Republicans claim there is a “deep state” within the FBI which has political biases.
How soon we forget.
In late 2016, the perception by many was the opposite – the FBI was pro-Trump and anti-Clinton. FBI Director Comey had damaged the Clinton campaign by twice publicly discussing the investigation of her emails.
This column from right before the 2016 election states “According to numbers from August, 67 percent of FBI agents are white men. Fewer than 20 percent are women. The number of African-American agents hovers around 4.5 percent, with Asian-Americans about the same and Latinos at about 6.5 percent. If Trump were running for president with an electorate that looked like that, he’d win in a landslide.”
While FBI leadership has changed, I assume most of the career employees are still there and are probably pro-Trump. Sad!
Trump is a racist. If you want to review prior examples of his racism before the “shithole” remarks, read this. Many of us already knew he was a racist but I don’t see how anyone can deny it after his “shithole” comments yesterday.
What he said
Trump issued a lame denial today on Twitter but the White House did not deny the “shithole” remarks yesterday. Senator Durbin is on the record today saying Trump said it. Others who were there have also said Trump said it but have not spoken out publicly. I see no reason to believe Trump after he has told so many lies.
Reaction to the comments
Democrats and a few Republicans have condemned Trump’s racist language. Gutless Republican leaders like McConnell and Ryan said nothing yesterday but Ryan called the comments “unhelpful” today. Here are more Congressional reactions.
Trump’s base will be fine with his remarks. A CNN article said “A White House official told CNN the President’s “shithole” remark is being received much differently inside of the White House than it is outside. The official said that although this might enrage Washington, staffers predict the comment would resonate with Trump’s base, similarly to how Trump’s attacks on NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem did.” Trump asked friends how they thought the “shithole” remark was being covered in the press.
Here are reactions from individual Trump supporters.
White supremacists were happy with Trump’s remarks.
People in countries attacked by Trump have fought back.
Update on Republican reactions
This will not help in resolving the DACA and immigration issues. This will not be good for US diplomats and troops in the countries Trump attacked. This will not help US relations with other countries for trade deals and the fight against terrorism. Sad!
Trump canceled his visit to London. He blamed the cancelation on Obama because he was not a fan of the real estate deal that resulted in the new embassy. In my view, the real reason is that he was going to be greeted by massive protests.
Liberals and conservatives in the UK criticized Trump at the time.
The decision was made by George W. Bush. This is just another Trump lie about Obama.
According to the Associated Press, “Then-Ambassador Robert Tuttle said: “We realized that the goal of a modern, secure and environmentally sustainable embassy could best be met by constructing a new facility.”” This article points out other things Trump said about the move which are not correct. His ambassador to the UK took a different approach.
Former ambassadors also said Trump was incorrect.
Trump continues to alienate allies while he sucks up to Russia. Sad!
W-P-L-J stands for White Port and Lemon Juice. The original version was by the Four Deuces. The cover version by the Mothers of Invention (as “WPLJ”) is on their album Burnt Weeny Sandwich.
The original version was recorded by Little Richard backed by Johnny Otis in 1953 but not released until later. It was covered by the Mothers of Invention led by Frank Zappa. Their version featured Don “Sugarcane” Harris on violin and vocals. It’s on the album Weasels Ripped My Flesh which has an amazing cover by Neon Park. The album was released in 1970 but this track was recorded in 1969.
The Mothers of Invention (1970)
Here’s a much longer version of the Mothers cover with a long guitar solo. It was recently released on The Hot Rats Sessions.
I strongly recommend this column by Thomas Edsall in the New York Times. He begins with a discussion of the impact of automation on jobs which has driven voters in the affected areas to the right (and to vote for Trump in 2016).
He concludes that there is no one reason why Trump won. Both economic reasons and racial resentment were major factors.
Sad!
Trump reportedly said that all Haitians entering the US have AIDS and that Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” once they saw America. The administration denied that he said these things.
Now, a Washington Post article said two sources said he called African countries, El Salvador and Haiti “shithole countries” and that the US should try to get more immigrants from countries like Norway. He met with the Norwegian prime minister yesterday.
To me, the second instance makes the first one more plausible. I read this after I originally wrote the post – it makes the same point I did. I believe both articles are true.
Here are more examples of Trump’s comments about nonwhite immigrants. This goes back to the first day of his campaign when he said Mexico was sending us rapists. The man’s a bigot. How much proof do you need?
Sad!
Joe Arpaio, the bigoted sheriff who was pardoned by Trump, is running for the Senate in Arizona. He still believes Obama’s birth certificate is phony!
Sad!
Sad! 