Donald J. Trump is a Coward

Posted on May 3, 2020 by admin

This just in: I’m not a psychologist but I like to play one on Facebook. In this “opinion” piece, I will lay out my case for Donald J. Trump, our Commander In Chief being labeled as a coward.

Let’s start with the easy stuff. He went to a pseudo-military school so that he could play “brave soldier” and then suddenly developed a rare form of bone spur that kept him out of an actual war. By “rare” I mean he has the only bone spurs in history that self-healed. This is why he doesn’t have them any more.

Another easy one – He’s a bully. We all learned at a very early age that the bully on the playground was actually a coward. Bullies never pick on the bigger kid. They choose battles where they are the overwhelming favorite and then attack.

Trump is illiterate. Now, there are varying degrees of illiteracy. One thing that all illiterates have in common is the fear of being discovered. They don’t want you to know that they can’t read or, as in Trump’s case, ready very poorly.

Trump fires people by text message. He does not have the strength of character to see these people face to face. Only when they are not around does he fire them and then call them things like “disgraceful”.

Trump never takes the blame. The one bedrock of leadership; that one thing you learn by just ready in the introductory pages of a leadership text is that the Buck Stops Here. A leader takes the blame for everything underneath him. If his CDC failed him, it’s not the CDC’s fault. As the leader, it’s Trump’s job to make sure the CDC is capable. Trump, however, overseas nothing. He waits for something to happen and then, if it’s good, he did it. If it’s bad, he had nothing to do with it.

Trump is a misogynistic racist. I put these two together because they are both inspired by the fear of being out performed by someone that others may see as inferior. Keep women down because if they outperform you, then you will hear about it on the playground, “Trump got beat by a girl.” The same is for Hispanics, Islamics and Chinese. Yes, Trump uses them as scapegoats but at the very core, he fears them.

Trump idolizes bullies. This is a birds of a feather thing. Think Putin, Kim Jong Widebody, Erdogan, Xi Ping whatever. He fears them so he saddles up next to them. He then does their bidding. For example, Putin said he didn’t interfer in our elections and Trump supports him as he trashes the entire NSA. Erdogan says, “We are coming into Syria so get out of the way.” Trump does as he is told.

Trump praises North Korea since the alternative would be to face the fact that he has failed miserably. He fears facing this fact.

Trump is homophobic. People that are homophobic are really just afraid that they may be gay themselves and are afraid you may notice that.

Trump didn’t close down Airlines from China until after the airlines did it because he feared making such a big decision.

Trump didn’t use the Defence Authorization Act because he feared that there would be push-back and that would make him appear wrong.

Trump has abdicated his leadership role in the pandemic so that he can take credit for the work of others while not taking the blame at any step along the way. (He claims to have saved millions of lives so far)

Trump only keeps relatives and lapdogs in his inner circle. Qualifications are not required; only loyalty. He fears the truth getting out.

At no point in the last 3+ years have I looked at Trump and not seen a coward.

Now I ask myself: “Is it important that our leader have courage?”

In my humble opinion, I’d rather have a leader that says, “We have a major problem on our hands and I’m going to do what I think is best to fix it” as opposed to the Trumpian path of “I’m afraid to act so instead, I’ll pretend everything is fine and maybe it will go away.”

We will not emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic intact and in short order because of one thing: We have a coward for a president.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

No Collusion, No Puppet

Posted on April 2, 2019 by admin

This just in: It appears that the Mueller report could not find enough evidence to charge Trump with Collusion with Russia. The report, what we know of it thus far, did state specifically that it did not exonerate Trump from the charge of Obstruction.

Of course, in the face of direct evidence to the contrary, Trump goes on tour and announces “The report completely exonerates me!” And his followers go wild.

I have long suspected that Trump did not have a collusion agreement with Russia. My primary reason for this is that Trump is not intellectually capable of such a complicated plot. What I do suspect is that Trump is what Hillary claimed in the debates – A puppet for Putin. And…Trump is not even aware of this. Putin strokes Trump just right and Trump does what Putin wants.

But let’s forget about Russia. If Russia didn’t exist, would Trump be a good president?

I would argue the following short list off the top of my head makes him unqualified:

Subverting the Constitution to spend money not authorized by Congress to build a border wall.

Statements like “There are good people on both sides” when referring to white supremacists and counter protesters.

When given the choice between compassion and cruelty, he chooses the latter. Note: Families seeking asylum at the southern border or Puerto Rico.

Cutting off aid to Central American countries in an effort to stop immigration. Completely ignoring the fact that this aid was helping to stem immigration to begin with.

Promotes “healthy asbestos” and “Vaccines cause Autism”.

Denies climate change and does everything in his power to promote the carbon industry while squashing the Green industries.

Lies constantly. For example, just before the 2018 elections he announced that they were working on a major tax cut of 10% for middle class families. This only existed in his head. Now he is claiming a great healthcare plan with better coverage and lower costs. To see it, all you need to do is re-elect him in 2020.

Supports brutal dictators around the world in places like Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

Does not even pretend to be president for All Americans. You are either on his team or you are the enemy.

Supported a tax bill that adds trillions to our national debt while benefiting only the already very rich.

Likes to “grab them by the pussy” because when you’re famous you can get away with it.

Opposes the entire world by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord.

Calls members of Congress names in very much the same way a schoolyard bully would do.

Belittles our NATO allies and often muses about getting out.

Turned over our role as an international trade leader to China.

I could go on and on. My point is that the “Russia Thing” is just a small slice of Trump’s complete Pie of Incompetence.

Just a note on his healthcare plan. First of all, there is no plan. The Republicans have had 10 years to come up with a plan and the best they can do is “No, you shut up.” Anyway, Rick Scott has been put in charge of this. When asked how his plan is shaping up, he basically said, “Our plan, that does not exist, would be great except Nancy Pelosi will block it at some point in the future.”

He is actually blaming Pelosi for something she didn’t do to something he hasn’t created.

And yet…there are still people out there that vote for Republicans.

Amazing.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

I wish I was wrong more often

Posted on July 26, 2018 by admin

This just in: I see no reason to expect that I am either right or wrong more often than the average person. However, there are times that I wish I was wrong more often than I am; especially when it comes to this blog.

Being wrong is not really a bad thing. To discover that I’m wrong is the same as learning something new. I like to think I can change my mind and accept a perspective that I had not previously held.

Take climate change for example. I believe in it. I didn’t do any math but other have and the experts emerged from their “room of math and climate analysis” and declared, “It’s happening and we did it!”

Suppose this same group met again and reviewed their math and then emerged and said, “We forgot to carry the 3! There is no climate change!”

This would make me change my mind.

Like climate change, I depend on experts to help me to take a side on an issue. Take Pi, for example. It’s an irrational number in that it’s digits go on forever without repeating. I believe this because someone smarter than me did the math.

I said Trump’s tax breaks for the rich would not stimulate the economy. I wanted to be wrong. I want 5% growth rate and lots of well paying jobs. History, however, teaches a different lesson about tax cuts. History says there will be a brief spurt and then…nothing. That is what we are seeing now.

I want Trickle-Down-Economics to work. If the rich have more money, I want them to create high paying jobs. Alas…this is a failure as well. This Trump policy is the most disproven economic theory I know of and it is playing out just like the economic experts said it would. A flop.

I wish it was a fact that separating immigrant parents from their kids is a morally just solution. Alas…it’s not and I’m once again correct that we should be condemning it.

I wish I was wrong when I said Trump’s tariffs would start a trade war and result in a loss of jobs and higher prices here at home. Once again…I was, unfortunately correct.

I wish I was wrong when I say that racists and evangelicals are basically the same thing. But, I’m not. What’s the difference between hating Muslims and hating non-whites?

I wish Trump was super clever and was actually toying with Putin in Helsinki. I wish he truly was the “toughest ever” on Russia. However, I’m not wrong. Trump is not a smart man. He is a Putin puppet.

I wish Trump had solved the North Korea threat. But instead…he just got taken for a ride by Kim-Jong-Waterbrain.

I wish we didn’t need NATO because Trump is certainly trying to end it. But we do.

Now….what about my assertion that Trump is a money launderer? Well…I think we’ll see about that pretty soon.

Yes, over the years, I have made mistakes on my blog. The title “View From The Cheap Seats” is meant to indicate that I’m not always posting an academic White Paper but rather … I’m just telling you what I believe.

Most of my posts over the last year have been trashing Trump and the Republican Party. I don’t do this because they are on the “other team”. I do it because they are wrong; at least in my mind.

My mind…feel free to change it.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Putin’s Spanking Room

Posted on July 9, 2018 by admin

This just in: Trump is headed to Europe to meet with NATO, the UK and Putin. I’d like to share a few thoughts and predictions about this.

But first, let’s look at Trump’s achievements while in office thus far. Perhaps this will tell us how high or low to set the bar for this week’s expectations.

First of all, we must remember that he is an expert Deal Maker. If you are not sure, just ask him.

Deals he has backed out of…

The Trans Pacific Partnership whose purpose was to increase markets overseas for U.S products.
NAFT whose purpose was to increase markets in Canada and Mexico for U.S. products.
U.N. Human Rights Council whose purpose is to monitor and address Human Rights around the world.
The Iran Nuclear deal whose purpose was to eliminate Iran’s ability to create a nuclear threat to the world.
ON the verge of exiting the G-7 economic summit because they hurt his feelings.

Deals he has made…

Under his congress, he passed a tax law that adds trillions to our national debt in exchange for…nothing other than millions of tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the country.
He claimed to have made a deal with North Korea and even announced that his 2-hour meeting with Kim -never missed a meal- Jong Un resulted in a complete end to the nuclear threat. Notable is that North Korea seems to disagree with this completely.

Major accomplishments…

For no apparent reason, pushed for the separation of immigrant parents and their children as they sought to flee violence in their own countries.
Refused to support a “Breast Feeding is Good” resolution at a World Health Assembly; stunning the rest of the world. His rationale….”Baby food makers are people too.” Never, ever underestimate the power of the Baby Food Lobby.
Everything else he has done has been through Executive Order, including the tariffs that are set to cripple to Global economy. He has also dismanted of nearly every regulation put in place to protect our environment.

Now….About his overseas trip that starts today…

He meets with NATO in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday. He has managed to alienate nearly every member in this organization. NATO is the single most successful peace organization in the history of the world. Trump, on his very own, has created an atmosphere where they fear even meeting with him. They know he is Putin’s boy and fear that any plans they make will be relayed to Putin when he and Trump meet a few days later. My prediction: Trump will continue to alienate NATO. He will boast about how well everything went and then ignore it when other members claim he is a turd.

We have to remember that Trump lives in a world that exists only in his mind. There is no “Better and Cheaper healthcare.” There is no “Denuclearization of North Korea.” There is no “Better Trade deal that is more fair.” He’s claimed all of these and yet, all are demonstrably false.

After NATO, Trump goes to the UK where he is universally hated. He will mostly avoid London where protesters will be filling the street. There will be a giant balloon of Baby Trump flying over the city. We have to remember, the U.K. is our biggest and closest ally…and they hate the president of the United States. My prediction is that he will do whatever it takes to piss of the UK even more. He can’t help himself. Making others angry or fearful makes him feel strong.

This brings us to Putin…

Trump and Putin will meet in Helsinki a week from today. Reportedly, Putin has set up a Spanking Room where he will administer whippings to a fat cheeto dressed in black leather.

Eventually, he and Trump will reach an agreement where Trump tells him everything he knows about NATO and Putin tells Trump how to behave on a wide range of issues going forward.

So, there you have it.

Trump’s experience tells me that my Expectations Bar needs to be set very low. In fact, I think I’ll just lay it on the ground.

Up, up and away…

Jim

Basking in the Glory of “Words”

Posted on May 24, 2018 by admin

This just in: I see that Trump allowed himself to get played by North Korea; today, stepping out of the proposed summit so that “He could do it before they did.”

Just in case you missed it, Trump has accomplished virtually nothing since taking office. Yes, some things have happened but nothing that would (or should) be considered an accomplishment.

Trump is very big on making a bold promise and then basking in the adulation. Here’s the deal…he actually doesn’t do anything other than say the words. I’m going to post a list of things that Trump has claimed credit for doing simple because he “says he’s going to do it.”

First, a couple of footnotes: (1) Trump recently told Leslie Stahl of 60 minutes that he calls news fake so that people will not believe it when bad stories are written about him and (2) In his book, The Art of the Deal, he says you can lie to people and then do whatever you want to do.

Here is my list….

Trump promised better healthcare at a much, much lower price. “The best healthcare you have ever seen.” He got lots of applause for this on the campaign trail…then did nothing. That’s not quite true. He actually made it worse by eliminating the “individual mandate”; a move that is supposed to add $1,000 to the average medical bill next year.
Trump promised to cut taxes which will bring jobs back to America, lower the debt and spur grow “like we’ve never seen before.” He claimed, without evidence, that GDP would grow at a rate above 5% under his plan. Again, people ate this up on the campaign trail believing that Trump could turn water into wine. As it turns out, he had no plan. This allowed the GOP to cut taxes for their billionaire donors, leaving the rest of the 99% to foot the bill of the largest deficit ever.
Trump promised to deal with North Korea. So far, his strongest action has been a tweet calling the leader of North Korea “rocket man.” On his watch, North Korea has developed the ability to strike North America with a nuclear tipped ballistic missile.
Trump said he would deal with the Iran threat. Instead, he reneged on a treaty with Iran and 5 other countries; opening the door for Iran to once again pursue the development of nuclear weapons.
Trump claimed that he would renegotiate the TransPacific Partnership trade deal. Instead, we dropped out and the deal moved forward without us; effectively reducing our ability to trade with about half the world.
Trump claimed that he would renegotiate NAFTA. Instead, both Canada and Mexico are looking for trading partners to replace us with.
Trump claimed he was going to “deal with China”. Instead, China claimed the South China Sea as their own. Economically, they have outplayed him in every way. China knows that Trump responds to flattery and bribes so they use both to great effect.
Trump claimed he would build a Mexico wall and have them pay for this. His supporters (those that fear we will become a non-Christian, non-white country) loved this idea. Mexico has told him to pack sand.
The biggest one is simply Trump getting on television and saying, “We have been the most productive administration of all time.” His followers believe this and applaud wildly.

Sadly, this too is just words. He brags. People hear what they want to hear. He retains his power.

Sad.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim