Trump Derangement Syndrome

Trump Derangement Syndrome is real.  Trump supporters would have us believe that his opponents suffer from it. But, as seems to be the case these days, Trump's side is accusing the rest of us of doing exactly what they have done themselves, or are doing, or plan to do. The Syndrome actually is the stubborn belief, despite all the evidence to the contrary,  that Donald Trump is a good man and a good leader who is not lining his own pockets at the expense of national security,  fiscal responsibility,  and human rights.

It would be deranged to suggest Trump is an agent of the Devil,  or of America's ruin, or Putin or Netanyahu or China. But if we follow the money, would it be deranged to wonder how the oil tycoons across the world think of him?

The war of choice against Iran is the latest on a long list of broken promises and assurances and outright lies. Meanwhile,  fuel prices soar, even for Americans who, according to the President, don't need anybody else's oil because we have plenty.

Using recent estimates, the US spends 40 times what Iran does on defense.  Yet we can't get the job done (whatever that is). We should have learned from Ukraine that relatively cheap armaments can take out very expensive ones. Having the most,  best weapons does not guarantee superiority. 

Trump wants to increase our defense budget by 50% to a level over 6 times larger than China and 60 times the level of our chosen enemy Iran,  at the expense of our elderly,  poor, and average tax payer. He claims it's for defense. But it's what kings do to finance their wars of choice. And if you can't see that, shame on you. 

Olympic Bold

    They are very careful and polite about it, but several USA Olympic athletes have expressed how difficult it feels right now to represent their country at the Games.  Skier Hunter Hess was the first, but others have joined him.  these fine young people are not shouting out against their country.  They are expressing concern that has become discomfort.  The most common comment has been, and I am paraphrasing. "Of course I don't like some of the things that are going on back home."

    They are getting criticized for not loving America.  I would point out that if they didn't love their country they would not bother to comment at all.  I feel it incumbent upon me to once again quote James Baldwin."I love America more than any other country in the world, and, for exactly that reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."

    And this, from Albert Einstein: "If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity."

    I know this blog is unlikely to reach the people who need to read it, who need reminding that true patriotism is speaking truth to power.  It doesn't have to be vicious or cruel.  The response from power almost always is both.

    After President Trump called him a loser, Hess himself posted, "I love my country.  There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better.  One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out.  The best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided we need that more than ever.  I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete."

    Hunter, you're already a winner and I salute you.

You are not alone

     It's been a while.  What have I missed?

    I have been thinking about my first return blog for some time.  Each day it changes with the events of that day.  I have been feeling so much outrage that I find it hard to pick just one thing to write about, and then I start to think that there isn't much point anyway.  Others are far better versed in the subtlties of world politics than I.  I should let them speak.  And, besides, what can one person do?

    One person can feel the outrage and express it.  He or she can scream out, "ICE is a government sponsored terrorist organization!"  We can ask how a five year old, or a two year old, or an 18 month old child can be hardened criminals targeted by an armed, masked body of quasi-Gestapo goons who have no respect for either the spirit or the letter of the law and will kill fellow Americans who get in their way.  

     One person can cry out to our neighbors to the north and our allies in Europe that the bullying and posturing of our President does not reflect our true sentiments.  "He too shall pass," we can say, hoping that somehow the world after Trump will somehow right itself and broken trust can be repaired.

    One person can hope and pray that Trump does not actually find a way to halt the mid-term elections later this year in order to hold onto control of the government.  That Trump's mania about naming everything in sight after himself finds this answer: "Mr. Trump, we will gladly put your name anywhere you want it to commemorate your life after you die.  We have the plaques ready to go, Sir.  After you."

    I have spent the last few months disheartened, anxious, afraid.  I have seen the writing on the wall, not because I can see the future but because I know the past, a past Donald Trump is trying to white-wash.  Worse than anything, I have felt alone.  But I'm not.  We number in the millions, perhaps billions.  Lorna Lovegood told Harry Potter that He Who Must Not Be Named wanted Harry to feel alone because it would be easier to control him.  Right now, we are watching Trump spiral out of control.  It does not feel good, but it feels right.

    When I was 2 years old, my parents immigrated to the United States.  One of the main motivating factors was their fear that there would be another land war in Europe.  After all, The Great War devastated the continent when my parents were children.  World War Two did it again, louder and bigger, when they were trying to raise a family of their own.  When they arrived at Ellis Island in 1952, my mother took a deep breath and said, "Now we are safe."  We have lost that sense of security.  We need it back.

    

December 8, 2025: Still Here

 Hello, everyone!

It is a busy time of year, what with government shut downs and murder on the high seas, and preparing for Christmas.  I am bored with the relentless oppression of American politics, so I have enjoyed my break!  But it's been almost 2 months of silence on  my part.  I am learning a new computer (and writing this on the old one), dealing with many much more pleasant distractions than normal, working four days a week in the customarily slow season (I usually clock 2 this time of year), and watching the snow fall, melt, freeze, thaw, and turn to rain.  In other words, not much to report.  I love you all, and I hope to be more profound and punctilious in the New Year.

October 15, 2025: A Call to Concrete Action

 

Took a break, back and ready to conquer the world! Anything happen while I was gone?

It seems the Democratic Party decided it had to do something, and found a way to apply what little leverage they had. The Republicans have refused to talk, or even listen. The issue that the Dems finally decided was the right hill to die on is health care. All they are asking for is a push back on the various cuts to MediCare and Medicaid, and the threats to the Health Insurance exchange, brought on by the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. The Dems are fighting for us, trying to keep insurance premiums from skyrocketing and keep millions from losing coverage altogether.

Mike Johnson says that Republicans are the ones concerned with health care. Of course, he, as a member of Congress, has the best health care plan available. He doesn't have to worry. His fellow Republicans are poised to punish anyone and everyone who did not vote for Trump in 2024 by ensuring they struggle to meet the burdens of health care in the future. They also shout that what Dems want is to supply health care for illegals. That is simply, patently, a lie.

It gets me thinking. Always dangerous, I know. I support the Dems' attempt, painful as shutting down the government has been. I think that the petty and vindictive nature of the Trump administration will show more and more as the closure continues. But I think it is time for the Dems to stop reacting to Trump. It is time to present themselves as the Party with concrete ideas, and solutions, for the real problems facing average Americans today. While lofty ideals are grand, pragmatic solutions to nuts and bolts issues are where the Dems need to go. Reacting to Trump does nothing. Becoming a viable, in touch alternative to the chaos he presents may just win the House back in 2026 and the presidency in 2028. Don't just say, “I have a plan.” Tell us the plan. Tell us how you will get it done. And tell us, and tell us, and tell us.

Platform Idea Number One: make health care a real issue again. By this, I mean Medicare for All, or Universal Health Care. It is not a new idea, or really all that radical. Franklin Roosevelt called for it in 1945. Most modern countries have a form of it. You can call it socialist, but it is a social program paid for by capitalism. In fact, it would be paid for by taxes. I am not an expert, but I did some math to get started. I am on Medicare, which covers 80% of my medical. I also have a supplimental plan, which used to be my primary before I was forced into Medicare at age 65. It covers the other 20%, so I am out of pocket only for medications. Together, my wife and I pay about 15% of our monthly income to health insurance premiums. The federal Medicare tax rate is 1.45% on top of that. I would be willing, if it were properly explained to me, to pay 8 or 9% Medicare tax if it meant no more insurance premiums at all. I would save 6 or 7%, and have universal health care at any age.

Some Democratic Party member with a good head for figures ought to check it out, and tell Gavin to run with it.

September 25, 2025: The Enemies List

 In the wake of what seems like ever increasing politically motivated violence in our country, the Trump administration is pushing hard to weaponize the Department of Justice. Trump himself spews out hateful rhetoric every day, most of it directed at what he calls “the radical left,” whom he proudly says he hates. But is he talking about a handful of dangerous extremists with far left ideology, or is he aiming his hate speech at anyone who opposes his policies? I had always believed that a healthy and loyal opposition was good for democracy, but Donald Trump seems to feel, and often state, that people who disagree with him ought to be investigated, tried, and imprisoned. That he has managed to appoint an attorney to the DOJ who will do his bidding makes the future look ever more precarious. Indicting James Comey and threatening Leticia James and Adam Schiff, all on evidence that is flimsy at best, is not justice. It's revenge.

We should not be surprised. Trump has long taken personal grievance from anyone who points out a flaw in his thinking. His vitriol against Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020, shows his hatred for any opponent. He also has a long relationship of betrayal of the truth. I long ago realized that this man easily will accuse others of doing exactly what he is doing or plans to do himself. Just today, Trump again spewed out the Great Lie that he won the 2020 election, but that the results were rigged. He then referred to himself as having spent four years in exile. Exile? Really? Was he sent off to a deserted island and told never to return? Was he banned from political action within the borders of America? Does the man own a dictionary? Or a smart phone?

By all accounts, voter fraud in the United States is astonishingly rare. But maybe Trump knows something we don't. Maybe he knows how to rig an election. Given his track record of accusing others of doing exactly what he is doing, I have to wonder out loud if the Trump team rigged 2024. Yet I did not hear Kamala Harris accuse Trump, or call on her supporters to do what they could to block the certification of that election. In fact, as Vice-President, Harris presided over that certification. Smoothly.

In 1937, the top military officer in the Soviet Union, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, was tried and convicted of treason against the Stalin regime, and shot. His only true crimes were two. First, he was more popular among the Russian people than Stalin at the time. Second, he told Stalin that the military was severely out of date and needed revamping, especially with the growing threat from Germany. Stalin decided the military was fine. He also thought he could make arrangements with Hitler to be left alone. It was easier to decapitate the military and take control of future development. Stalin knew best. It was also expedient to take out a key potential rival to his power.

Reportedly, once he realized how precarious his position was, Tukhachevsky stated that his biggest crime was that he never wanted to oust Stalin. It was a campaign of lies and unbridled power that led to his death. Within two years, Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression pact, and two years after that, Hitler invaded Russia.

What am I telling you? Beware. We don't know how far current policies will go, but if we don't push back, if we let our freedoms and safeguards slip away, our country will disappear. There is still time, but the clock is ticking.

September 23, 2025: Pushing Back Works

On June 5, 1989, one lone man of undetermined age stood in front of a column of tanks, raised his arm toward them and gestured, Stop! I am not sure how long he stood there before other people standing by whisked him out of the way. Nor am I sure what happened to him afterward, although the authorities stated they were pretty sure he got away safely. I do know that someone snapped a photograph of the moment and that the picture is now a symbol of the constant fight for freedom that must be waged everywhere, not just at Tiananmen Square.

Yesterday, the Constitution and its supporters scored a victory. We won! Jimmy Kimmel has been reinstated on ABC by parent company Disney Corporation. It was a stunningly quick victory, prompted by widespread protest and threats of boycott. Take a victory lap! Speaking freely in favor of free speech still works! But remain vigilant. This is just one victory in one battle in a long and continuing war, and we cannot let up.

What Jimmy Kimmel said that night was not an attack on Charlie Kirk, nor in any way critical of him. Kimmel expressed outrage at the violence that took Kirk away, and gave his condolences to Kirk's family. What he said next is allegedly what caused him grief. He pointed out that MAGA supporters were quick to accuse the far Left of criminal conspiracy without knowing just what the assassin's motives, or, for that matter, his politics, were. He railed against the weaponization of Kirk's death. He went on to shift his focus to President Trump, noting how insincere Trump's grief over the loss of a supposed friend was. Personally, I think that was the real reason Trump and his cronies got so upset.

It doesn't matter. Charlie Kirk once stated in public that Joe Biden should be imprisoned or perhaps sentenced to death for treason. That sounds pretty hateful to me, but it was his right to say so. Just as it was Kimmel's right to accuse MAGA of using Kirk's death to their advantage. Just as it is my right to write about it. No one should be murdered for their thoughts. No one should be prosecuted for their thoughts. Great people, great patriots have died to protect that basic, critical tenet of our system.

I think of Tiananmen Square, one of so, so many moments when people fought and died to expand human rights. In my mind's eye, I see “The Man” stopping an entire column of tanks in their tracks. It was a wonderful, hope-filled moment, but it passed, and China is still China.

This is a wonderful moment, but it will pass. It will become frozen in a photograph if no other moments follow.