Trump ratings compared to previous presidents after one year

We all know Trump is the least popular president in recent times at this point in his administration.  Here are the numbers:

CNN POLL
Presidential Approval Rating
Dec of First Year

Bush, 2001 86%
Kennedy, 1961 77%
Bush, 1989 71%
Eisenhower, 1953 69%
Nixon, 1969 59%
Carter, 1977 57%
Obama, 2009 54%
Clinton, 1993 54%
Reagan, 1981 49%
Trump, now 35%

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 19, 2017

 I wonder how long the Republicans will put up with him now that they have achieved their most desired decades long dream of cutting taxes on the rich?  Any time they want him gone he should be easy to impeach on a number of grounds, from violation of the emoluments and bribery clauses of the constitution, to aiding a hostile foreign country to undermine U.S. elections, to obstruction of justice trying to prevent investigations into Russian interference, to....whatever his latest authoritarian disregard for the rule of law happens to be an any given day.

The Bridge over the River Kwai Tax Bill

The award winning 1957 movie, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", tells the WWII story of captured British soldiers forced to build a bridge in Burma that would aid the Japanese war effort.  After refusing to cooperate, eventually the lead character played brilliantly by Alec Guinness decides that his pride as a British officer and engineer dictated that they do an outstanding job as a testimony to British expertise.  At the end of the movie, he comes out of his trance as a captured and coerced man and manages to blow up the bridge at the last moment.

I think the Republican tax plan is similar to this.  The Republican Congress is passing a tax plan that has been coerced from them by tyrannical plutocratic donors and a tyrannical president.  They are in some kind of trance under the spell of tyrants and have built and are passing a tax plan that is essentially an abomination - not just to liberals but to decades of conservative thinking that has laid out numerous approaches to tax reform - almost none of which are in this plan.

Is there a chance that a Republican Senator can, like Alec Guinness in the movie, suddenly come to and throw themselves on the "plunger of the detonator" and blow up this disastrous legislation?

Probably not.  That would take courage and honor. 

Trump the "bark beetle"

I watched the final episode of the TV series "Longmire" last night, and it had an interesting line of dialogue.  A Native American older woman told Longmire that he had nice trees around his home, but if a bark beetle got into them he would end up with just a lot of dead wood around his home.  And that was what a certain malevolent character in the story was to her tribe - a bark beetle that was taking the life out of her tribe.  And, the trouble with bark beetles is they multiply and take over everything.

I thought that was an apt metaphor for our current president.  He is a toxic bark beetle, and he has called the nation of bark beetles to come forth and chew the life out of America.  Toxic man who enables too many toxins in the country. 

By the way, I really enjoyed the Netflix Longmire series.  Wyoming sheriff being and doing good.

Bannon and Trump defeated in Alabama

The morally reprehensible Republican Roy Moore was defeated by his Democratic opponent Doug Jones in Alabama despite the avid support of Steve Bannon of Breitbart and president Donald Trump.

America dodged a bullet.

Very grateful.

Ryan confirms the Republican goal of gutting entitlements by increasiing the deficit

Paul Ryan proved my contention of a few days ago that the purpose of the tax cuts was to increase the deficit so the Republicans will have the excuse they need to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all social safety net programs.  

“We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” Ryan said during an appearance on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show. "... Frankly, it's the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements — because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.”

And, of course, the deficit will be increased by raising taxes on most middle and lower class people and dramatically lowering taxes on the wealthy and super wealthy.  As I wrote earlier, the Confederate Oligarchy has taken over the country, and their "business model" has always been plantation - a weak and dependent work force that accepts low wages and obeys the bosses.  They have never seen the world in any other terms.  Only now, everybody is to be their "slaves", not only African Americans.

Funny how it's always things that help the middle and lower classes that the Reps want to cut, never things like the military. Good for bidness, don'cha know...

I hope my conservative friends are paying attention. 

Trump distracts us from the Russian probe by blowing up the Israeli Palestinian conflict

I guess we should be grateful that Trump didn't decide that the way to distract us from the Russian conspiracy probe would be by nuking North Korea.  He is only planning to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel. 

Of course, this is throwing gasoline on the Israeli Palestinian long burning fires.  And, of course, many people will die.  BUT....

Always remember that the only motivation that Donald Trump ever has is what will benefit Donald Trump. His narcissism is pathological.  He kills others if he thinks it will benefit him.

And he needs different headlines than the endless stream of Russia probe headlines. The noose is tightening on him, and the case of Russian conspiracy with the Trump campaign and Trump administration is moving inexorably forward.  This is not something that those trapped inside the right wing media bubble are aware of, but the reporting is consistent and solid that Mueller is closing in.  

So Trump needs bigger headlines. 

How about an Israeli Palestinian war?  That should take over the headlines for a while.  I suppose this move satisfies some right wing nutcases, but America has long recognized that Jerusalem is claimed by both sides and to declare for one side is likely to cause violent bloodshed.

Only the Republicans can stop this man. Only the Republicans can impeach this man.  Will they ever elevate their own motivations beyond using this loose canon in the White House in order to get evangelical judges to take over the judiciary and in order to eviscerate the New Deal and the Great Society programs of the last many decades?   Will they ever find a conscience that sees the well being of the country and the world is more important than their partisan obsessions?

I wish I had more faith in my Republican politicians and my Republican friends.  But they seem willing to put up with amazingly disgusting and destructive moves by Trump and the extremist right wing.

America is much better than this. I am waiting.  I am hopeful. This can't continue forever.

Trump tax plan screws Trumpsters

The Senate passed a tax plan that will transfer wealth from the middle class and lower classes to the very wealthy.  Mark Shields lays out the basic numbers:

"This is a tax bill that is written solely for the deserving rich. And it also, at the same time, manages to soak the poor. Just the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office indicates that, by 2027, by 2027, Americans earning the princely sum of between $40,000 and $50,000 will, collectively combined, pay $5.3 trillion — trillion — more in taxes. Americans earning over $1 million, by the same study, will receive $5.7 trillion in tax cuts."

But, there is much more.  As I wrote before, the point of the tax cuts is to balloon the deficit so the wealthy can cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all "entitilements." You know, weaken the work force so they will work for less money and benefits.  Turn all of America into a Southern Plantation, only now it's not just Africans who will be the slaves.  How long until we see see bathrooms marked "For Plutocrats Only"?

In other words, the Trumpsters who put Trump in power are getting screwed.  

But, so what?  As long as he says politically incorrect things and pisses off liberals they will love him.

Brainiacs.