How Long Can This Last?

Sentient Americans of all political persuasions knew that Donald Trump was unfit to occupy the Oval Office. We knew he was unstable. But even those of us who were terrified by his election have been astonished by the speed with which he is harming critical American interests and plunging the country–and world– into chaos.

Trump’s most recent Executive Order, banning refugees, is as astonishing as it is inhumane. As the Huffington Post reported,

Trump approved the refugee ban amid the biggest refugee crisis in history and on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which honors the millions of people killed during World War II, many of whom tried to flee to the U.S. but were turned away.

It’s not the blanket ban on Muslims that Trump advocated for during his campaign, and it does not single out any country by name other than Syria for its refugees.

But Trump did say earlier in the day that he would prioritize helping Syrian Christians. He also mentioned “radical Islamic terrorists” while signing it. And in the text, it carves out an exception for admitting refugees who are religious minorities even while nearly all others will be barred for 120 days.

The order–which exempts countries where Trump does business or has hotels (business uber alles, evidently)–has caused chaos at airports around the world. It has kept students from returning to their universities, scientists from professional meetings. It applies even to longtime holders of green cards–people who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. for years.

It affects tens of thousands of people: not just refugees already “extremely” vetted and on their way to the U.S., but foreign nationals, immigrants and tourists from the designated countries and Americans whose families will now be unable to visit. It also affects thousands of Iraqis who risked their lives helping this country during the Iraq War.

Like all of Trump’s actions in the days since assuming office, it was hasty, ill-considered, and based on “alternate facts.” As USA today noted,

While Trump has claimed that most Syrian refugees coming to the U.S are single, military-age men, the State Department said those numbers didn’t add up. As of Nov. 2015, 77% of Syrian refugees who entered the U.S. were women and children. Only 23% were adult men, and only 2% were “single men unattached to families.”

As Senator Chris Murphy pointed out, not only does this profoundly unAmerican order not make us safer, “Trump has now handed ISIS a path to rebirth. They can and will use his announcement today as confirmation that America is at war with Muslims, especially those Muslims living in desperate circumstances.”

Even Dick Cheney says this order “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”

It has been a little over a week since this delusional and dangerously ignorant man has been President. In that time, he has poisoned relations with Mexico, a neighbor and important trading partner; continued his inexplicable, fawning relationship with Vladimir Putin; and pulled the U.S. out of the TPP, rather than addressing fixable problems that had been identified with it– an action that will allow China to become a dominant influence in the economies of not just Southeast Asia, but also East Africa and even parts of Europe. He’s announced his support for the use of torture. He has declared war on the media. He has ignored and trashed the Constitution. His insistence that “millions” of illegal votes were cast is both ridiculous and an affront to America’s democratic institutions.

And that’s just week one.

How long will the Republicans in Congress continue to enable this dangerous madman?  How many of Trump’s corrupt and ill-equipped Cabinet nominees will they obediently confirm? How long will their self-serving partisanship trump patriotism?

If there is a silver lining in any of this, it is in the horrified reaction of everyday Americans–the millions who marched, the multiple Resistance groups that have sprung up in the wake of the election, the throngs of protestors that spontaneously descended last night on the nation’s airports: the millions of Americans who know that we are better than this.

We the People cannot allow this to continue.

60 Comments

  1. You missed a big one. He removed the Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from the principals committee (regular attendees) of the National Security Council, while adding Steve Bannon. Yes, the head of the military is the leader of our entire intelligence apparatus are now out of the NSC, while a white supremacist with zero experience in law, intelligence, military, or politics is in.

    I’m truly starting to think Putin is calling the shots for this White House.

  2. There appears to be no method to Trump’s madness. But there is method to Bannon’s drive to turn the nation into an alt right version of Nazi Germany. And he is the one man who controls Trump. One aim seems to be to get the opposition to Republican rule to use violence so that Bannon/Trump can institute martial law. The proliferation in Republican controlled state legislatures to make laws that restrict or punish protesters should alarm every freedom loving American.

    I am not crazy! I am very, very well read on the history of Nazi Germany, and this is how they did it. It’s wake up time!

  3. Really all depends on McConnell and to a lesser degree, Ryan. When they senses the tide has turned…e.g. the lunatic has gone one step too far, they’ll spring. Meantime they’re just waiting until the lunatic digs his hole too deep. They’ve been awfully quiet……they’re not going to throw the lunatic a rope and will do their best not to get any on them as the s…t hits the fan. Really just a matter of time now. The lunatic and his advisors really can’t stop themselves.

  4. “How long will the Republicans in Congress continue to enable this dangerous madman? How many of Trump’s corrupt and ill-equipped Cabinet nominees will they obediently confirm? How long will their self-serving partisanship trump patriotism?”

    They will stay with it to the end. Just like Hitler did? It’s White Power gone wild. Only a “wild man” could lead. And the Movement which Dick Chaney helped put together has finally found one.

    It’s been over 45 years of brainwashing, propaganda, and psychological warfare combined, somewhere between twenty to forty billion dollars invested. What do you expect from the Republican leadership? They aren’t going to walk away after all of that. It’s been their life’s work.

    Words now have little or no effect. Just take a look at Berlin at the end of WW II. That’s probably our future right now. We’re going to be the outlet for the release of all the frustrations in the world.

    All I can recommend, right now, is that we all learn again to DUCK AND COVER!

  5. Industrialists like the Koch Brothers in Germany backed Hitler and thought they were in control. Hitler taught them a hard lesson. Donald Trump is doing the same thing. He’s taken control of the masses.

    And now Dick Chaney is “shitting in his pants.”

  6. Marv, I hope Chaney spins in it……I was horrified when some illegal doctor allowed him to head to the top of the line for a new heart. As a donor family, I am appalled that it was wasted on him. I will not duck and cover….they will have to knock me down, cane and all.
    Very well said, Sheila….Thanks.

  7. Theresa,

    “One aim seems to be to get the opposition to Republican rule to use violence so that Bannon/Trump can institute martial law. The proliferation in Republican controlled state legislatures to make laws that restrict or punish protesters should alarm every freedom loving American. ”

    Right now this is the most important point. Trump/Pence will crack down on the marches if they ever become a REAL threat. We’re not in the 60’s. Marches were effective then because the status quo ideology was DEMOCRACY. The marches were embarrassing us in front of the world. We were losing our foothold in Africa to the Russians. That’s not the case now.

    We’re moving toward totalitarianism. That’s our brand to the world right now. I’m sorry to say, you can’t embarrass FASCISM. Any attempt to do so only makes matters worse. It’s an admission of IMPOTENCE. Look at the results since the marches on the 19th.

    And meanwhile, the pro-democracy forces are totally LEADERLESS and without a clue as to what to do next.

  8. The further the Republicans in Congress stay in lockstep with Trump, the greater will be their vulnerability in the 2018 elections. When they see the light I, predict they will utilize any of a number charges to impeach him.

  9. Marv is closest to the truth then he may realize. One point I’d like to make is China and Russia are not the boogeymen we’ve been taught to believe. That is political rhetoric used for decades to manipulate Americans. Social engineering has been going on ever since Hitler took the reins in Germany.

    Our ruling class didn’t trust us anymore, so they began manipulating society via social engineering. A shift took place, whereby we no longer were treated as intelligent civically minded citizens. Instead, they treated us as consumers who would drive the economic engine of capitalism.

    We’re at the beginning stages of another “Age of Enlightenment”, but it will get darker first. Those of us on the left with Smart Phones, aren’t as easily manipulated as those who rely on idiot boxes for “news and information”. Media and government are the least trusted institutions in America.

    Trump promised to blow them both up, so as Louis Farrakhan told Obama, “Let the man do what he was elected to do.”

    Hopefully, those who loyally follow the democratic party will hold them responsible for our current debacle. They abandoned the people for Wall Street, and have been serving the Donor Class for over two decades. It’s easy to shake your finger at the GOP, but the DNP is just as much to blame for the current state of affairs. The same media who participated in the sham primary elections, now use their airwaves to blame the Russians for “running an influence campaign”.

    I have to laugh every single time I read that phrase. The DNC ran THE influence campaign against Bernie Sanders because his winning was 100x worse for their Wall Street Donor Class. Then, when their candidate lost in the general election, and the scam was shared on Wikileaks, they went into damage control mode blaming the Russians for everything. If I was Trump, I wouldn’t trust the CIA either.

  10. Maryjo and all others who are crying for impeachment; IMPEACHMENT IS USELESS, IT IS A SLAP ON THE WRIST AND WILL NOT REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE WHICH SHOULD BE OUR ULTIMATE GOAL. READ THE DEFINITION OF “IMPEACHMENT” IN YOUR DICTIONARY; THEN READ AMENDMENT XXV, SECTION 4, FOR WHAT IS NECESSARY TO REMOVE A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES FROM OFFICE FOR BEING UNABLE TO DISCHARGE THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THAT OFFICE.

    “How Long Can This Last?” It will last as long as it takes for us to realize it is the Republican party keeping Trump in control to carry out their long sought after control of all money in this country. It will last as long as Trump is there to sign those inhuman Executive Orders and sign any and all bills handed to him by our Republican controlled House of Representatives and Senate. They not only do NOT have replacement bills to enact once laws have been repealed; they have the money to pay for these enactments without beggering all tax paying Americans till this entire country collapses because our civil and human rights have been removed and we have no money left for our own survival and their’s. The current Republicans controlling the Congress and the Presidency needs to be voted OUT if America and Americans are to survive.

    Like Theresa Bowers; I, too, am well read and see the fascism which has been blatantly displayed by Trump throughout his campaign and election and supported by the entire GOP.

    Wayne Moss; did you believe everything you read in that Bannon bio, probably post by Bannon himself? Have you lost sight of WHY Trump appointed him to his lofty position? His strong White Nationalist ties (based on KKK and White Supremacist organization) and his ability to relay Trump’s “alternative facts” to this country and the world at large.

  11. And now, he is getting service members killed in YEMEN, starting it up in a whole new country. Madness. Our protests must be louder and larger. Our letters to Congress, D and R, must be harsher and longer. Our letters to the Editor must be intelligent and to the point. We must set out the facts, leaving out the word “alternative,” so the White House and its cronies hear our collective voices.

  12. “Democracy is the theory that common people know what they want and deserve to get it, good and hard”. H.L. Mencken

  13. The Framers of the Constitution did not trust the people to vote in a manner the Framers thought to be wise, and thus created various safeguards for the rule of what the Framers saw as reason. Of course, of the 55 delegates who attended (at one time or another) the 1787 convention, 20 claimed ownership over other human beings, all were male, and all owned land. In a June 7, 1788, speech to the Virginia ratification convention, Patrick Henry—who never said “Give me liberty or give me death” but was a slaveholder because he found slaves to be convenient—said the Constitution produced by the 1787 convention was vague. One point was that it did not create a democracy whereby the people could control the government. (I shudder as I realize I have quoted Governor Henry in any way positive.) “Checks” similar to those in the original Constitution have arisen over our history, usually to check the will of the people. In 1972 the Democratic Party leadership, shocked over the landslide victory of Nixon over Senator George McGovern, created super-delegates. That mechanism was a contributing factor in Trump’s election. Former Secretary Clinton had high “unfavorable” ratings. The super-delegates were one means by which she secured the nomination. Senator Sanders would have had a larger margin of votes over Trump that the computer tampering could not have swung the votes necessary in the swing states. We might not have to worry about voting in 2018.

  14. FOOD FOR THOUGHT

    “I am reminded of a piece I wrote for a briefly fashionable periodical in my home country. “There are those who will oppose, or at least question, an action because it is a step too far,” I wrote, “while other will regard it as a gesture so insultingly small that it would have been better to do nothing. Some will say action of this sort was required, but not this PARTICULAR action, which, sadly, it is so misjudged that it amounts to a step in the WRONG direction. Others will oppose the action, and with a peculiar bitterness, not because they think it wrong, but because they would have taken it themselves had they not been pre-empted in this hasty way. (There is no enemy like an enemy who opposes you for doing what they would have like to do themselves.) Finally, there are those who, having supported an action from the start, feel they have not received the credit due to them, or that you have received undue credit (the same thing more or less), and whose support diminishes to such an extent that in the end they are opposing you, if not the action, with all their power.”

    The above is from a novel, “The House of Journalists” by Tim Finch (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013) p. 12

    Tim Finch works for a London think tank, The Institute for Public Policy Research. He was a BBC journalist and a former director of communications for the Refuge Council. This was his first novel. [He really understands the real world].

    “Tim Finch’s strong debut demonstrates how skillfully the raw materials of politics, human rights, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility can be alchemized into art.”
    ~Francine Prose, author of “Reading Like a Wrtier”

  15. I have a number of friends and family who claimed that although they voted for 45 they were not racists. Well, I have news for them and the millions just like them: If you still support 45 and his policies you most certainly ARE a racist.

  16. After having spent over twenty months participating in this magnificent blog, I’ve learned much, but the most important lesson was that America has absolutely no immunity against the new strain of the Hitler virus. The Planet is in grave danger. Because of the ingrained weakness of Americans, the lethal virus is now rapidly moving from an epidemic to a pandemic stage.

  17. hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

    We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

  18. Pete,

    If you don’t mind, I might add the ending sentence to the Declaration of Independence that you have quoted:

    “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

    The situation is MUCH MORE grave than most will admit. In my estimation, it is MUCH MORE than in 1860. The reason being, our destructive power is MUCH MORE in evidence.

  19. To take the CHAIRMAN OF THE JCS and the CIA DIRECTOR off the NSC is SHEER LUNACY, DREADFUL LUNACY!!! He is endangering the safety of this country in doing so and reversing standard practice since the evoking of the National Security Act in 1947 – seventy years ago!!! SO!!!

    This is utter and total nonsense, totally political, and very poorly thought out. Politics, particularly alt-right extremist politics of any kind has no business there and have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on how our national security policies are formulated or enacted!!!

    Makes me wonder if Michael Flynn is more delusional that his boss and is some sort of Manchurian Candidate!!! All of this is just NUTS!!!!!!

  20. Tom,

    “Makes me wonder if Michael Flynn is more delusional that his boss and is some sort of Manchurian Candidate!!! All of this is just NUTS!!!!!!”

    I agree with you. But the NUTS probably will win, because they are “playing for keeps” and we aren’t. Until that changes, I wouldn’t bet a “nickel” on our chances.

  21. Marv, I have posted the preamble to the Declaration of Independence before and will again because I am fascinated that those words I regarded as dry and stiff and meaningless over so many years have now become absolutely crystal clear and stirring to me.

  22. Play for Keeps
    to do things with permanent effect; to be serious in one’s actions. (From the game of marbles, where the winner actually keeps all the marbles won.) Are we playing for keeps or can we give everything back at the end of the game? We are playing for keeps, so be careful of what you do.

    From Idioms by the Free Dictionary

    I believe age can make a difference in outlook. The game of Marbles was the #l sport at my grammar school, Southside Grammar in Jacksonville. I learned, at a very early age, to “play for keeps.” From my long time vantage point, I don’t believe the pro-democracy forces have learned that lesson, yet.

  23. I am terrified at the direction Trump and the Republicans are taking with our country and its democracy!! I want to believe trump will self-destruct, but what will be left- Mike Pence and the Republicans who will have just what they wanted all along. I also want to believe that there are some sane Republicans who will rise up and reclaim our country’s values. This week has been insane and Kelly Ann Conway said,”He’s just getting started.” God help us!!

  24. Tom Lund,

    Why would Trump/Bannon kick the Joint Chief and the CIA off of the National Security Counsel? Who gains more power over the National Security Counsel? What could Trump/Bannon do now that they could not do before the change?

  25. Do you prefer an authoritarian theocracy under Pence? After impeaching Trump, that’s what we would face.

  26. First I want to say that I disagree with Marv that words do no matter. It was words that are responsible for the election of a demented candidate. Words do matter.

    Some Republicans who attended secret legislative meetings with Trump call him a “clueless child” to reporters on background (so as to avoid premature political death by tweet), a description of a disturbed man I think charitable. In my blog published this morning, I called for the Republicans to rein in this “clueless child” they elected and to do so soon since he is playing God in signing everything Bannon the fascist writes up and presents to him for his TV showtime signatures. (It’s still all about poor and maligned Don and how he won the election and how the media lied about it along with other diversionary chatter but little else to justify his signature on “presidential orders,” orders by a fascist who is writing the script, a fascist who is no friend to democracy.)

    It’s pretty bad when I have to say that I would prefer Cheney to Bannon as the chief adviser to the president because I never thought it could get worse. I was wrong. It’s far worse than a relatively few lies about WMD and spreading democracy in the Near East, which measures just how far we have descended in what we will tolerate. Right now I am feeling terminally intolerant with the antics of this latter day Narcissus and am ready to do anything within legal limits to put an end to his world-shaking shenanigans. If impeached and/or indicted, his stand-in from the 18th century is not much better, and if Pence goes the way of Trump, then we get Ryan, the apostate from the land of Ayn Rand who never saw a tax cut for the rich that he didn’t like. Still, these would-be presidents, though not my cup of tea, are only wounded by prejudice for the rich and religious and (so far as I can tell) not organically wounded (within their skullcase) as is the current occupant of the Oval Office where his son-in-law conducts the business of Trump Entrprises and the fascist Bannon attends to politics in just another day at the office, that is, the Oval Office. An earlier contributor wrote “God help us.” I here note that God helps those who help themselves, so let’s start helping.

  27. Theresa; to answer all of your questions, Trump, Bannon, et al, are doing this because THEY CAN. What more can/will they do; anything the want to do because THEY CAN. They are in this unbelievable rush to do as much as THEY CAN before we have gathered our wits and our legal representatives can find courts with sitting judges who will allow them to file charges as the ACLU did yesterday. Remember all of those judicial appointments stopped by the Republicans leaving few options for legal reprisal or stopping them.

    Trump is gleefully rubbing his tiny hands together as he decides which laws he can override and which rights he can remove next. Are those rally attendees who so loudly and often violently supported him beginning to feel the pinch of Trump Rule? We ain’t seen nuthin’yet! I’m sure he has switched from Sinatra’s ‘I Did It My Way” as his theme song to the Carpenters hit, “We’ve Only Just Begun”. Tune in again tomorrow; same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

  28. I actually believe there *is* a method to his madness. Having seen this on more than one occasion, I can tell you that this is modus operandi for business takeovers – especially for narcissistic men like the golden one. There’s no respect for institutional history; employees are fired and only hired back if their skills are needed or their heads are in the same place place as the new principal; people who understand the business are shut out from the decision-making process, and so forth. It’s really quite clear what he is doing. He’s acting like he bought the place and has total control over its management. Congress is his management team bound to carry out his orders, and the judicial branch is an annoying code enforcement department that he has regularly ignored without consequence. Unfortunately for us, this is not a business and peoples’ lives are on the line.

  29. Please notice the obvious disadvantages in using voice activated software!

    Marv and Theresa,

    Marv, I almost put the ‘Manchurian Candidate’ comment in my post too and I think that person is Flynn. Ever since he lost his position in the Obama Administration his behavior has been erratic say the least. His public comments, his visit to Moscow to sit in on the celebration for RT (Pravda’s TV arm) perhaps made him susceptible to Russian influence-it’s hard to imagine that it wouldn’t.

    To take the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA out of the NSC manning table is a reversal of 70 years of their participation at that level of the National Command hierarchy. President Harry S. Truman started all this in 1947 with the National Security Act which combined the functions of the War Department and the Navy Department and codified the somewhat informal joint military staff arrangements up until that time. It makes absolutely no sense at all. To be considering national security situations without having the Chairman of the JCS on hand as well as the DCI is just way beyond comprehension. On top of that to have Steven Bannon who has absolutely no national security experience at all to serve as a Commissar of sorts is also way beyond comprehension.

    My question on top of all the ones that go with such aberrant behavior to began with is what is Trump do if the JCS decides to walk in protest? We can end up with a situation potentially akin to the famous “Revolt of the Admirals” that occurred in 1948 which was over who which service was going to control and use nuclear weapons in a potential war, the Navy or the Air Force? While that situation was spurned on by policy differences this mess has occurred only because of political considerations and stupid ones at that.

    This dangerous decision must be reversed. Since the National Security Council advises the president on national security issues on a daily basis you have to have people that are well versed in national security policy manning it. To do otherwise is not only ludicrous but very possibly dangerous. Since many situations that they handle involve the use of military force to not have the Chairman of the JCS in the room when decisions are being made regarding the use of our armed forces is just flat stupid.

    Personally, again, I think it is Flynn trying to rule the roost and perhaps seeking some payback for being booted out of his previous position to do his demeanor and poor command performance which means he had to have been a bear to work with, both with his equals but also his subordinates. That’s what poor command performance means.

    Our Allies already think we’ve lost our minds and what Trump has done with this is confirm it and all of this is happened within the first week of his presidency. We’re in deep trouble if this and some of these other harebrained things that he’s done already are not put in check and reversed. This decision though almost make my heart skip a beat because it is so stupid and so potentially dangerous. The President has no higher responsibility than the safety of this nation and to endanger it doing stupid shortsighted political maneuvers in this realm is going to hurt him very badly and quite frankly I hope it does. It’s just too stupid for words!

  30. Gerald,

    “First I want to say that I disagree with Marv that words do no matter.” It was words that are responsible for the election of a demented candidate. Words do matter.

    How about keeping things in their original context.? My statement about words do not matter had to do with standing up to Trump after he has been elected President not to the election process. You know that.

    How about playing it straight? I’m not Donald Trump.

  31. To All,
    We all are very concerned about what is going on politically. These really are again: “the times that try men’s [and women’s]souls.” One of the commenters last week, expressed his intent not to further participate in the blog. His principal reason was that the commenters were too old. I now understand what he was talking about.

    I believe it is best that I leave at this time. Age is important. It can eliminate alternatives that others who are younger or in better physical shape can choose to pursue. It creates unnecessary conflict which I have been noticing the past few days. I already have too much conflict, I don’t need any more needless ones.

    We all must fight Trump/Pence in our own ways to the “bitter end.” The best to everyone. As I stated earlier, SheilaKennedy dot net is a magnificent blog.

    Marv

  32. Don’t you dare leave, Marv! Don’t you dare! Just hang with us and tell us how to grab that pen from DT’s hand and grab the Executive Orders off the desk. In fact, how do we deal with both Pence and DT, since both are huge risks to the American way of life?

    These two guys, Bannon, and the rest, have cooked our goose (geese?) (gooses?) in a week’s time. How do we walk backward out of this?

    Marv…Marv? Are you still there, Marv?

  33. Betty,

    I’m still here. But I have to leave in a few minutes. The blog means a lot to me, but I believe that it is time to organize. And this isn’t the place to do it. I’m planning to do it at EthicalFront.net. Obama had his Tea Party. Trump can have his Ethical Front Network to worry about.

    We can continue to communicate at mgremark@gmail.com. I’d like to do it with you or anyone else who might be interested.

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