Yes Virginia, there is a Grinch

The person that is sometimes called the Grinch, and his republican cohorts, have been telling you that he's not really a Grinch, not a" mean one ". Don't you believe it. Remember that the Grinch comes to put coal in your stockings. Now the Grinch is signing orders allowing coal to be put in free running streams. He also has ordered his evil elf Pruitt to allow more coal to be burned in order to pollute the air. You know your little friend, Freddie, the one with asthma. He has trouble often times breathing the air. The Grinch and his people are promoting dirty air and dirty water so that their friends and supporters can make more money. Freddie's problem is going to get worse.

You know how your mommy and daddy always tell you not to say mean things about people. The Grinch calls people stupid, liars, short, lazy and doesn't like people he thinks are not pretty enough. The Grinch also spends most of his time lying about everything. He thinks that people are gullible enough that he can get away with practically anything.

The Grinch says that he has himself has brought back Christmas which didn't exist. But we know that it did and that people were much happier and kinder to each other before him. The Grinch says he has brought everyone a big present for Christmas but he is going to come back and take them away from most people. Also, you know that your grandma and grandpa live on Social Security and need Medicare. The Grinch is going to take much of that away from them. He is also going to take away much of Medicare, food stamps and other things that people depend upon.

So, Virginia, don't you worry. As long as there are selfish lying people we will always have the Grinch.

Grover Norquist's wet dream

Paul Ryan's budget and economic scheme using the tax code it as an enabling mechanism is all but done.His proposed budget already demonstrated  his desire to cut back on Medicare, Medicaid, food stamp programs and any other federal program designed to help out the underprivileged. Now with the tax cuts he has justification. But that is only the start of it. Ryan has always had this naïve belief in magical growth solving all problems that would result from tax cuts to corporations and wealthy people. But he probably believes it . The person really licking his chops right now is Grover Norquist. You remember him and his organization called something like" The Club for Greed". He wanted to shrink the Federal government to a size where it could be drowned in a bathtub. This harebrained budget and tax bill is perfect for him. The first thing that is going to happen is a massive reduction of federal tax revenues in 2018. It will probably be worse than those  accompanying Reagan's 1981 tax cuts. That will require even more Federal spending cuts and you know upon whom those will be inflected. There will be further cuts in things like Government sponsored research which  has already shrunk dismally, much-needed infrastructure spending and diminish Federal programs generally including things like the CDC. The effect of that will be reduced aggregate demand , which will in turn lead to diminished Capital expenditures, research and development and wages and hiring. This will delight Grover Norquest who is sort of a latter day Andrew Mellon and who just wants a smaller federal government, whatever the consequences.

This is the worst time for tax cuts for the well-off. It is as thoughtless as the Bush administration tax cuts. One does not cut taxes when the economy is rolling along well. One should not be so foolish as to think that cutting the taxes of corporations and wealthy people who already have more money than they know what to do with is going to create stimulus. In fact, what is highly likely is that in the next two or three years we are going to have a recession because of these stupid policies. In the face of the recession one of the corrective measures is a tax cut which is now been squandered. Another wasteful byproduct of this tax bill is that the one off tax revenues from corporate affiliates of US companies held overseas will not be used for infrastructure building but for these ridiculous tax cuts. The Republicans also don't seem to realize that government sponsored research has led to innovations which have spurred private enterprise innovations that can drive the economy. Think of Google Amazon etc. and the earlier private development caused by innovations in the space program years ago. We are going to be collectively left with an aging infrastructure and a diminished capacity for innovation. The economic future of this company is going to be largely dependent upon innovation leading to greater productivity and economic growth. With this ignorant administration and Congress we are shooting ourselves in the kneecap.

ROLL TIDE

Tomorrow our fellow citizens in the state of Alabama will elect a new senator. There is no need to discuss the two candidates because anyone who doesn't know everything they need to know about each spend a lot of time hiding in basements, which more and more seems like a pretty good pastime. Old witch hunt, fake news, is endorsing Roy Moore. Well of course he is. They have a lot in common. Each has been accused by multiple women with credible stories of sexual assaults. Trump on TV has basically admitted it. Each appears to be anti-Muslim. Each professors conservative, Religious values. Having watched Trump, and seeing his changes of position over the years, I have no doubt that with him it is opportunistic bullshit. Similarly, my experience and my intuition tell me that Roy Moore is also a fraud in this respect. It was interesting to note that he and his wife have some foundation promoting what they call "moral law" and interestingly enough make money on this gig. Are you watching Elmer Gantry question ?



So who will win and does it make any difference? As to whether it makes a difference, the answer is yes and no. No because if Jones wins the Republicans will still have the majority in the Senate and a republican will be elected to replace Jones the next time he runs. Yes, because after Trump's robust endorsement should Moore lose that might indicate a crack in Trump's base. Maybe more Republicans would feel safe in outright criticism of Trump. On the other hand, should Moore win, the meager criticism of Trump by his Republican colleagues will doubtless dry up.

So who will win? If this election had taken place in 2015 or before, my money would be on Jones. However, after the 2016 elections, my guess is Moore.

You probably have noticed that the Trump White House lead by old fake news is trying to create a narrative that will allow Trump to fire Bob Mueller and end the investigation. His propaganda machine at FOXNews has their guns blazing on this one. Will it happen? If Roy Moore wins I would say it is almost certain and that the Republicans will meekly accept it. Even if Jones wins, I wouldn't bet against Mueller being fired. And on that cheery note endeth  my sermon.

Dope Soup

Rufus T Firefly–AKA Donald Harumph-blew into Salt Lake City today. It appears his primary purpose was to get a can of tuna at the welfare kitchen and praise and endorse sen. Hatch who apparently will be seeking a seventh term in the United States Senate. While he was here, he also signed proclamations drastically reducing the size of the Bears National Monument and the Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument. Unfortunately, Trump is not nearly as humorous as Groucho Marx, At least not intentionally. He talked about his discussing  this proposal with all those he knew were in favor of reducing the size of the monuments and they all said yes indeed we are. He did not bother to talk with any of the majority of the people in this part of the country who oppose this action.

Trump explained that his actions would allow people in this part of the country to hunt and fish and graze cattle on the affected property. He apparently was unaware that those things can be done on a national monument as well. He talked about preserving the sacred beautiful lands for the people, apparently by allowing mining, drilling and fracking as well as the necessary infrastructure for those activities. He also said that control over these lands should be taken away from agencies in Washington, apparently not knowing that the BLM was a federal agency with headquarters in Washington DC .

It is good to be able to see this nitwit up close because sometimes at long-distance it's hard to believe he is really as ignorant, incompetent and arrogant as he really is. Well folks, we have seen him up close and he is as ridiculous as he seems. He also had his secretary of the interior looming in the background who didn't say anything. Maybe he was playing  the Harpo Marx character. Hail Fredonia.

our gullibility referendum

It now appears likely that Congress will pass an, you should excuse the expression," tax reform bill". The main components of that bill have become fairly clear. What is also more than clear is that this bill will have precious little to do about the tax code. It is almost entirely the implementation of congressman Ryan's trickle down economic fantasies. The tax changes, if looked at over the ten yearperiod of the bill rewards  those who have capital–corporations including sub - S corporations–and wealthy individuals. It has nothing to do with " reform" and change is very few provisions of the tax code. For instance, it doesn't even do away with the indefensible carried interest treatment given to such people as hedge fund managers. It simply changes a few tax rates, eliminates some deductions that the middle-class uses, allows businesses to expense capital expenditures rather than depreciate them over time which really only affects cash flows.

Ryan has been proposing schemes such as this since approximately 2008. At that time his proposals were created by economists at the heritage foundation. The analysis was published and deemed by impartial economists at Academic institutions, the IMF and the like as being" implausible". They deal with the deficits created by positing ridiculous multipliers of GDP from the tax cuts and claiming that this will increase tax revenues. That is what Pres. Reagan claimed and it didn't happen. He created deficits that had to be erased by the Clinton administration. Ryan's former proposals we're based on multipliers 5 to 7 times greater that had ever been observed. . The  deficit shrinking mechanism that will become mandatory will be  cuts in programs such as Medicare, Headstart, Food stamps and the like. These cuts were also part of Ryan's former proposals. People with incomes under $100,000 will over the period of 10 years actually pay more taxes, and also lose benefits. The series of articles by Dave Leonhardt in the New York Times lays all this out quite thoroughly.

The other quite nonsensical part of the claims of Ryan and his merry band of tax cutters is that giving tax cuts to corporate businesses will lead to capital expenditures and increased wages. Won't happen. The Democrats proposed an amendment that would take away tax cuts from businesses which do not increase wages. That went nowhere. There is no historical evidence to support the fact that corporations give wage increases when they do not have to. What corporate managers consistently say is that their job is to increase returns to shareholders. That is not done by increasing wages. On the capital expenditure side, White House economic adviser Gary Cohen asked a group of corporate CEOs if they would increase Capital expenditures if they received tax cuts. Practically none of them said they would much to Cohen's consternation.

So, the information is out there if the voters, particularly in the Midwest, care to think about it. It requires some effort. Will those voters be gullible enough to actually believe this bill is about tax relief for the middle-class? That is the referendum we face. Regrettably, I am not optimistic.

Ka-B00M

Everybody's favorite draft dodger is in the far east or maybe it's the Far West if you come from the other direction. In Japan, and by the way he has learned that the presidents last name is actually Abe, not Shinzou, is back on his bellicose soap box, threatening war with North Korea. He also explained that the massacre in Texas had really nothing to do would guns. No doubt he is an Aristotelian and considers guns only an efficient cause and certainly not the final cause. He puts the massacre down to mental illness. Oddly enough he said nothing about the need for better health care for the mentally ill, the availability of which he diminished by his recent cutting back on federal assistance under the affordable care act. We can assume that if he begins a war with North Korea it will be about his mental health, not conventional or nuclear weapons. Who can argue against the notion that he is mentally disturbed.

Then he went to Korea where he said it was time to play " let's make a deal". He does, you may recall consider himself the ultimate dealmaker. Actually you can see that by looking at his tax returns which would describe great deals he is made in the footnotes. Oh, son of a gun, I forgot that he refuses to show his tax returns, doubtless because of his excess modesty. Of course he doesn't describe or even hint at what kind of a deal he has in mind. Here's one. Make a deal it that if North Korea will halt it's program of development of nuclear weapons and missiles the United States we'll not only ease sanctions but also send lots of food, particularly wheat and corn. We have a lot of that you know and it would be helpful to the agricultural Industry.

. It would cost a lot less than some of our military expenditures which appear of a doubtful utility.

The most discouraging development in the administration lately has been the diminishing stature of Gen. Kelly, formerly thought to be one of the adults in the white House. He has become another apologist for you know who and is in a close contest with kellyanne and Sarah in the dumbest explanation of the week Contest. At this point, they basically merge into one–Kellyanne Kelly Huckleberry. There is no further need to distinguish among or between them.

On the bright side, the Democrats actually won elections. Just don't let it go to your heads.

Who is the greatest evil?

I am reading the book" the Devils bargain" about Steve Bannan and Donald Trump. I also just read an extensive article in the New Yorker by Jane Mayer about Mike Spence. So I have been pondering between the two of them, who is the more dangerous and evil.

Starting with Steve Bannon, He has stood for and advanced despicable agendas. In common with many prior "Populists" he uses race baiting and preaches hey divisive agenda. Prior populists, for instance father Coughlin during the depression, focused on being anti-semetic. In those days, blacks and Hispanics we're not seen as taking things from the white majority, which is not to say that they were not despised. Bannon has also advance the theme of Wall Street and corporate America as villains, not to mention globalism, the modern equivalent of Smoot – Hawly. His nativism is reminiscent of Lindbergh and the America first party.

Spence, or as I call him" spot", because of the fawning way he follows trump around, gazing adoringly at him, appears much more duplicitous. He is a combination of sanctimonious claptrap and relentless self-aggrandizement and opportunism.(To many in Utah, a familiar profile.) Jane Mayer is a pretty good investigative journalist and if she it is right pants would be and eager tool of those such as the Koch brothers who seek to control the electoral process through the uses of dark money. So with Spence, you would get the combination of sanctimonious social, particularly religious, pseudo conservatism and dark money. Now for my money, which isn't dark or extensive, that makes him worse than Bannon. Notwithstanding Spence's feigned adoration of Donald Trump, there is no question in my mind that he sees Trump as an impediment and the sooner he's gone the better.

Which brings me I guess to Donald Trump. Is a truly despicable person. He is arrogant,incompetent and also lies a lot although it is sometimes hard to tell if he is merrily lying or totally delusional. But of the three, he is the least dangerous and evil. As far as domestic policy is concerned, he has none.All he wants to do's sign bills without reading them and claim victory, rather like George W. Bush on the deck of the aircraft carrier. His danger is in foreign-policy given the extensive powers of the presidency. But remember, he considers himself the ultimate" dealmaker". And as he explained in his book" the art of the lie", or something like that , robust bullshitting is the way to go. Granted, he makes us nervous but he probably thinks he's just being clever and will make some great deals. If he did order an attack against North Korea, millions would die probably and he would likely consider it a negative externality. We would of course prevail. But, should China intervene in an armed conflict, all bets are off. That is the danger. I have to believe he would not order an attack if he sought to do so he would be restrained and probably impeached. But he is a clear and present danger.

So the question is, are we better off with Trump or either Bannon or Spence in control. The fact that we even have to consider such a question is a disgrace to all of us collectively.

TheTrump Pledge of Allegiance

You may recall an earlier cabinet meeting at which in a nauseating display of obsequious behavior Donnie required that each in sequence around the table sing their version of" How Great Thou Art". You may have noticed that Donnie has had a burst of patriotism lately, mainly taking the form of criticizing black football players whose opinions with which he disagrees. Overcome by this feeling of patriotism, an unconfirmed rumor from an unreliable source surfaced saying that Donnie required a Pledge of Allegiance at the outset of today's cabinet meeting. This was, of course, a Pledge he particularly designed himself. It went as follows:

"I pledge allegiance solely to Donnie and to him alone, and not to the country which he, you should excuse the expression, leads or its citizens. I acknowledge that no competent president would remotely consider putting me in the cabinet post I know hold. I owe this nifty job and the appearance that I am a really big deal solely to Donnie and to him I pledge my undying loyalty with no expectation of reciprocity from him."

At the close of the cabinet meeting, Donnie told them to go out and say or do something that makes him look good,  unconstrained by reality or truth. To that remark was heard a hearty" Here Here".

In other news recently, Sen. Lindsey Graham perhaps unwittingly confessed to something we all knew anyway. Graham said that the Republicans had to pass a tax plan without discussing what that plan should be. He said that the Republicans had to do it, not because it was good for the country, but if they did not pass a tax plan they might not be reelected. What would such a plan be? Obviously Donnie doesn't care as long as it is referred to as" reform". He won't care what is in it. In all fairness, how could he since he never reads them.

Drum had a press conference today in which he pretty much lied in answering any question put to him.

Of course today the reporters and moderators on the news channels and their ubiquitous panels will be seriously parsing these remarks. You may recall a song called Louie Louie. There was once a radio station that played it for 24 hours straight. What the news channels should do is for 24 hours have nothing on the screen other than a continually looping sentence which reads" Trump is an ignorant ,incompetent liar and Congress cares nothing about anything other than being reelected". Really, is there anything else that needs to be said?

Natural and Unatural disasters

The citizens of this country, including those who live in the Caribbean, have experienced an unprecedented amount of natural disasters. Probably the worst of all, not to discount what has occurred in Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands, are the forest fires now ravaging California. The deaths and destruction there is nearly unimaginable. There is little that can be done to prevent  occurrences like this, at least in the near future . The amount of funds and effort necessary to combat these occurrences from year-to-year is not predictable which means that state and particularly the federal government needs contingency plans. It is pretty clear that both the forest service and FEMA are under funded.

Which brings me to unnatural disasters. We have collectively elected president man so incompetent unprepared and he'll fitted for the job that even most of the responsible members of the party that nominated him considered him unfit. You may recall the obsequious visit of the chairman of the RNC to New York to ask this buffoon to sign a pledge that he would claim to be a Republican. What has become apparent is that his ignorance and incompetence are not our worst problems. The biggest problem is that he cares for nothing but himself. He doesn't care about the country or its citizens. You may have noticed he has said nothing about the California disaster that is occurring. Why? Because they didn't vote for him. He has no interest in the long term problems of Puerto Rico because they didn't praise him for his feeble efforts. Yesterday he cavalierly ended the subsidies of the cost-sharing provisions that are a necessary part of the affordable care act falsely claiming they only benefited the insurance companies. In fact the insurance companies are only intermediaries and the effect of this loss will be felt by those people buying Insurance on the exchanges who do not receive direct subsidies because the insurance companies will have to raise premiums which they will have to absorb. He doesn't care. He is only interested in being able to claim, Falsely, that he is a brilliant" negotiator" and can do things no one else can do. On this latter point he is correct, no other person I can think of could fuck up the country like he is. His conception of himself and his abilities is extravagantly delusional. He is a disaster.

At present, our first line of defense against him is Congress, controlled by the party that put him in there (with some help by the ineptitude of the Democratic Party and their candidate). They need to fence him in by first passing legislation that would prevent him from using nuclear weapons absent a declaration of war by Congress. They then need to work on a bipartisan basis to pass legislation. Were they to do so, he would sign it saying it's a result of his brilliant negotiating tactics.

If the Republican Congress will not act responsibly, they need to be voted out of control of the House and Senate in 2018. Any republican senator or congressman who refuses to admit that Trump is a disaster needs to be attacked on that basis. The Democrats also need to come up with some good candidates and some reasonable ideas for legislation such as repatriating overseas corporate profits and using the proceeds to build infrastructure. Will this happen? One feels in the grip of terminal cynicism at this point.

Shit! He is still president

Having been out of the country for two weeks, it was almost possible to fantasize that it is all been a bad dream. Nope, he is still lurking about. One wonders if he is beginning to dimly realize that he is totally inept at being president. Unfortunately, he was pretty good at being a candidate and he seems to have now reverted to running for office again by retreating to the positions that worked. For instance, today "the wall" which we have learned from his discussions with the president of Mexico was only a campaign ploy has emerged as a necessary ingredient of any immigration plan, including one concerning the dreamers for whom he has expressed such care and concern. He is back to advocating a solution in search of a problem. He is also pitching to the social conservative base preaching a restoration of religious liberty, which is never been lost, and repealing EPA regulations in order to bolster the coal market which will not come back because of competitive market forces.

It is well known that Donnie watches a lot of TV. One wonders if perhaps in flipping through the channels he started watching the movie West side story, and particularly the song "everything is free and America" and thought it was a documentary. That might explain some is thoughtless and stupid remarks about the problems in Puerto Rico, even though it has been brought to his attention that the people there are American citizens.

I and the people I was with did view with horror what happened in Las Vegas. That was so horrific that even the NRA is now saying that there needs to be some" regulation" but not congressional action against the sale of bump stops. A Trump administration regulation would probably limit ownership of them to four or five.

There are tiny rays of hope based upon reports of flashes of insight by both Congress and the Trump administration. Rex Tillotson does not deny he called Donnie a moron. He certainly acts like one. Sen. Corker has been saying in one way or another that Donnie is a dangerous incompetent. Congressman Dent is saying pretty much the same thing. Neither is running for reelection and are enjoying, in the words of the immortal Bobby McGee, "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose". Each says that many of their colleagues are saying the same thing privately but apparently think being reelected is more important and saving the country. Of course, when one is running for election it is easy to convince oneself that the most important thing for the country is that persons election.

Look at me everybody–I am great and powerful

Our supercilious head twit gave a speech yesterday at the United Nations so that  representatives of most of the countries in the world could see what a jerk he is. As usual, it was all about him. He began bye lying about his accomplishments in his first eight months of office, both domestically and internationally. He then rambled around talking about why the US paid a disproportionate amount of the UN budget and was not getting in his opinion a reasonable return on investment. He discussed that there were underway some indefinite plans to restructure and revitalize the United Nations and that that showed great promise. He decried the bureaucracy of the United Nations and generally dismissed multinational organizations as being ineffective and impractical, and that went for trade agreements as well. It is not clear what he thinks the United Nations actually is. What is clear is that he envisions a future when the United Nations does what he tells it to do.

He discussed North Korea. He did not say that North Korea's belligerent statements and actions could lead to  catastrophe in the far east causing millions to die. Instead, in one of the most callous statements probably ever heard, he said that should North Korea either start armed conflict or otherwise seriously provoke the United States he would totally destroy it. He has elevated stupid reckless demagoguery to hitherto unknown heights. The death of millions of people apparently he considers some sort of negative externality.

He then turned to Iran. This weeks" worst deal he has ever seen" is the agreement with Iran that he appears to think was a bilateral agreement. It doesn't occurred to him that if he could make a deal like that with North Korea he would be universally applauded. He seemed to threaten Iran with armed conflict. Other than Bebe Netanyahu, and the cheerleaders Trump brought with him, there was mostly silence. I suppose he expects the United Nations to take action at his direction against Iran but it is more than clear that our European allies and Russia and China are not going to.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about this is that it is clear from his brief appearances today that he thinks he was a smash hit. He does not appear to be doing the single most important thing he could which is to work comprehensively with China on many fronts including North Korea because it is in China's interest to have a stable North Korea but one that ceases its belligerent and provocative actions. We appear to be in a metaphorical perfect storm. We have  incredibly difficult problems to solve and simultaneously have the most ignorant arrogant incompetent lying President ever and a Congress mired in political ideology and totally uninterested in solving problems in a reasonable fashion.

Sarah Huckleberry says Trump should be fired

Rumor has it that Sarah Huckleberry, White House designated truth denier and dissembler, has privately said that pres. Trump should be fired because of his recent re-tweet showing him hitting a golf ball into the rear end of Hillary Clinton." If he had done that on ESPN sports center, they surely would have fired him, she is reported as saying." We are trying to create the illusion that the White House is a serious place where are important things are discussed and done. In fact we are trying to create an illusion that it is a very very serious place where very very significant things are planned and done. Things like this make that difficult. On an ordinary day the White House would remind one Love this scene in the circus where the little car pulls into the center ring and a bunch of clowns jump out running around intuiting horns. In other words, it's always bad enough.

And think of me. Every day I have to go out there and explain that what Trump has said doesn't mean what he actually said but something different. Then I have to use various excuses not to answer questions other than to say that pres. Trump remains committed (which I sometimes think he should be) to his agenda of making America great again for all those benighted souls that voted for him. Do you think that's a fun job? Well it's not. I look forward to the day, sometime in the future, what I can appear on TV like Sean Spicer did at the Emmy awards and show what I really think of all this crap.

Big winds blowing

We had over a week of all the networks presenting nonstop reporting over hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It started with predictions of their impacts and ended with the reality of those impacts. There was some hyping at the predicting stage but that's probably not a bad idea. It's a lot better than understating the potential. The reality of those impacts was grim. FEMA will pay for infrastructure repair but it does not pay for the repair or replacement of private properties to any great extent. Flood insurance, for those lucky to have it, maxes out at $250,000. The reaction to this devastation is that we as a country and states and municipalities need to act collectively to help the people who bore the brunt of these storms. There is a certain irony in the fact that Gov. Rick Scott of Florida has been a climate change denier and even instructed State government employees not to use any such terminology. Despite his private enterprise bias, he will be groveling for state and federal tax dollars.

What would happen if the major networks spent a week with nearly nonstop coverage of the plight of those in this country who live at or near the poverty level. We could see the struggles they have for food, clothing and housing and how it affects the ability of their children to get educations. Would there be a similar reaction calling for collective action at the national and state level to help these people with tax dollars?

Speaking of big winds, we are getting more of Trump now again. He continues to contradict himself, make up facts, and generally concentrating on how to make all issues and problems to be about him. Trump will deliver an address at the United Nations this week. You may recall his disparaging remarks about the United Nations on the campaign trail. Will he now say things are improved, probably because of his remarks? We can bet he will say that other countries are not doing enough and that the United States is unfairly burdened and gets nothing in return. We can also expect him to say that Isis is very very bad, and terrorism is very very bad, and North Korea is very very bad and a very very serious problem, and Iran is a very very serious problem, and we have to do something about Iraq and Syria because it is a very very serious problem and there are very very evil people there. This will of course be revelatory to the other countries represented at the United Nations because none of these things have ever occured to them. We do not expect Trump to be very very specific about what should be done.

We cannot expect Trump to say anything intelligent about holloween need to deal with China and what are the real issues there because it is highly complicated and Trump cannot even deal with simple problems rationally. He seems unable to understand why China does not adopt an America first policy. He also remains fixated on trade deficits. Apparently no one has told him that trade deficits results from the fact that our country collectively does not save enough. We cannot expect any great improvement arising from the fact that Trump now wants to do stupid things in a bipartisan way because he gets better press.

Bipartisanship

You may remember this term. It gets tossed around in Washington from time to time. For instance shortly after President Obama was elected in 2008, Mitch McConnell used the term. At a retreat for Republican senators, under the direction of Mitch the Republicans adopted the agenda that their primary responsibility was to defeat resident Obama in 2012 and to that end there would not be a bipartisan Senate(too bad Mitch). Now Donnie wants bipartisanship but he pretty clearly has a confuse notion of what that is. It doesn't occur to him that the Democrats should have any role in input or design of legislation. Bipartisanship means that Democrats vote for whatever pleases you know who. The Republican Congress seems to agree with that as they apparently will allow the Democrats no role in drafting what they laughingly call tax" reform". No doubt the leaders in Congress will be calling for the Trump type of bipartisanship from the Democrats forgetting that after the Republicans gained control of Congress in 2010 they became the knights who say "Knicht" and blocked everything Obama tried to do that required legislation. For Republicans, the trouble with Democrats largely stems from the fact that they do not understand that tax cuts for the wealthy is pretty much the answer to all problems.

Our fearless leader is heading back to Texas today for round two of his personal flood relief efforts. Round one largely consisted of his self-congratulatory remarks that under his leadership the greatest relief program ever was occurring. This is to be his sympathy and empathy trip where actually meets a real live flood victim. His wife will once again accompany him. Last time he treated her really shabbily. He forced her to wear a black baseball cap that said in capital letters FLOTSAM. I think comparing her to debris floating in the water was incredibly ungentlemanly and I hope he doesn't do it again.

Is this the apocalypse?

It is looking like the Book of Revelations  has come to life. California and the northwest through Canada is ablaze. The southeastern United States is underwater. It will be a miraculous if there are not outbreaks of cholera or at least dysentery. Reckless stupid leaders are playing chicken with nuclear weapons. The Beast walks the earth.

And speaking of Donald Trump, after his usual stumbling  attempts to show concern and compassion for the victims in southeastern United States , he is back talking about ending DACA and legislating tax cuts for the top 1%. He is pursuing his nonsensical notion that giving tax cuts to, for example, Corporation that have so much cash that they use it to buy back stock, will trickle down to the disadvantaged. Today he sent out for a briefing some person named Tom Bossert to talk about the relief effort in Texas and Louisiana. This character gave long often unintelligible answers to questions and fatuously suggested not to worry there is plenty of money notwithstanding that Trump wants to decrease the budget for FEMA. It doesn't appear that the top members of the administration, and I do not include the Director of FEMA who seems to know what he is doing, have no realistic concepcion of the cost that would necessarily be incurred to rebuild the lives and property of the affected citizens. Their homes will be at least required to be taken down to the studs been rebuilt. Their possessions are gone. Many will still be on the hook to pay mortgages for their uninhabitable homes and obviously many of lost their jobs. At best there will be massive bankruptcies displaced persons..

We can safely expect Trump to engage in some sort of fantasy that there will be private public partnerships rebuilding levees, canals, roads, schools, other infrastructures and homes. We remember the larceny that took place in the use of federal funds after Katrina. But hey, there's a buck to be made here. And, of course, we need to continue the dismantling of the EPA.

The first concern has to be providing food and shelter for the displaced. They will need sanctuary somewhere. Probably they will  need to be sent to other cities. We could call them" sanctuary cities" but not tell Jeff Sessions about it. About the only thing that one can be certain of is this : what ever the Trump administration does they will screw it up.

Fake News Flash

Unconfirmed information from an unreliable source says that Pres. Trump has been impressed by the amount of volunteer relief assistance given by private individuals and companies in Texas. It was brought to his attention that not only citizens individually using their boats have rescued people but that business entities such as furniture stores have open their doors to refugees and donated things like blankets and mattresses. Other individuals and businesses have opened their doors to provide emergency quarters for flood victims. Impressed with this, Pres. Trump has been heard to say:" as you know I am not only the president of the United States but I am a billionaire. I have made many billions of dollars because of the very very incredible and fantastic deals I have made over my career. I can tell you that they are the most fantastic, incredible deals I have ever seen. You can see that for yourself by looking at my tax returns, I mean my financial statements, Tax returns are irrelevant. Because I have billions of dollars I want to participate as a private individual in this effort to provide relief for these victims. Accordingly, I am going to open up as relief centers all of my golf resorts, including Mal de Mer in Florida. I have asked for those who have booked reservations to cancel them and am requesting current occupants to cut short their stays. I have also asked my son Donald, who runs my businesses about which I know nothing other than that they're making a lot of money, to make an infusion of $100 million into the Trump foundation to be used for flood relief at the discretion of local authorities. I know that sounds like a lot of money but I'm a billionaire and I can afford it. Somebody told me that my new hotel in Washington DC is making money hand over fist and that the Trump White House boutique is doing well. I am going to provide my private fleet of planes and helicopters, the ones that say TRUMP in huge letters to fly flood victims to my resorts."

"I have instructed all federal agencies to provide whatever help and assistance as needed for the flood victims. I am also announcing this afternoon my new tax reform programs, without any detail of course, that will sharply reduce the amount of taxes paid by our citizens and companies, and revenues received by our government. I am told that somehow this all works and that it will be huge, leading to at least 7% per annum GDP growth. The details of this will be provided by somebody sometime. With all due modesty, I have already been told that might administration under my guidance has made the greatest emergency relief and rescue program ever. This will come as no surprise to those who have witnessed the incredible accomplishments of my administration under my clothes and careful management."

Real Tax Reform(it will not happen)

Fresh off what Donnie calls the most successful first six months in presidential history, Donnie will turn to tax reform. It is an odds on proposition that he will not know or care what would be in the legislation as long as it is entitled Tax Reform and maybe has his name in the title. That means it is likely to be the sort of taxing budgetary Fantasy that Paul Ryan as offered in the past. That consists of tax cuts for people and entities that already have more money than they know what to do with coupled with cuts in programs needed by the disadvantaged in our society. Probably with the help of Mick Mulvaney, that will be some" dynamic scoring" Love the kind that nonpartisan economists have consistently called" implausible" to  purport to make it revenue neutral and thus needing only 50 votes.

The current situation in the southeastern United States is going to be a real budget buster and make Ryan's fantasies even more difficult. We will see legislators from Texas, including Ted Cruz, who voted against relief in New York and New Jersey for the victims of Sandy urging the preparations for Texas and maybe Louisiana. In the past, people like then Congressman Mike Pence and congressman Mick Mulvaney wanted budget cuts elsewhere to offset any relief funds. If that happens this time, guess who will bear the brunt of it. The only thing certain is that Ryan and Mulvaney Will be turning somersaults in the dynamic scoring exercise.

We do need tax law changes and I have a few modest proposals. First, raise the tax level on passive income including capital gains to the same level as those who work for a living pay. Also make that revenues subject to the Medicare tax. Second, raise the tax levels incrementally for those having taxable incomes of $250,000 and more up to a maximum of 70%. Third, eliminate unjustifiable provisions in the tax code that favor selected industries or individuals. Fourth, pass a provision allowing repatriation of funds residing overseas by US corporations at a favorable rate but require those entities to use those monies for capital expansion and/or wage increases for their employees and not to buy back stock or engage in acquisitions. Use the tax revenue received by the Federal government from this to finance infrastructure projects.

The need for the federal government to assist in problems such as those being experienced In Texas and Louisiana serve to demonstrate that the government needs more tax revenue, not less. In a society as complex and large as ours, it should be obvious that more functions, such as healthcare, need to be financed at a national level. The democrats need to carry this message and point out to the former Democrat voters in Pennsylvania Ohio Wisconsin and Michigan that they have been duped and they better change their allegiance.

The Wall

I don't know if Donnie watches The Game of Thrones but I am sure if he does he has a serious case of" Wall Envy". Talk about a wall, that sucker is hundreds of feet high and runs all away into the ocean. If Donnie watches, he must have been distressed yesterday to see the army of the dead breach that wall with the help of a zombie Dragon. Now Donnie is about to build a wall on the southern border to keep out most of the Mexicans who he considers to be murderers, rapists, drug dealers and criminals. I am pretty sure these miscreants don't have a zombie dragon but I bet they have lots of modern devices that could breach Donnie's wall or they could go around it, or under it, or over it. If he saw that episode it must give him nightmares.

Donnie has said that Mexico will pay for the wall and that he will shut down Congress if Congress does not appropriate funds to build a wall. Apparently this is going to be a real boondoggle where the contractors will be paid twice. And speaking of Mexico, Donnie is saying that NAFTA is the worst deal he ever saw. I thought the TPP was the worst deal he ever saw. Wait a minute, it was the Iran deal that was the worst deal he ever saw. He has seen a lot of bad deals. I would think that the worst one he ever saw was the one where the lenders gave him funds to lose $1 billion in Atlantic City

Donnie has pardoned sheriff Joe Arpaio. This is not surprising. He and Sheriff Joe have a lot in common and certainly have a mutual admiration society. We look forward to the future exercise of the presidential pardon power as there may well be plenty of opportunities to use it.

The Declaration of" Enough Already" and Airing of Grievances

When in the course of domestic political events it becomes necessary for the citizens to dissolve the ties that bind them to their duly elected president, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind require them to list the grievances that caused them to so act.

1. He is an inveterate and unrepentant liar. It began with the lie that Pres. Obama was in illegitimate President. He continues to lie about petty things like the size of his inaugural crowd and continues relentlessly with important matters such as four score of accomplishment by him.

2. He has sought to wrongfully obstruct an investigation into actions undertaken by or on his behalf during the campaign and refuses to release his tax returns which may well reveal financial crimes.

3. He seeks to violate the First Amendment by suppressing the right of freedom of the press and by lying about the truthfulness reported about him.

4. He has made false campaign promises including they promised to deliver less expensive better and more comprehensive healthcare with lower deductibles. Instead he was willing to sign hey healthcare bill which provided the none of these things and actually diminished healthcare available to our citizens.

5. He seeks to divide our country by making speeches accusing those who disagree with him of being hateful and un-American.

6. He has acted recklessly in conducting foreign affairs by disrespecting our allies, coddling Russia and making reckless threats.

7. He has demonstrated incompetence and questionable mental stability. He has demonstrated ignorance in matters important to his office and shown no inclination to learn.

8. By his actions he has caused the citizenry to feel shame and embarrassment.

We therefore call upon President Donald Trump to resign in his office. Failing that, we call upon Congress to exercise its duties and pass bi-partisan legislation important to the country without regard to the demands of Pres. Trump. We call upon those entrusted with national security including the military and the intelligence community to exercise extreme vigilance and caution in dealing with Pres. Trump.

We make these requests in order to restore liberty and security to our country.

Donald Trump's egocentric universe.

Yesterday we witnessed a real meltdown by Donald Trump. It reminded me of the scene from the movie The Caine Mutiny when under cross-examination in court, Capt. Queeg crumbled exposing his mental instability. Of course, yesterday's events provoked an immediate firestorm reaction." Is Donald Trump a racist? Does Donald Trump think that anti-Nazis and Nazis are morally equivalent? Will Donald Trump abdicate his moral responsibilities as President?" And on and on.

This was of course entirely predictable but these subsidiary questions ignore the main problem. Donald Trump's remarks yesterday were occasioned by events in Charlottesville but they were entirely about himself, not what happened there or the participants. Donald Trump could not abide the notion that he was criticized for his remarks on Saturday. As usual, he cannot stand criticism because it suggests that he is not the abnormally brilliant and wise person he believes himself to be. It has become more and more apparent that he is totally delusional. He  believes himself to be nearly if not totally omniscient and it is unimaginable to him that everyone does not share this view. No matter is too petty to provoke these reactions. He still maintains the crowd at his inauguration was larger then that at Pres. Obama's. When he says this he is not, apparently, lying. He really believes it. This is a man who at the national prayer breakfast wanted to talk about his ratings on the apprentice being higher than those of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everything is about him.

This is a very dangerous man. He is demonstrably ignorant and incompetent. When you couple this with his delusional view of himself you have a real problem. He has no core beliefs or ideology. He is totally about self-aggrandizement and other than that let the chips fall where they may. As has been noted by many, he is a petulant spoiled child who has tantrums. There can be no question but that right now he is going to listen to whoever tells him he was right Saturday and yesterday. That is likely to be Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka who constitute a malignancy on the administration.

Some have suggested that what is needed with Trump is some kind of program of containment. The question is are there enough adults in the administration and congress willing to do something? At present it does not seem to be the case. All of the careful and thoughtful analysis that may appear in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, And even yesterday FOXNews is going to have no effect on Donald Trump other than to make him retreat further into his delusions. We are in serious trouble.

It is do-over time

Today Donnie went on TV and said" as I said Saturday" and then said what he did not say Saturday, that is that Nazis, white supremacist's and white nationalists are terrible ignorant intolerable people. For the past two days  the chattering class has been busily talking about what was not said Saturday and what that means. Now they are busily engaged in discussing what was said today and not Saturday and what that means. This will keep them busily engaged and employed until the next crisis of  words occurs.

We can fully expect Donnie's apologists to explain his statements of Saturday and today. Perhaps Kellyanne Will revert to an earlier explanation she used in which she explained that Donnie had said the same thing on two occasions but had just use different words but what was in his heart was always  the same. Sarah may explain the reference to violence and hatred coming from many places for a long time by discussing Donnie's keen interest in history and that he was probably including an implicit reference to Nat Turner's rebellion in 1831 which resulted in the death of over 50 White Virginians. Donnie likes broad historical perspective.

Meanwhile, that lion of civil rights, attorney general Sessions, will lead a federal investigation into the events at Charlottesville. It could hardly be in better hands.

Rumor has it that in the Steve Bannon wing of the administration there is concern that the nazis and white supremacists will not be treated fairly. Another uncorroborated rumor from an unreliable source says that Bannon would like to see a presidential commission headed up by Sebastian Gorky looking into whether the civil rights of these groups we're violated. It was noted that there is a long and honorable tradition by such groups marching and gathering carrying torches through the night constituting  symbolic speech which should not have been interrupted. Bannon hopes to remind Donnie who voted for him.

Is Trump actually right this time?

Currently, the topic de jour for the chattering class is the war of words twixt the Don and North Korea. There is incredible consternation that trump is escalating the war of words, and bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. The complaint is that he is not using the right terminology and there is not tight control twix he and his national security staff including Rex Tillotson. This lack of following established norms is apparently deemed totally irresponsible.

Let's think about with whom he is dealing. These guys do not themselves follow any acceptable normative behavior. Rather, they make irresponsible belligerent statements and take provocative actions with nuclear development and missile launches. Those who are constantly critical of Trump's current behavior also tend to constantly reiterate that we have no good options and that diplomacy has failed through four or five administrations. They want diplomacy done in a polite manner and to somehow rely on China and sanctions. Because this is not worked in the past it is assumed that it will now.

Now I am no advocate for Donald Trump. Generally speaking, I find him to be an ignorant, lying incompetent. But this might be the one time when his self serving, egotistical bullshit is useful. What is he actually saying? Pretty clearly, it is" don't screw with us, I am tougher and have more power than you." In the alternative, he is saying "don't try to bullshit a bullshitter". At the same time, we can safely assume that at lower levels there are some diplomatic talks. There is also the new sanctions, the effectiveness of which are totally dependent upon China. Will China enforce them? That depends upon what they think about the alternative. In this respect also, Trumps behavior maybe useful.

Kim Il Jung is either rational or is not. If he is irrational all bets are off regardless of what Trump does. It is completely rational that he insists on his nuclear weapons after watching what happened to Qaddafi and Saddam without them. If he is rational, he certainly can recognize Trump's behavior as being pretty much like his own. That, combined with the sanctions may well lead to something constructive.

To me, the most worrisome thing about this is that Trump is clearly enjoying himself. In the media it is all about him and he gets to portray himself as tough and powerful. Opioids are not the only thing that is addictive and addictive behavior is hard to control.

The chattering class

The phrase" chattering class" originated I believe in England. It described a certain segment of the educated privileged upper middle and upper-class. They would have endless dinner parties and cocktail parties where they would stand around in exchange insightful comments on the issues of the day. But, they would never get their hands dirty and actually put their insights into action. There was nothing but endless, repetitive chatter.

We now have our own chattering class in this country. It is the endless, fungible hosts and panelists on our news networks. These people gathere daily, hour after hour and endlessly chatter about the newest tidbit of information, or finding nothing new rehash yesterday's. For instance, if it is learned that Donald Trump had a cheeseburger for breakfast that would be a topic. After the host  announced that Donald Trump had a cheeseburger for breakfast he or she would immediately turn to the panel. One of these panelists would immediately launch into analysis of whether that meant that Donald Trump was announcing a new protective trade policy by demonstrating we grow all our own food. Another what interject that it had to do with Trump making an anti-environmentalist statement showing that he was unconcerned about the amount of crops and rangeland it took two grow beef compared to grains and vegetables. Someone else would want to discuss small businesses that make hamburgers and the like. Then they would bat it around back-and-forth. Perhaps they would then move onto some other similarly crucial issue. such as Twitter accounts.

My point is that because they have so much time to fill there doesn't seem to be any hierarchy of importance of issues. Nor is there a conclusion. Instead there is just the republican surrogates or operatives exchanging with the democrat surrogates or operatives, endlessly. Years ago in discussing how the general population of Germany in the 1930s could live with what they knew was going on, Hannah Arent coined the phrase the banality of evil. We are now in a period of the banality of political discussion. All comments, no matter how silly or superficial seem to be given equal credibility. There doesn't seem to be much breakdown in the artificial politeness of this nonsense.  The phrase" that is total nonsense" doesn't crop up much. From what I understand, if you want totally one sided comments the place to go is talk radio but the people who listen are already totally committed to the truth of what's being said. So, confirmation bias rules the day. According to a poll, 73% of the population thinks that Donald Trump is a liar but far higher numbers either approve of him or think he is doing a decent job. This suggests to me that all of this network news chatter is completely useless, Accomplishing nothing. Just tell us what happened. We can figure it out.

Trump trumpets Trump accomplishments

In a brief public statement, the Don modestly stated that his administration had accomplished more in the first six months then any administration in history, other than perhaps that of FDR. It has been historic he said. The Don did not bother to list those accomplishments, that was because time would not allow. The Don did express his disappointment that he has had nothing to sign lately because he really likes to sign things. Luckily, he is allowed to do so without reading them.

Later, he said that one of the Goldman Sachs guys would explain his tax program but briefly outlined that plan. Under it, everyone would get a reduction in taxes but it would be revenue neutral. Corporations would pay a far lower tax rate, immediately expense capital items but lose all their exemptions and deductions, sometimes called tax loopholes. It was explained that those who currently pay no income tax because they make so little would also get a reduction in the tax rate. It it was explained that it would be well received by those because they would now be not paying tax at a much lower rate. These across the board tax reductions would be fully paid and more by the incredible stimulating effect calculated by modern double dynamic scoring.

A CEO of an international mix conglomerate was asked about how these tax changes would affect his business. He was elated. If our company pays less taxes we will have money available for stock buybacks, which will result in my stock options becoming more valuable. When asked his opinion of the the strategy of a loss of tax loopholes as an offset to lower rates but resulting in the same amount of tax being paid, the CEO said" what good would that do me"? But, after further reflection he said we could immediately get our lobbyists at work in creating a new set of tax loopholes which they are nearly always successful in getting passed and we end up ahead. So, this tax reform is a good idea.

House Speaker Ryan when asked about this sketched out tax reform plan stated that it was not nearly complicated enough resulting in people being able to actually understand its effect. We need a border adjustment tax as part of the plan because nobody really understands it well or has any idea of what the consequences might be. That's why it is my baby.

Dr. evil and mini me

The Don and the mooch, or as they are sometimes called Dr. evil and Minime are on the warpath. Dr. evil just concentrating much of his ire on the disloyal attorney general Sessions. And uncorroborated rumor from an unreliable source says that Sessions will be demoted to private with the stars torn off of his shoulders. The Dr./ Don continues to be upset and indignant over now private Sessions'recusal of himself from the Russian investigation. The Dr/Don is particularly upset because the recusal was apparently done for ethical considerations. He is reported to have said that he does not want anyone on his administration taking actions for ethical reasons because it makes him look bad by comparison. Sessions has gone too far he is reported to have sad.

The Dr. Don is also angry about leaks. There have been leaks from members of Congress and the CBO about the health bills that the White House has been advocating. Apparently details of the provisions of those bills and the effect that the bills would have on the American public are being disclosed. Dr. Don believes these unwarranted disclosures  impede his ability to sign a bill. I don't need to know and I don't know what's in them and neither does the public, he reportedly said. I just want to sign something. The DrDon has also sent interior secretary Zinke to put the squeeze on the senators from Alaska. Zinke is the right man for the job he said. He was a Navy seal and knows how to carry out an assault. We will make Alaska an offer they cannot refuse.

Meanwhile, mini me is proving he is the right man for the job. He is on the rampage for the leaking of public available information. Having been to Harvard Law school, he knows that leaking publicly available information is a felony that he has asked the FBI to investigate. Mini me vows there will be no more leaks. I am from New York he says and we know how to fix leaks, permanently. In fact, my uncle Guido" the plumber" is an expert at this. Mini me also is on a mission to get rid of the chief of Staff, the guy with the funny name. In someway he is responsible for the leaks. It is nobody's business what domestic programs and foreign strategies Dr. evil and I will pursue. The public will know when it happens.

"The Mooch" takes over

The Don's new Consigliari, Anthony" The Mooch" Scaramucci, swiftly demonstrated he is no shrinking violet. In a round of television appearances, the mooch swiftly dispelled any notion that there would be a need to engage in any extensive questioning of the Don or his family's actions. The mooch gave his personal testimony that the Don was not only the greatest but the most lovable and could not have possibly said or done things that needed to be questioned. The mooch also gave a personal testimony as to the Don's family, his son" Sonny" and his son in law Jiacomo Kushiano. These are also wonderful people and could not possibly have done anything worthy of investigation, including any meetings with the Russians that may have occured and if they did the mooch who was not there and doesn't know if the meetings happened gave his personal testimony that nothing could have possibly occurred.

When asked whether and in what form there would be White House news briefings the mooch said that had not yet been decided. There is speculation, actually I am starting it, that the mooch plans to have panels representing the White House, rather like the news networks use.  For instance, the White House might bring in for a news briefing not only the mooch but also Kellyanne and Sarah and maybe others. They would then have a panel discussion of whether any questions were worthy of being answered. This would fill up the allotted time and get rid of those vexatious follow-ups.

There is also speculation, and you heard it here first, that in his expanded role the mooch instead of Sonny and Jiacomo will appear this week to be questioned by the special counsel and/or congressional committees. There is no need to waste the time of these wonderful honest people, the mooch said, when I can give my testimony. I did, after all, go to the Harvard law school. What more could you want?

Don Trumpaloni goes to the mattresses

Today Don Trumpaloni announced he had appointed a new Consigliari, Anthony Scaramucci. I am at war the Don said. I am at war with the media, The press, The Justice Department, The special counsel, The Democrats, many republican members of Congress and all those who are obsessed with factual accuracy. Accordingly, I needed a wartime Consigliari. Sean Spicer, notwithstanding his obsequious loyalty, was simply not up to the job. There appears to be some evidence that members of my administration have been consorting and conspiring with the Barzini wing of the Republican Party. There are also attacks being made against my son "Sonny" Trumpaloni. This I do not forgive. For safety, I am sending my other son to Las Vegas to run the casino for his safety.

Because I am now on a wartime footing, I will no longer be personally holding White house briefings which I don't do anyway. Scaramucci will be in charge of communicating warnings to my enemies. My patience has been sorely tried. I will be signing a series of Orders aimed at controlling and eliminating this nest of vipers that has been unfairly attacking me.

Trump to repeal name" Obama care"

It has been reported by anonymous unreliable sources that Donnie Will ask Congress to pass a statute repealing the name "Obamacare". We promise the American people we would repeal Obama care and it is time to do that. With this action, Obamacare will cease to exist. There is also something called the Affordable Care Act and we will repeal that name too. When asked how that would affect healthcare generally in the United States Drop said it will be very very beautiful, everyone will be extremely extremely happy. Drop was asked whether the new health care plan would satisfy his campaign promises to provide insurance for everyone at a lower cost with better coverage and with smaller deductibles. Trump replied that are would be a really really beautiful health plan. When asked how Medicare would be affected Trump replied there will be a really really beautiful health plan. Trump said he wanted the repeal of the names on his desk to sign as soon as possible. I really like to sign things he said, And then hold them up for people to see my beautiful signature. When I sign things it means that I won and as everyone knows I am a winner.

Donnie also said he was pleased that the investigation into voter fraud in the 2016 election was proceeding. When asked what evidence there was of any voter fraud Donnie replied that it was obvious. It was claimed that he did not win the popular vote and that could not be true. Therefore, it stands to reason that there must've been voter fraud, particularly in New York and California because he was actually very popular in those two states and yet it is claimed that he lost the popular vote by a wide majority. Donnie said he thought this investigation could proceed quickly because the investigators already know what the answer will be.

Donnie also repeated what are you told the New York Times that he was extremely mad and disappointed with the Justice Department. I told them I did nothing wrong and yet the special prosecutor keeps asking questions. This must stop. I want to sign something that says so and hold it up for everyone to see.

An American in Paris

This is not about Gene Kelly dancing Down the Champs Elysees to the music of George Gershwin. This is about Donnie going to Paris for Bastille day and to meet Brigette Macron and maybe also her husband, Emmanuel. Donny was also excited because someone told him that the Marquis de Sade had been released from the Bastille prison on that day. Donnie thought the marquis really understood women. And speaking of women, it was reported by an unidentified and unreliable source who knew a guy that Donnie in so many words said" boy, if I had a a had a high school teacher like that I probably would still be in high school. I really developed a very very really incredible special relationship with Brigette, I could hardly let her go." Donny was said to have been saying that he thought he and Emmanuel would really get along and have a special relationship because they both we're currently married to really really hot women. You can tell really powerful men by the women they are currently with. That Brigette was really something and I could tell that she was really really attracted to me but circumstances prevented any relationship from being pursued.

Her husband and I also discussed France and the United States. He talked about how France helped the Americans during our Revolutionary war and I guess that was true although I don't know how much help it really could've been because boats were slow in those days. I told him that France wouldn't even exist these days without the United States and that unfair trade practices must cease. Particularly, I told him that Trump wine had been badly damaged by the predatory practices of the French exporters even though Trump wine had a Merlot far better than the disappointing château Petrus he served at dinner. I told him that if Brigette with whom I have developed a really really special relationship would bring him to the White House I would serve a great wine with the KFC that he would find far better then that stuff called ris de veau that he expected me to eat in the Eiffel Tower, which I am sure is smaller and shorter than Trump tower. Luckily, there was a lot of bread and potatoes which I told him should be called American fries.

When I left I could tell that Emanuel was really impressed by me but that the really special relationship I had developed was with Brigette.

Very Very Trumpy

In the last few days the network panels have been consumed with discussing what was said in the meeting between Putin and Trump. Of course none of them were there nor was there any transcript. They are dealing with secondhand information, or maybe misinformation, and if you word said by Trump .Nonetheless, they are parsing these words and phrases at none of them heard with great care. This could be quite hilarious if they were not so serious about it. First of all, the notion that Donald Trump uses words with any precision, or that he says anything not subject to immediate change, is absurd. One of the topics of discussion is whether Donald Trump said" the American people are concerned about Russian interference in the election" instead of saying" I am concerned". Then they are all a dither about whether he said to quit interfering or accepted Putin's statement that he had nothing to do with it. As with everything else, Trump will continue to contradict himself and wander aimlessly through important issues with no map to guide him.

Now, for those who like to listen to trump carefully I have a clue. Count carefully the number of superlatives he uses, particularly the word" very". It is sort of like looking at the number of stars in a restaurant review. For instance after a short meeting he declared he had a" very special "relationship with Theresa May. A single very is not a strong message. If he says a meeting or a bill was very, very good  that is a two star. If he wants to claim even more he will say something like " it was a very very, a really fantastic meeting". That's fairly high review. However if he says "it was a very very great meeting, it was fantastic, really remarkable I have to tell you " then he is really really very very high on his claims.

It is pretty clear that if Trump were prohibited from using the word very he would not be able to speak. Wouldn't that be wonderful? But, it's not going to happen so just be content with counting his verrys and remember it's all bullshit anyway.

Gullible's Travels

So Donnie is off to Liliput and Brobdingnag to set the world straight. First he goes to Warsaw where he has some snappy ethnic jokes that will doubtless please the Polish. Then he is onto the G 20 summit where he will have a heart to heart with Pootie.

Meanwhile, Russia and China are having a summit of their own. They have a purpose was to propose a North Korean problem proposal. However, a highly placed and typically totally unreliable source at this meeting has disclosed the true purpose. What Pootie and Xi did was toast their good fortune and discuss their plans to increase the power and importance of Russia and China in world politics and economics at the expense of the United States. Xi could not help chortling about the United States withdrawing from the TPP agreement. That agreement he said would have increased  the importance of the US in the Far East and actually provided economic benefits to the US. Now, I'm becoming the only game in town.

Isn't it great, said Pootie. I'm going to have a one-on-one sitdown with Donnie. I'll begin by telling him how cruelly and unfairly he is being treated by the American press even though he is doing his best to care of the mess and carnage he inherited from all his predecessors. Then I will tell him that what he needs is more power and the ability to veto anything done by Congress or the courts and to shutdown the press. He is already envious of my power and I will stoke the fires.

The two agreed that life is indeed good.

Rumor has it that Donnie is working on a plan to solve problems of famine and starvation in Africa. He has been told by Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka that he should look at the plan that Jonathan Swift developed to solve the problem of hunger in Ireland.

Who knew?

Republican senators and representatives were shocked and dismayed the other day to learn that Donnie, their president, is apparently a despicable human being. Several, who spoke on the grounds of anonymity, expressed similar sentiments of surprise." On the campaign trail and thus far in the White House we thought that Donnie was a kind thoughtful person, not one who foams at the mouth like some rabid dog." When asked what they proposed as a response to this startling revelation they generally said we would be happy and it would be nice if he didn't do that. When asked if there might be a more robust response, most said that if he continues this behavior they will be unhappy.

When intern Press Secretary Sasha Huckleberry was asked about this incident she responded that it was the fault of the liberal media." They keep criticizing him for the things he says and does, what should he do? "When one reporter suggested that maybe Donnie should quit saying and doing such stupid things, Huckleberry looked at him with incredulity. He is the president, she said. Nothing he says or does can be stupid or subject to criticism because he won the election. Remember, the future of our country is in his hands. At this point, silence pervaded the press room and the reporters departed, rather like people leaving a funeral service.

Free Government funded healthcare for workers–but only some !

The Senate has now unveiled it's proposed National Health plan, one of the most despicable and shameful pieces of proposed legislation ever written. It will deprive many of the disadvantaged in our country, including most low-paid workers, of healthcare, Disability benefits and long term assisted-living. The savings for this depravation of the needy Will be used to fund tax cuts for those who already have more than they need. The bill is also intentionally deceptive because most of these draconian measures will be postponed until after the 2018 elections and some after the 2020 elections.

Under current law, which will remain unchanged, workers with good paying jobs get free healthcare paid for by the federal government. The government can pay for healthcare in two ways. First, it can collect taxes and use that revenue to pay for healthcare for citizens. The other method is the one that is used in connection with employee health care benefits. Those workers who receive healthcare from their employer do not pay tax on that compensation, which can easily be $15-$20,000 in benefits for a family. But, the employer gets to deduct the cost of that benefit from its revenues before taxation. Thus, the government, instead of collecting and paying, simply forgoes taxation on that source of revenue. That shortfall in tax revenue has to be made up somewhere. It could of course be offset by increasing taxes elsewhere but the Republicans consider that to be anathema. It is typically offset by cutting into things like school lunch programs, Operation Headstart, the Center for disease control, The State Department and the EPA. If that were not bad enough, this health bill will be followed by what the Republicans deceptively call" tax reform" which will largely consist of more tax cuts for those who don't need them.

We the people should be ashamed of ourselves. We elect representatives that would pass bills as reprehensible as the proposed healthcare bill and tax cut bill. We have elected as president an arrogant, incompetent, lying buffoon. Such a person should never make it even well into the primaries much less actually be elected.

There is something seriously wrong with us. We have become intellectually lazy, selfish ,thoughtless people who are susceptible to lies and bullshit. There is no reason to expect that to change.

Speaking hypothetically

In the last few days Putin has declared a no fly zone over parts of Syria and canceled a meeting between US and Russian diplomats. Let's suppose that Putin bears a long-standing grudge bordering on hatred for the US because of the way the Cold War ended and the subsequent break up of the Soviet Union , which Putin has called the worst event in the history of Russia. Let's also suppose that he is constantly looking for retribution or revenge.

Let's suppose that during last year's primary and general election campaigns Putin was watching closely and observed the emergence of an unusual contender. This contender was not only abrasive and bullying but he had other characteristics that might have appealed to Putin. He questioned the value of NATO which has been an obstacle to Putin's ambitions in the Baltic and Ukraine regions. He seemed to be woefully ignorant of foreign relations and basically appeared to have no strategy to deal with the questions facing the United States. Further, he proposed to basically dismantle the government in place and rid Washington of nearly everybody who actually had knowledge and experience. Would it be any wonder that Putin would do his best to help such a person gain the presidency? And would it  be likely that having watched the total dysfunction of the Trump White House, including Trump's disastrous foreign trip in which he took sides in an internicine secular Mideast war and then basically insulted US European allies that Putin would see this as an occasion to see how far he could push against the United States and its allies in furtherance of his plan to enlarge the importance of Russia on the world stage?
Donnie's current foray into foreign relations is to send Jared Kushner to achieve lasting peace between Palestine and Israel. Kushner's title is" Senior Adviser" which is apparently this White house's substitute for the more familiar term" Intern".

In his wildest imagination Putin never thought it would fall into his lap like this.

Yellowstone, inc.

Newly appointed secretary of the interior Ryan Zinke is a former Navy SEAL, which branch is iadept at search and destroy missions. It appears his first assignment, given by either Donald Trump or Steve Bannon , who ever is now in charge of dysfunction Junction, AKA the White House, is to search out and destroy our public lands. His initial assignment is in regard to any national monuments created by President Obama. That task is underway. Washington insiders say that Phase 2 Will address other national monuments and national Parks. Apparently a prime target is Yellowstone National Park, created by a radical environmentalist named Theodore Roosevelt. It has come to the attention of the inner circle at dysfunction Junction that Yellowstone is far too  large and contains an incredible potential for energy development. First there is the great possibility of harnessing the geothermal potential. An anonymous insider stated it is absurd to pass up this opportunity for economic development just so  people with time on their hands can stand around and enjoy scenic beauty and wonders. These people should be mining coal someplace anyway. Additionally, it has been noted that Yellowstone Falls has a great potential for Hydro electric development. A newly formed company, Trump Energy, has been formed to exploit these opportunities.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we witnessed clips from a truly bizarre and grotesque ceremony. Donnie summoned his disciples to a sort of secular Eucharist. Each in turn was apparently choreographed to sing Donnie's praises and the great joy they felt at being allowed to be so near his magnificent presence. Apparently there was a plaque at the door to the room saying "Abandon all self-respect ye who enter herein". The ceremony was reminiscent of something that would occur in North Korea or perhaps when the lollipop Guild first met Dorothy in Oz. Donnie solemnly accepted these praises without even an" Aw shucks fellas". Towards the end of the meeting, it is reported that Donnie said" Truly I say to you, one of you here will betrayed me by leaking." This was met with dismay and protestations by his disciples but for one shifty eyed disciple whose identity has not been disclosed.

Donnie left the meeting, stating that no matter how much the forces of evil, AKA the media or anybody else who disagrees with him may attack him and beat him down, he will rise again.

The black Knight triumphs

Remember Monte Python and the holy Grail? The black Knight was lying on the ground without arms or legs wanting more combat, saying they were mere flesh wounds. Today, in responding to a question about Director Comey"s testimony, Donnie claimed complete victory and vindication. Apparently being called a liar numerous times, and told the conversations were memorialized in contemporaneous memos was not even a flesh wound. Donnie really has to hold more Rose garden Press conferences on windy days. As he spoke the front flap of his hair bounced up and down like a ducks bill. That combined with his perma-frown made for comic relief. Really better than Falstaff.

Apparently Donnie's speechwriters are not big on history. Donnie described Romania as having been a valued ally for more than 100 years. Apparently neither he nor his writers are familiar with the second world war. Even after that war when the iron guard and the other Nazis running Romania were gone , there were subsequent truly despicable regimes. Ask Nadia .

The most disheartening event of the last two days was congressman Ryan's pathetic attempt to cover Donnie on the basis that he was" new on the job ". Apparently Ryan believes there is some sort of apprenticeship program, a phrase with which Donnie is familiar, leading eventually to journey- man status. Of course what Ryan is actually saying is that Donnie is totally unprepared and incompetent and therefore can't be expected to do the job well. On that point he is obviously right.

The upshot of the Comey affair and the Russian investigation is predictable. Unless there is incontrovertible proof that Donnie actively conspired with the Russians to sway the election, nothing will happen. The Republican Congress people have made it abundantly clear they will continue to make excuses for Donnie as long as they believe he can be useful. Thus there will be no impeachment. There will also be no obstruction of justice charges brought in federal court no matter what the special prosecutor finds. Donnie will continue to lie, claim victory and talk about how he won the election and his magnificent accomplishments thereafter.

Our best hope is that the Republicans pass healthcare and tax bills along the lines they have now proposed as soon as possible so that the voting public may see that they have been had unless they are in the plutocracy or kleptocracy classes.

Strange (non) testimony

Today our to top intelligence officials, Coats and Rogers refused to answer questions about whether Donnie had asked them to assist in curtailing the investigation into the Russian hacking and interference with the election and whether the Trump campaign had any role in that. Each came with a similar script saying they had not been" directed "to take any action to obstruct the investigation and said that their subjective reaction of whatever happened was not that they felt" pressure".

There seems to be no justification for not answering the questions based on some sort of national security argument. When Sen. King directly asked Coates what his legal justification was for not answering Coates said he wasn't sure he had one. That really is a showstopper.

We can speculate as to why they might have refused to answer. First I suppose that could be worried about losing their jobs but that seems unlikely. Neither has to worry about being out of work. It could've been out of loyalty to Donnie who put them in those posts. But each of these guys has a reputation as a straight shooter and it is hard to conclude that their behavior is that easily explained.

I am hoping there is a more complex answer. Each of these men certainly has had the opportunity to gauge the personality and actions of Donnie. It is hard to imagine they do not understand that he is vengeful, prone to lying and egocentric in the extreme, edging into megalomania. One may hope that each of these men hopes that they can at least from time to time cause Donny to listen to them and take advice and probably know that if they admitted what appears to be true they would lose whatever influence they have. This may be just wishful thinking but sometimes these days it's about all that is left.

I am getting fonder and fonder of Angus King. He is what a Senator should be. The other senator from Maine is Susan Collins. How is it that Maine has two such good senators and most states can't come up with one with far bigger populations from which to choose?

Donnie and Rex

Donnie really likes the term "political correctness" which he uses promiscuously and often when it is not apropos. With Donnie," political correctness" often means he disagrees with something or doesn't understand it. With Donnie, there is often a causal relationship between a failure to understand and disagreement. Donnie has typically shown contempt and complete disrespect for anyone with whom he disagrees or with whom he feels a need to claim victory. This was true during the primary debates, during the final campaign, and continues. Therefore, notwithstanding that he is unfortunately the president, there is no reason to show him any respect. It is not a one-way street. Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of this with the mayor of London, with good reason, calling him a" pathetic excuse". There really needs to be more blunt discourse  directed at Donnie and his administration. For instance, Huckleberry Hound's daughter, Sarah, was at the podium today attempting to blame  media spin as misconstruing Donnie's stupid and thoughtless  attack on the mayor of London at which time Donnie clearly misstated what the mayor had said. We need more comments such as" do you expect anybody to believe this horseshit?" Donnie and his staff need to be subjected to a lot of ridicule.

Now on to Rex Tillerson. He is somewhat enigmatic to me. Notwithstanding his lack of diplomatic experience, his experience as the CEO of Exxon in which role he had to deal with foreign governments and particularly those in the middle east may well have prepared him for the position of Secretary of State. He also seems to speak in a measured manner. He has disagreed with Donnie, particularly with respect to the Paris record, but it is not clear that Donnie listens to Rex. Donnie refused to allow Rex to appoint  his number two pick and the state department is still woefully understaffed. Rex set off for the Far East with obviously no particular agenda and an inadequate staff. Donnie has said that his son-in-law Jared is going to solve the difficult middle eastern dilemma. That is really insulting to Rex. Rex seems to be required to walk a tight rope on which he is allowed to disagree with Donnie preliminarily but then support him after Donnie makes another dumb decision and/or stupid remark. It is not clear that Rex can be useful and effective in this administration. My guess is that he signed on for honorable and patriotic reasons but at some point if my guess is correct, he is going to wonder if he made the right decision. It may not be up to Rex. At some point someone is going to tell Donnie that Rex means king. That may be impossible for Donnie to handle.

Donnie doesn't care!

You may recall that in Casablanca Humphrey Bogart said" We will always have Paris". Thursday, Donnie said" Oh no we won't". Since then, the members of the press with their lips quivering have been breathlessly asking everyone in the administration, and shouting at Donnie, does the president believe in climate change and anthropogenic causation? The response from the administrative spokesmen has been to chant a sort of rosary that" The presidents agenda is economic progress". Now it seems to me the answer is clear and that answer is" Donnie doesn't give a damn".

Donnie continues to be fixated on the notion that he, against overwhelming odds, won the election and he did so by promising more of all good things for everyone. More good jobs, better health plans, growth of GDP and less taxes. According to Donnie, pretty much all that is necessary to create an economic miracle is less regulation and lower taxes.  He also did have an economic adviser, Peter Navarro, who said all that was necessary was to eliminate trade deficits with China. Unfortunately, harking back to the movie Casablanca, like Umphrey Bogart and Claude Rains, Donnie thinks he and Xi" have the start of a beautiful friendship". So, apparently the China strategy is out.

That leaves tax cuts and those meddlesome regulations.  There is no doubt that the complete elimination of all regulations of business would in the short run increase profits. When the administration and the Republican Congress do a cost benefit analysis of eliminating regulations, they use single entry accounting. They calculate benefits but they don't bother with costs, particularly mid and long-term costs such as worker and product safety, individual health costs and long term pollution costs. Maybe Donnie thinks he is going to put those coal minors at work cleaning up the new Superfund sites he would be creating. As for tax cuts, Donnie and his congressional cohorts obviously believe that all tax cuts spur the economy. There is a wealth of study on this question and it just ain't true. It depends upon what the economic situation is at the time of the tax cuts and who receives them. The proposed tax cuts now will go primarily to those individuals and corporations who already have more money than they know what to do with. It is also the case that we have, if slow, at least steady growth and are nearly at full employment. In fact, if Greenspan was now head of the Fed he would be worrying that we are about to exceed the NAIRU, and will face inflationary pressures if unemployment levels fall anymore. If the Republicans really wanted to use tax cuts in a stimulating way, the tax cuts would go to the low-end of the wage earners to stimulate aggregate demand.

Donnie said Thursday that other countries are laughing at us because we were signatories to the Paris record. Well, most other countries are not laughing, or did they, but you can bet that right now there is uproarious laughter in Beijing. In Donnie, China has the unwitting dupe/dope they have been longing for. Make no doubt about it, having elected Donnie the joke is on us.

How do you like them apples rest of the world?

It was no more Mr. Nice Guy from Donnie yesterday. America is going to rid itself of our miserable  economy and lifestyles. We are no longer furnishing a free lunch at our environmentally maintained kitchen. In addition to his inability to comprehend anything that will not fit on the bumper sticker, Donnie justified his decision primarily on the basis that staying in the Paris Accord which has no enforceable provisions would be ruinous to our economy. Apparently Donnie is going to sign executive orders providing that there will be no further environmental regulation. We are going to get rid of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the EPA. Current EPA Director Snot Proveit will stay on to ferret out any other environmental regulations that may be lurking about.Snot was on TV today to not answer questions about yesterdays action. He filled his normal role of providing nauseating praise of his boss. Micro Pants was not there so he had to sing the hosannas solo.Snot praised Donnie for his courage. Oddly enough, rumor has it that Donnie will be prominently featured in a new Book to be entitled " Profiles in Pandering".

Donnies economic position is contrary to most of the business community in this country. But what do those guys know. Did any of these guys lose $1 billion in one year ? Donnie also justified his position on the notion that if these signatory nations met their goals it would only provide minimal effect on temperature. One might think that would cause Donnie to say we all need to do more .Au contraire. We need to do less.

No mention was made of the health effects and cost thereof of air pollution and CO2 trapping caused by the carbon economy. Apparently the health of our citizens is not a worthy topic. That is certainly consistent with the new Republican Vanishing Health Care Act. In valleys such as Salt Lake City where inversions and stagnant air occur there is a real health problem, particularly for the young and old. We do not meet the clean air standards, particularly for ozone levels. The response to that from our senior senator is that we need to raise the levels that are permissible. That could be a predominant Trump administration strategy. Eliminate health problems bye executive orders declaring they do not exist. It is apparently also the case that in areas like Southern Indiana where are there are lots of coal fired generating plants, there is a real infant and children's Health problem caused by the dirty air. One may wonder what is the economic cost of the health problems that are occasioned by what we are doing to our environment.

Donnie at the bat

Following his incredible, fantastic middle eastern tour, our cleanup hitter set sail for Europe. Based on his behavior there, it would appear that he was severely affected by his encounter with the orb. Not since Woody Allen in "Sleeper", has an orb appeared to exert such power.

First stop was Rome for a Photo–Op with Pope Francis. Watching the video, one could not but wish to know what thoughts we're going through the mind of Pope Francis as he sat across the table from Donnie.

Then it was on to Brussels and a NATO meeting. All you need to know about that, and maybe all you need to know about Donnie, was captured when he rudely shoved aside the Prime Minister of Montenegro in order to be front and center for the cameras. I suppose it was also important that he continued to be rude and boorish to our allies as he laid out his new European strategy of screw you, it's America only. We don't need you guys and your stinking trade policies.

Finally, it was off to Sicily where Don Trumpleoni doubled down I'll his stupid and boorish behavior.

So we can summarize the trip. First he cozied up to a repressive autocracy that spawned and nurished Wahabbism. He also, perhaps unwittingly chose sides in the sectarian disputes twix Sunnis and Shia.(It is entirely possible that much of what Donnie does is" unwitting ". He is certainly witless). Next  he visited both Netanyahu and Abbas. He managed to avoid any mention of settlements, borders, an independent Palestinian State and Jerusalem. So how he claims that he advances the ball towards resolution by ignoring all the difficult issues. Finally, he went to Europe and insulted the best allies we have ever had.

Summing up, Donnie claimed he had hit a" Home run". We here in Mudville know that" Mighty" Donnie had struck out.

National lampoon presents Trump family vacation

Move aside Griswold's. It is that wacky Trump family off to the Middle East. First stop is Saudi Arabia, the heart of Sunni Islam. You will remember Donny's fondness for Muslims and his congenial remark" they hate us". You may also remember his criticism of President Obama for not using the phrase" radical islam terrorists" because if he had it apparently would have had some talismanic effect and would have gone far to solve all Middle Eastern problems. Oddly enough, Donnie forgot to use that term. In addition, Donnie apparently has a Manichaean View of the world where there is good and evil. Saudi Arabia,  repressive monarchy that allowed  Wahhabism to flourish is now in Donnies eyes on this side of the  good. Additionally, he has now decided to take sides in the Sunni/Shia religious dispute, backing the Sunnis.How did this happen? Well, Donnie obviously booked the Royal vacation which included pomp and circumstance, flattery and lavish banquets and even a a participation in a really nifty sword dance where are lots of old men hold swords and do a kind of dance step reminiscent of Elaine on Seinfeld or perhaps what Rodney Dangerfield called the dance of the dead. Apparently US foreign policy will now be  back autocratic Sunni States against Shia states, most particularly Iran.

Donnie also gave a speech in Saudi arabia that was surprisingly sensible. That is, the world of Islam needed to rid itself of terrorists. He didn't say how and perhaps he thinks that all that needs to be done is to wage war against Iran.

The family next to visited Israel and Palestine. You will recall Donnie thinks that ending the conflict between those two shouldn't be all that difficult. Both Abbas and Bibi expressed some optimism for ending the dispute. It is probably noteworthy that vexatious subjects such as settlements, borders, an independent Palestinian state and one or two capitals in Jerusalem were never mentioned. So, other than atmospherics, it's hard to imagine what it was actually accomplished.

Most importantly, the family had a great time and Melani and Ivanka got to wear a lot of swell new clothes. Also, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Donny was spared all that tiresome criticism and demonstrations. Most importantly,.he was having so much fun and flattery that he had very little time to tweet so that we all got too enjoy the Trump family Desert vacation.

Now, on to Europe. Donnie is going to tell those guys a thing or two.

The deal guy takes a trip

Donnie is off to see the world, somewhat like a college student on summer vacation. This will be the greatest most successful presidential tour ever. It will be a really really fantastic. The crowds and receptions will be the largest of all time and by far the most enthusiastic. Donnie will strike up  really really great friendships with mutual admiration, although more admiration will flow towards Donnie than away. He will make really great deals. Now that that is out-of-the-way we can move on.

Donnie's first stop will be Saudi Arabia. There are things we need from Saudi Arabia. That country is content to blast off the face of the earth the Shia Isis elements in Yemen, but has shown no willingness to participate in the struggle against Sunni Isis forces in Iraq and Syria. That needs to change. What Saudia Arabia most wants from the US is that Iran be reduced to at best a third rate nation. Saudi Arabia wants to be the predominant Arab country in the Middle East. We can expect the Saudi to remind Donnie that the deal made by six nations, including the US, was the worst deal he had ever seen. They will tell him a man of his great abilities can certainly do better. Donnie right now is wounded by what has happened to him in his own country. He is highly susceptible of manipulation. He may well make some stupid commitments to the Saudi's.

On to Israel. He will be told by Netanyahu how much greater a president he is than Obama. Netanyahu did not have any great affection for Obama because Obama was properly doing his job. As Henry Kissinger has written, the US role in the in the Middle East must be one of a balancing power brokering between the various factions. Obama understood that Israel was our greatest ally in the Middle East but that the interests of the Netanyahu faction and the US we're not coextensive. I am no great fan of Henry Kissinger but he is wise and experienced in  and has a consistent theory of how  world order can be maintained. That puts him way ahead of most, certainly ahead of Donnie and his advisers. Donnie's meeting with Netanyahu has all the promises of a replay of his session with the Russians where Donnie does something stupid and gets nothing in return.

One may wonder who is briefing Donnie and whether he is paying any attention. Notwithstanding the events of this week, we have to hope that his  NSA and the career diplomats can take out their cranial drills and prepare Donnie.