What did you expect?

I’ve just taken a week off from Facebook. Everybody was screaming bloody murder about what President Trump, whom I can’t stand, is doing. But I had to get away from the haters. Yes, many are concerned about Trump, with good reason, but I see far too much from “news” sites I never heard of until this year. Yes, fake news.

You know what he’s doing? He’s fulfilling his campaign promises. I don’t understand why so many find it shocking. He’s doing exactly what he said he would. And while I personally think his actions are amateur – and after all, he is an amateur – he is doing the things he was elected to do.

And frankly, the problem isn’t Trump. It’s the Congress. It is overwhelmingly Republican and many of these people are even nuttier than 45.

So why are we so shocked? I, as a former newspaper reporter and editor who covered the Nixon years, am astounded to find I agree with Trump’s contention that the media is the enemy. Let’s look at the inauguration. It was clear that there were fewer people at Trump’s inauguration than Obama’s. So what? The media made a big deal out of it. It’s a non-story. What should have been covered is what the President said in his address. Throughout the campaign, what I read in newspapers I respect, especially the New York Times and Washington Post, was completely unbalanced. I expect slanted news from MSNBC and Fox News, but to see what happened with CNN astounds me. Clearly, there is more than bias.

And there are dozens of different attacks going on regarding his cabinet appointments.  Every President has had the right to name the people whom he wants to work for him. President John F. Kennedy named his brother attorney general. The fact is that people who oppose the status quo are being appointed. Trump based his campaign on opposing the status quo.

We now have Betsy DeVos heading the Education Department. So what? Republicans have already introduced legislation to eliminate it. And the fact is that the department has failed, under leadership in both parties, to fix the mess education is in. And it should be eliminated and given back to the states to handle. How can you make the same national standards to help the children in the slums of New York City and the farm boys and girls in Wall, SD – population: about 800? What is the big deal about Betsy? She’s a businesswoman who will administer the take down of the department.

And our new attorney general is a bigot. Bigots apparently hold the political power.

There was a raid on terrorists in Yemen. I would venture that at least 90 percent of Americans have no clue where to find it on a map. An American soldier died, as did some civilians, including children. While this is tragic, we are involved in a W-A-R. People, including soldiers, civilians and, yes, even children, will die. Yet the media is screaming about it.

So what is to be done? RUN FOR OFFICE. If you don’t like what is going on, become a board of ed member, a town councilperson, a county politician. Join the political party of your choice and start fundraising and looking towards 2018 when you can take back the Congress.

BUT ABOVE ALL, stop acting like Trump by crying how unfair it is. Man up and realize the next four years are going to be filled with changes you won’t like. Realize that electing someone other than Trump is not the issue. Taking over Congress is what is necessary. Get ‘er done.

Jacksonian or Amateur Politics?

I’m trying to figure out what the 45^th President of the United States is trying to do with his newfound powers. So far, I think it’s either a deliberate attempt to reduce the size of the government, or just plain amateur handling of the most powerful government in the world. Perhaps it is both.

The President campaigned on reducing taxes for all, which I’m not sure isn’t a bad idea as long as we don’t go into further debt. The Bush administration had to borrow money from China to repay a surplus back to taxpayers. Mr. Trump immediately put a hiring freeze into effect, which will slowly reduce the federal employment rosters as people retire or find a place in the private sector. I can agree with that. But his choices for cabinet have politicians on both sides of the aisle scratching their heads and voicing strong concern about their qualifications, or lack thereof. But can you think of a better way to downsize bureaucracy than to put people in charge of government organizations they oppose? In some ways I agree with the idea of destroying the education department. I’ve always viewed education as a state, not federal, issue. Any school board member will tell you that complying with federal regulations takes up a sizeable share of a school budget.

And of course, there are other departments that seem to be going down this path. If there is one bureaucracy that has been very ineffective, it is the EPA. Now the most obvious thing is that the environment is a federal issue. And the EPA does do many good things for the environment. But there are many, many things that are mired in bureaucratic nonsense and should be state issues, especially polluted sites. A good example can be found in the waters of the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn in New York City. More than 100 years ago, oil was stored in the area and leaks were ignored at that time. Now, the area is a major problem as toxic waste water has invaded the ground water among other things. My former sister-in-law became involved in this and if I am correct, she believes that the area has a high cancer rate as a result.

But this area, as well as hundreds of toxic areas throughout the country, has to involve local, county, regional, state and federal government organizations. Millions, and probably billions, of dollars are wasted on study after study. And the federal government provides the funds to clean up these sites. The problem is the feds don’t clean them all up. There’s not enough money in the budget. I wonder if it became a matter for the states to fund, that we wouldn’t have a higher priority for places like Greenpoint where hundreds of thousands are being affected?

I also wonder if we are looking at an attempt to revive Jacksonian democracy, which is a political movement toward greater democracy for the “common man.” Andrew Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy. And much like today it was a movement to reduce the role of the Federal Government. A major concept of this political idea was that Congressmen (no women then) would serve one or two terms and then let another person serve. If this was the case, I suspect we would have more of the best and the brightest serving. But to paraphrase E. Y. “Yip” Harberg: Each Congressman has two ends – a sitting end and a thinking end. And since his whole success depends on keeping his seat, why bother friend?

Each Congressman has two ends – a sitting end and a thinking end. And since his whole success depends on keeping his seat, why bother friend?

We have term limits for our presidents for good reason. But term limits for Congress would also have the impact of far less political spending. Today, it’s not about serving. It’s about getting and keeping power. And so I doubt that term limits are possible. Republicans have struggled for many years to dominate all three branches of government and since they will determine the makeup of the Supreme Court, I have no doubt they want to keep that power. I am somewhat fearful about this since throughout my lifetime both parties have generally shared power. How will they do so is something those who oppose them will remain a critical idea.

Now if we are going to downsize the federal government, we’re probably going to ramp up state governments. I’m not sure about this since the coastal states tend to be dominated by Democrats and the rest dominated by Republicans. If states choose to refuse the responsibilities a reduced federal government will foist on them. It could cause chaos.

Let’s look at the differences between the era of Jackson and the 21st century. First of all, the United States had settled little west of the Mississippi River, though that would soon change as the result of Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana territory and the Lewis and Clark expedition. But we weren’t a world power by any means. Immigrants were more than welcome although discriminated against. Chinese immigrants built our railroads in the west, but were subjected to much discrimination, including the Chinese Exclusion Act in the 1880s after the railroads had been built. Of course just about every group who came here faced problems. Catholics had little influence outside of Maryland in colonial times, and it wasn’t until 1960 that an Irish-American Catholic became president by a very close margin. My father’s German-American family faced great discrimination during the world war eras. And the sins against Japanese-Americans during the Second World War is a national disgrace.

Perhaps, our greatest shame has been our dealings with Native Americans. An unforeseen part of this was the spreading of “white” diseases such as measles and smallpox. It is estimated that 90 percent of the Native American population died of these diseases. And the greed of whites resulted in constant wars after broken treaty after broken treaty, including today. 

But this is history. Today we are a world power, but not the only one, as some will have you believe. The re-emergence of Russia onto the world stage as well as the development of China as the world’s leading economic power has recreated an economic cold war, which will be impacted by Mr. Trump’s “America First” policies. Now don’t get me wrong. I think NAFTA always has been a dumb idea as good American jobs went both north and south of the border. Well-paying union jobs in manufacturing disappeared almost overnight. Nearly all of our appliances and a growing number of our automobiles are being made in Mexico and Canada has a major share of the auto parts industry. Trains and subways are now built in Canada too. So yes, I actually agree with the President on some things.

But this is history. Today we are a world power, but not the only one, as some will have you believe. The re-emergence of Russia onto the world stage as well as the development of China as the world’s leading economic power has recreated an economic cold war, which will be impacted by Mr. Trump’s “America First” policies. 

But our level of political sophistication has gone way beyond Andrew Jackson’s time. We have nukes, and so do Russia, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Israel and France. Iran will, no doubt, develop them (if they haven’t already) and worst of all, terrorists are capable of creating “dirty” bombs containing nuclear material that are just as able to make a city unlivable as a nuke.

Our position in the world, as well as our domestic issues calls for a very sophisticated presence. So can the Trump administration do this with inexperienced “amateurs?”

Now although I do not personally approve of  many of the nominees that have been put forth, many are highly successful businesspersons who, I suspect, will turn out to be fairly good administrators.

But the way the American people have traditionally been informed is through a free press. The profile of the press has certainly changed. Newspapers, then radio and television have been the way to inform us. But this election campaign has seen the emergence of many so-called Internet “news” sites that have done little but rile up people with misleading and false articles without attribution. And frankly, I have been very disappointed in the content of such institutional papers such as the New York Times and Washington Post, which have been clearly biased. As a former newspaper reporter, I have long since learned that freedom of the press belongs to those who own the press.

As a former newspaper reporter, I have long since learned that freedom of the press belongs to those who own the press.

At the same time, the role of whatever press we now have is continuously changing. As a teenager, I had access to many magazines such as Newsweek, Time and U.S. News and World Report. Now, these magazines are a shell of what they are and have drifted politically. As one political comedian pointed out the only person that Newsweek has put more on its cover than Sarah Palin is Jesus.

When I was in high school, we also had Life, Look and The Saturday Evening Post. All gone though the Post has restarted as what is basically a bi-monthly nostalgia magazine.

Yet, the need for a free press remains a backbone of our way of life. While many still feel it was wrong, a free press uncovered Watergate, as well as many political scandals from other eras.

The handling of the White House press corps has been bungled badly. You don’t call CNN liars, especially when they are the most neutral cable news enterprise. You don’t have your press secretary tell “alternate truths” about the size of the inaugural crowds, especially in light of the photographic evidence and DC Metro passenger data.

And finally, we need to ask ourselves if the President the Electoral College has chosen is up to the job. He obviously has a tremendous ego and is very quick to make judgments about things that don’t please him. He is clearly not “acting presidential” and I wonder if this is a good or bad thing. Harry Truman was known as one who also spoke his mind. But he also guided us through the end of the Second World War and most of the Korean Conflict.

Does the new President have the political sophistication to deal with a worldwide economic system and our longest war ever?

But most importantly, during much of my near-70 years, politics has been vicious. I can’t think of a single administration since Eisenhower’s that has not been under a microscope by the press and political opponents. Mr. Trump, it seems to me, must develop a thick skin, and so does his press secretary. Ignoring those who disagree and simply stating his policies and views must be the cornerstone of his administration. I don’t like the man. But he is our President. Mr. Obama once noted that the job of the President is to serve the American people, not just his supporters. I hope Mr. Trump can rise above partisan politics. It’s about time someone does.

Booked

My Facebook friend, Wendy Wilson, recently posted the ten books that most influenced her. I have been contemplating this and wanted to share. These are not the best books I have ever read, but the ones that influenced me the most.

1. The Bible. Whether or not you believe (I do, but challenge a lot of it), it is a seminal concept for America’s laws and mores – for better or worse.

2. Robert Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land.” It was, in it’s own way, a bible for the 1960s counter-culture. Do you grok it? I’ve read everything Heinlein has ever published and he is a helluva storyteller. By the way, I read it only after my first lover insisted it was the greatest book ever. Thank you Karen.

3, The Hardy Boys stories. One day, when I was in eighth grade, I got suspended for the day for a minor infraction. I had to spend the day in the library and found, ironically, “The Tower Treasure,” the first in the series. I must have read at least 20 or so of these detective stories, often two per day on weekends. Last spring, I ran into an old friend from those days and his main memory of me was that I loved to read. That day started it.

4. “The Cruel Sea.” Written by Nicholas Monsaratte, the book is a tale of the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. The focus was far more on the men who served on escort ships rather than the war itself. It was the first time my father gave me an adult book to read. As a senior, I wrote a book review on it and the teacher read it to the rest of her classes. It was the first time anyone had done so and it was the first small step towards becoming a professional writer.

5. “The Fireside Book of Baseball.” A huge book filled with articles and cartoons about baseball, much of it was focused from the turn of the 20^th century through the early 1950s. It was a compendium of short stories, newspaper reports, and excerpts from books. Given to me by my father, it inspired a lifelong love of the game. I lost it when I was in the Army, but was delighted to again find a copy when my ex’s parents passed. I don’t have many hardcover books as Amazon’s Kindle made reading easier as I travelled throughout the country in recent years. But I hold this one to be very precious.

6. The Harry Potter books. I began reading them when I was a teacher to find out what my students were so crazy about. I wound up buying the last one at midnight of its first day of sale. About once a year, I re-read each book and then binge watch the movies.

7. “The World of Jimmy Breslin.” At that time, Jimmy was a writer for the New York Herald Tribune and this book is a series of his columns from that era, along with some stories about Breslin. This includes the famous column about the JFK murder where he interviews the man who is digging the grave. While most students would get the Times delivered to their homeroom, I always brought the Trib in. Going back to early childhood, my parents would read the color comics to me every Sunday. Breslin was a writer who inspired me to top him – I never did. I even saw him on the Subway when he was writing for The Daily News. It was so like him to live the life of the blue-collar folks who so loved his work.

8. “Executive Orders.” I began devouring Tom Clancy’ s novels about protagonist Jack Ryan with “The Hunt for Red October.” In “Executive Orders,” Ryan is waiting outside and about to make an acceptance speech as he replaces a disgraced vice president when a 747 airliner smashes into the Capitol Building killing virtually every government leader – The President, Congress, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs, the Cabinet and heads of many agencies such as the FBI. Ryan has to rebuild the entire government and it makes for a fascinating look at our government.

9. “Ender’s Game.” I discovered this book at the end of the summer as the library sold off its collection of summer reading paperbacks. I bought a bunch mainly for incarcerated students I was teaching at that time. But I’ve read this book over and over. It’s about a bunch of genius kids who are sent into space to fight a war against aliens. The ‘battle school’ they attend is designed to teach strategy. But these children, who have superior intelligence, are isolated and it helped me understand my own dealings with the school system. I had an IQ of 134 according to my high school transcript, but graduated #380 in a class of 400. I just couldn’t be bothered to do the busy work because I already knew it, having read the entire textbooks by October. It helped change my opinion of my high school self.

10. “The Age of the Tail.” Author H. Allen Smith was a well-known humorist. His most famous book, “Rhubarb” is the story of a cat that inherits a major league baseball team. But I loved his look at the social ramifications of the changes in life when in 1957 all mankind begins being born with a tail. Hilarious changes in etiquette, clothing and more are satirized. For example, one woman, born just before the change, doesn’t want to be associated with ‘older’ people. For her wedding, she wears an artificial tail as her bridesmaid moves it during appropriate times of the ceremony. Yet another gift from my father, it taught me satire.

Honorable Mention: Hector Hugh Monroe, whose pen name was Saki, was a British writer of short stories during the late 1800s and early 1900s. His life was shortened when he died at the age of 46 during the First World War. My favorite story is “Tobemory,” a satire on Victorian manners. At a country house party, a man announces to the others that he has taught the house’s cat how to speak. Tobemory has viewed many indiscretions of the guests. But being a ‘gentlecat’ he speaks no evil other to imply what he knows. Meanwhile the terrified humans attempt to kill him – unsuccessfully – in several ways. They are saved when another cat kills him. Of course, another gift  from my father.

From here???

It has come to my attention that while Trump won the election, Hillary will win the popular vote. It's happened five times before -- beginning with Andrew Jackson, and until this election, the Al Gore defeat. But the political differences have never been so dramatic until now.

That, of course, leads us to why we need — or don't need — the electoral college. People scream that the election should not be decided by 538 people. It isn't really. Each of the electors, people assigned by the candidates to represent them, generally reflect the choices made by voters in their state. It was proposed by Alexander Hamilton and opposed by James Madison. 

But that's history, as this election will shortly be. And while Hillary supporters hope that some rogue Trump supports will vote for Hillary, Trump has just too many electors for a few to make any difference.

And so we have a president elect who is loud-mouthed, addicted to Twitter, without experience and is appointing cabinet members who, in the minds of many, are completely opposed to the status quo. You can't have much public housing when the Secretary opposes it. The EPA has someone who is decidedly anti-EPA, and so it goes. 

What is going to happen will be far more than the end of Obamacare. It will be a cultural sea change, perhaps a violent one. Many aspects of our social agenda will be completely changed. Programs from the Lyndon Johnson era may disappear. What would our society be like without head start? 

We will see an even greater polarization of racial lines which, I suspect, will lead to increased violence. There will be many anti-poverty campaigns. But here's the problem: Johnson's Great Society programs weren't aimed at the Black population. Its primary focus was on rural Appalachia and similar places of intense poverty. And if you travel across rural West Virginia, for example, you encounter countless abandoned and crumbling housing owned by whites. 

Once, places such as rural Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Western New York grew as huge corporations ripped natural resources such as iron, coal and even oil from the ground. We've pretty much stopped using coal, especially to heat our homes. the amount of iron our steel mills use has been reduced considerably through recycling. And mills are closing due to competition from Asia and cheap and inferior steel products flood our markets. And with them, tens of thousands of good union jobs. I am a baby boomer. And I grew up in an era where it was assumed I would be better off than my parents. And for much of my life I was until the great recession put me permanently out of work and my marriage ended. . But if you ask young people today, they are not expecting that the "American Dream" is their birthright.

There is going to be a huge economic upheaval. One of my sons works for a human service organization treating developmentally disabled adults. I wonder if it will be funded? I certainly can see much legal action as programs are cut and a conservative Supreme Court upholding the cuts. They will have to rule not on the Constitutional issues, but on the issue of if the government has the right to not provide social services. It has already been ruled that social services themselves are Constitutional, but does that mean they have to continue to exist?

It is a scary prospect. I am glad that I have Social Security, a dependable source of income. I don't envision even a conservative court disbanding it. But the fact is, it is possible that the amount of my monthly payments could be reduced. I can envision people like myself flooding bankruptcy courts. 

Do you know what I know?

It’s the holiday season again. I have more than 200 holiday songs in my iTunes and sometimes I suddenly burst into tears when one comes on. I suppose after listening to many of these songs for nearly 70 years, it can be normal.

Take, for example, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” It was originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 – the Second World War era. While generally considered as a letter written by a soldier to his family, the lyricist, Kim Gannon, said it was written about anyone who couldn’t be home for Christmas. In fact the song was banned by the BBC because of its potential do damage troop morale. The last line, I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” was considered quite depressing at the time.

But my interpretation of it differs strongly. The song begins “I'm dreaming' tonight of a place I love • Even more than I usually do
• And although I know it’s a long road back, • This, I promise you …I’ll be home for Christmas.”

The song describes an ideal holiday, with snow, mistletoe and presents – all where the love light beams. And for me, that was the Christmas of 1954; the last Christmas my family was together before my mother walked out on us in a drunken stupor.

The place I loved was that day and that time and the road back was impossibly long. My parents never divorced. I have no clue why. But from my childhood I hoped that one day they would reunite. But my father died in 1972 and finally I accepted, at the age of 24 while in the Army, that my being home for that Christmas was only going to happen in my dreams.

Perhaps the saddest Christmas song ever also came out of 1943. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” It was originally part of the score for “Meet Me In St. Louis,” a musical. Judy Garland, a tragic figure in her own right, sang the song.

“Next year all our troubles will be out of sight,” was a hope a frightened little boy could cling onto. And that frightened little boy grew into a still-frightened big man. Perhaps I was looking for the “olden days, happy golden days of yore. There have been way too few Christmases with faithful friends gathering near to me, and I thank God for my friends Frank and Gina who were there on those first Christmases after my wife of more than 30 years and I divorced. Even then, I have felt friends were few and far between. I find myself blessed with more than 100 Facebook friends these days and while most are simply acquaintances and classmates (some of whom I barely knew then yet somehow am close to now), there are many I feel very close to.

Yet still this song nearly always turns me into a tear machine. Both these songs are of hope. Yet in my soul I know that Christmas, and Jesus Birth, is the real hope in my life. These days, my favorite carol is “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” This is a version sung by the Joy Strings, a former Salvation Army Band, and is set to the melody of “House of the Rising Sun.” I feel that every year we have the opportunity to make the community we live in our personal Bethlehem. For in every heart there is a chance for a spiritual rebirth.

The earliest Christmas song I remember is Gene Autry’s “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” that my parents gave me for my wind-up record player. I was around three or four when I went to my cousin Luke’s Cub Scout Christmas Party and the children sang “Silent Night, Holy Night.” To this day I think it was one of the most wonderful performances ever. I was so filled with peace.

I am not a big Elvis fan. Like others, I really liked him when he burst upon the scene. But I became less passionate about his music. But he put out a Christmas Album with the classic hymns: “It is not secret what God can do” and “Peace in the Valley” that are filled with passion and hope.

Other songs bring back happy memories. “Do You Here What I Hear” was always an enjoyable carol. But I remember it from my senior year of high school when I joined the chorus in need of three more credits in order to graduate. We sang it for our Christmas Concert and went caroling one night at the town green. Yes, they were called “Christmas Concerts” in the1960s and are now “Winter Concerts.” And battles still continue over religious music in public schools, as administrators have to walk a fine line. It seems that religious music is acceptable in a concert not exclusively dedicated to a Christian or other religious holiday. And so, perhaps, “Away in a Manger” is fine as long as it mixes with songs like “Winter Wonderland” and “A Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).

It is interesting where religion fits into the public schools. Sometime around 1995, I was substitute teaching a third grade class in a local public school. I decided everyone should write something about Christmas. I asked the children to give me words about Christmas and they were very enthused about sharing words like Santa, presents, Christmas Trees, decorations, writing cards, snow, etc. We were about 30 words in before one of the children asked, “Doesn’t Christmas have something to do with Jesus?” Walking a very fine line, I was allowed to say that Christians believe Jesus Christ was called Christ because it means “Savior” and the mas in Christmas meant birthday. The children then took the words that were on the board and had to use at least five of them to write about Christmas. Alas, not one referred to Jesus in their essays, which I suppose was good for me since it was a public school after all.

Other songs lift up my spirits. I laugh at “Dominick The Donkey,”  “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” and similar songs. There are those who may say that these songs are disrespectful to God, but I think that no matter how much we are off target regarding Jesus birth, God enjoys his children laughing about silly things. As a young child, for example, I loved Spike Lee’s “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and “I’m Gettin Nuttin For Christmas.” I always enjoyed the sexual byplay of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and Ertha Kitt’s sensuous “Santa Baby.” And I remember a version of “12 Days of Christmas” via Sesame Street with Cookie Monster ending each verse with “And one delicious cookie.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibJKwCGkk8

And then there is the New Year. Long before Dick Clark’s “Rocking New Year’s Eve, Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians ruled the roost in the early days of television, coming from first the Roosevelt Hotel and then the Waldorf Astoria. I found his last New Year’s Eve show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL60HdslvOk

Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne” came at a time, 1980, when I was having problems in my marriage. I spent much time thinking about old girlfriends and lovers. “We drank a toast to innocence…” seems to continue to play on my mind. I find great comfort that my senior prom date and I have been reunited. As I listen to this song, I wonder about so many different “might have beens” and think how I found so many different ways to just walk away from relationships. Many remember Harry Chapin’s Taxi. He wrote a sequel to it called, “Sequel.” It was the story of Sue and he many years later as Sue is flying high on life and Harry is acting on the stage. Harry ends with:

Yes, I guess it's a sequel to our story

From my journey between Heaven and Hell

With half the time thinking of what might have been

And half thinkin' just as well

I guess only time will tell

There are dozens more songs that, as happened many times, have overwhelmed with Christmas spirit. There are some radio stations that dedicate their entire playlists to Holiday music. It’s a nice break from sports, politics and oldies. Yet, driving in my car, I can still burst into tears. . .and also into joyous song!

So tell me, how does holiday music affect you?

The ‘loyal opposition”

When I was a child, Republican Dwight Eisenhower was president and Congress had Democratic majorities. Democrats called themselves “the loyal opposition” and while there were ideological differences, the country’s business continued.

Kennedy and then Johnson then became presidents, and while both elections against Nixon and Goldwater were rather hostile, the nation healed and continued the country’s business.

Nixon was a great president, and had a lot of support until he was forced to resign and his appointed vice president, Gerald Ford, took over the reins. And somehow, despite having a president who was not elected on a national ticket, the nation continued its business. And this kept going on: through Carter, Regan, and others. But along the course of America’s story, something happened. People began to hate.

I suppose it got out of hand when Bill Clinton was impeached. There was much rancor. It seemed as if some Republicans wanted to get back for the abuses of Nixon. Yes, Clinton was a sexual predator in many respects (though I think it was all between consenting adults), but to impeach him because he lied about getting a BJ from an intern doesn’t exactly strike me as treasonous.

But there was rage when Bill beat the rap. And it was at the Clintons – both of them.

We went through the Bush presidencies, and exercised our rights to not give George H.W. a second term. But the gloves really came off with George W.  Frankly, I don’t blame people. George W. was simply incompetent. Clinton left him a massive surplus and he insisted on returning it to the people. That’s OK, but to do so, he actually borrowed money – from China, no less. He led us into a war with Iraq without any proof they were behind 9-11 and somehow managed to deregulate us into the second-worst economic crisis in our history.

And along came Obama – a (gasp!) Black man with a vision for change. And he did make a change in our health care system. And the country’s rage, fueled by billions from our insurance premium dollars,  again emerged. And so did the Tea Party.

I watched with concern the emergence of this movement.  It was packed with birthers, birchers, militias, and white supremacists. But unknown to most of us, it was backed by huge donations from people like the Koch brothers.

Suddenly, long time conservative Republicans were ousted by Tea Party candidates in primaries and these new candidates had a “never compromise” attitude. Politics is sometimes called “the art of compromise.” It needs to happen for the nation’s business to continue. But for the last six years we have been in a stalemate. While most notably, Obama’s Supreme Court nominee has been blocked for strictly political reasons, there have been hundreds of appointments to lower federal courts also blocked. This leaves us in a judicial morass. Court calendars have been clogged beyond manageability. It is one small example of failure to get Constitutional guarantees such as the right to a speedy trial. Civil cases can go on unresolved for years. Insurance companies can refuse to pay for life saving treatment that is apparently covered, and keep the interest for years on amounts that will eventually be awarded to plaintiffs.

And that’s just one example. We need to fix our highways. Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania is an example. Lanes are constantly blocked for temporary repairs throughout the state. We need to deal with the horrible results of our war on terror. There is no congressional approval for the President’s efforts recommended by our military. How many times has President Obama been forced to use executive orders when Congress refuses to act? We need to stop the stealing of digital information, yet Wickileaks seems to be backing the GOP by leaking Democrat e-mail. I ask you, how different is this action from Watergate?

Now of course, the supporters of Donald Trump are not going to accept simple things like facts. These people are blindly following a path that won’t listen to facts. But you know what? There were others who supported very liberal candidates like McGovern or McCarthy. They even had a name – the counterculture – that consisted of a whole lot of hippies and others.

And the nation recovered from these people. But Trump has said something that is untrue. The election is rigged. It isn’t and Trump knows it. At this point, Trump is going to lose. And it is obvious he is not going to be a gracious loser. He is simply going to be a loser. 

Throughout history, losing candidates have given concession speeches urging people to support the winner of the election. For the good of the nation, Trump has to deliver a helluva concession, including saying Hillary won "fair and square." and deny that the election was rigged. He must graciously point out that the people have spoken before thanking those who supported him. Can he do it? I just don't see it happening, and it could tear apart the nation.

His followers, mainly those of the “no compromise,” Tea Party mentality, will not accept that the majority of Americans oppose what Trump stands for. And I ask myself, are we seeing the maturation of the “disloyal opposition?” I hear many quote Jefferson: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Will the followers of Trump, who consider themselves patriots, become the tyrants? 

I am grateful that I am approaching 70 years of age and might not live through the upcoming chaos. But I can inevitably see that my children’s eyes might witness a chaos that will make them look back to the simpler times of their childhood, when Americas was a democracy.

Only The Donald

OK, I have not yet decided to vote for Hillary. But I am definitely not voting for Trump, And the gloves are starting to come off. I am abandoning my stand about having civil discourse. This is a response to one Clinton Hater who posted a laundry list of Hillary's issues on Facebook. Hillary has been accused of much and convicted of nothing. So here's my "Only The Donald" laundry list.

• Only The Donald has absolutely no political experience.
• Only The Donald is a billionaire who doesn’t pay taxes -- over and over.

• Only The Donald  has his fashion line made in third world countries instead of the United States, which isn't exactly bringing jobs back. "I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created." WTF??????
• Only The Donaldasks if it is O.K. to use nuclear weapons.
• Only The Donald says: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume are good people.”
• Only The Donald wants to ignore what is great about America: "I'm putting the people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, if I win, they're going back." Whatever happened to "give me your tired, your poor, your humble masses yearning to breathe free" that every child is taught in social studies?
• Only The Donald, during a conservative forum in Iowa last July, dismissed Senator John McCain's reputation as a war hero because he was captured in Vietnam. "I like people who weren't captured, OK?"
• Only The Donald trashes his opponent’s (Jeb Bush) wife because she is Mexican while marrying three different European women, who became American Citizens through those marriages.Is it any wonder that every living GOP president and presidential candidate refused to attend this year's convention?
• Only The Donald wants to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, saying: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on." which is not only unAmerican, but unconstitutional.
• Only The Donald has the balls to have his five children from three wives stand with him and talks about family values.
• Only The Donald was quoted in an article about him in Atlantic Magazine: “You really want to know what I consider ideal company?,” Trump replied. “A total piece of ass.”
• Only The Donald has bankrupted small businesses by refusing to pay them to build his now vacant casinos.
• Only The Donald has declared bankruptcy for his businesses four times as a way to evade paying other bills.
• Only The Donald has humiliated his female employees, including Miss Universe for being too fat.
• Only The Donald says "Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression 'the weaker sex' was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye -- or perhaps another body part." in one of his books.
• Only The Donald has had ongoing celebrity feuds with Rosie O’Donnell and many others including Anderson Cooper, Macy’s, Mark Cuban, Bill Maher, Cher, Brian Williams, Chris Matthews, Barbara Walters, Bette Midler, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers, David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Robert DiNero, Arianna Huffington, and so many more.
• Only The Donald continued his “Birther” demands for years after the “long form” certificate was issued.
• Only The Donald managed to interrupt his opponent more than 50 times during the first debate.
• Only The Donald has trashed a federal judge who is judging a lawsuit against him because she is Mexican.
• Only The Donald has a multitude of business failures including Trump Airlines, Trump Vodka, Trump Mortgage, Trump Steaks, GoTrump.com, Trump – The Game, Trump Magazine, and Trump Ice . . .Not to mention the criminal enterprise known as Trump University. and has destroyed Atlantic City's economy with his closed casinos. And only The Donald says his business experience will make him the greatest president ever. Say what?
• Only The Donald is either an ignoramus or a pathological liar. In the first debate alone, fact checkers say he lied about the loan his father once gave him. He lied about his company’s bankruptcies. He lied about his federal financial-disclosure forms. He lied about his endorsements. He lied about “stop and frisk.” He lied about “birtherism.” He lied about New York. He lied about Michigan and Ohio. He lied about Palm Beach, Fla. He lied about Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve. He lied about the trade deficit. He lied about Hillary Clinton’s tax plan. He lied about her child-care plan. He lied about China devaluing its currency. He lied about Mexico having the world’s largest factories. He lied about the United States’ nuclear arsenal. He lied about NATO’s budget. He lied about NATO’s terrorism policy. To quote Hillary: "I know you live in your own reality"
• Only The Donald is the first GOP Presidential candidate in history to not be endorsed by the ultra-conservative Arizona Republic newspaper (started publishing in 1890) and the first GOP Presidential candidate not to be endorsed by the ultra-conservative Dallas Morning News since before the Second World War.
• Only The Donald hasn’t even let the American people scrutinize his tax returns, which could help the nation judge his claims of business acumen.

Both of these candidates are suspect and unpopular. But one of them will be elected. I would rather have the alleged crook THAT HAS NEVER BEEN CHARGED WITH ANY CRIME than this egotistical, narcissistic bigot whose main claim to fame has been as a reality show host. 

How can Trumpeters have so much hate for this woman who has withstood decades of scrutiny so intense it would wither most politicians. The vehemence of some of the anti-Clinton attacks strains credulity. Or are they still pissed off that a certain president beat impeachment for getting a blow job from a consenting adult intern?