What part of our current political mess do Republicans not understand? How can so many of them, particularly those in Washington, support and defend Donald Trump’s behavior? How can they continue to defend the idea that it’s okay to ask a foreign government to interfere in American elections? How can they continue to defend a president who would abruptly abandon allies in the Middle East and leave them to be slaughtered by an invading army?
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, one can only assume it’s something like the boiling frog effect. Republicans started off in comfy, tepid water and as the water gradually warmed to boiling, they didn’t notice and made no effort to escape.
Trump is just accelerating the process. Fire is faster.
It is clear to me that the current members of the Republican party in Congress care more about their own political careers than about the welfare of the nation and about adhering to the Constitution. They no longer care about fiscal responsibility, nor governmental stability in other countries, nor respecting cultural and religious diversity, nor even common morality in dealing with immigration (separating children) or with war (abandoning the Kurds.) They are not the same party as they were, they are something else, something adverse to the Declaration and the Constitution.
It’s obvious they are putting self and party above country. But in continuing to defend Trump’s actions, they are also destroying their party, the one you and I once knew. They are also legitimizing Trump’s ideas throughout our society and, given what’s been happening, I find that truly frightening. They and their president have emboldened the worst among us and have given credibility to attitudes and behaviors certain to destroy American society as we have known it.
I would like to be around to see this decline reversed, but I’m not optimistic.
This all does need to be ripped open and examined – in the open – no back room investigations without public access, recorded records, or video. No anonymous witnesses. The public must have full open access to it all – or no one will ever believe what either side says.
People also need to remember foreign governments always have and always do try to influence and interfere in this country’s decisions, elections, and politics. It was the subject of/parodied in movies, satires, cartoons, even Mad Magazine and everywhere for decades and decades. This interference attempt are not unique, unusual or new. The US is also guilty of trying to interfere in other countries’ daily lives and governments.
The difference now is that with the education level so low in the US, little knowledge of history or federal laws, and people running on emotion and adrenaline and virtue signaling rather than analytical skills, knowledge of vocabulary, and logic and reasoning, this is a huge nightmare – fueled by social media…which could even be more trolls or foreign agents spreading hysteria in an attempt to destroy the country and divide people…which brings it all back the beginning – a vicious circle.
These political parties are done – too consumed with themselves – the millionaire Congress members who are far removed from the average person and ordinary life. ..and who are only concerned with gaining and holding power – not the country and citizens at all.
Like you, not optimistic.
I suspect the identity of the anonymous witness will get out eventually. But I also fear for his or her safety if it does. Trump is an immoral, unethical thug and has inspired or encouraged violence in the past. This witness would become a prime target.
And yes, foreign governments have always tried to mess in our internal affairs. What’s different this time is an American president asking for that interference, even using coercion to gain cooperation. That’s completely unacceptable and un-American. Possibly even treasonous.
Like you, I despair because so many in this country form their opinions based on the excesses of the MSM and social media. And Zuckerberg has announced Facebook won’t remove political ads and lies. Sometimes I wonder if he’s the Russian asset we need to prosecute.
(Sorry for the slow reply. Big internet outage here last night from 5 pm into the wee hours.)
If it’s not one political above the law, it’;s another…Clintons. Like friends said in Little Rock upon Bill’s election” Good news is that the Clintons are leaving – bad news is that they are going to DC. No now dares say anything bad about those two – they have shady friends and people do disappear” HAHA (but they were so not kidding..and I will go no further with specifics as there is the real concern for those there.)
Presidents and world leaders nudge each other for advantages – and ALL of the politicians/Congress people will/and have do/done anything to dig up/pay for/invent dirt on opposition and used their position for their advantage….Like the Clinton’s and Biden for his family and son. (clearly on video)
Not admirable, but seems so routine as far as I can remember
What is good for the goose is good for all – so charge one, and charge them all…which is probably why nothing will come from any of this drama since ALL of them worry what people will find out about them. (We the “little people” the serfs mustn’t worry our little heads.)
The “witness” is not a whistle blower as he/she does not have/had direct-not-second-hand information and is not a primary source. So much anger had encouraged people to shade meanings and interpret things to benefit as they wish….and act, encouraged by others with agendas, in a way they normally wouldn’t.
It all needs to be out in the open for the public to see/hear and decide for themselves. Everyone has the right to face their accuser….this is so like antics. Where are the adults?
Once a nation that prided itself on smooth transition of power (and if you didn’t like the one that ran, people mumbled but recognized it was only a 4 year term before the next election) now careening with emotion and name calling like a Banana Republic. Disgusting – all of it.
Zuckerberg – he and other Big Tech Co should be mandated to publicly list all their workers who are here on Visas from India and other countries. You probably know how in they want to pay workers less, they hire foreign companies/employment brokers who supply workers – who supposedly have specialized skills that are not found in US workers – to the US companies ( and the broker gets a cut and the people they bring in work for lower wages than US citizens/workers will) It’s a scamming of employment laws and regulations. That is also unAmerican and bad for the country. When I hear of a company’s work force deciding they do not want to work for/perform their jobs because it benefits a group they dislike, all I can think is a bunch of you are not citizens and you are telling a US company how to do business and who they can do business with? You imported workers with no skin in the game decide what the US citizens can read and encounter on social media?
Wake up people. You may be on to something with who should be prosecuted for spreading lies and interference…yeah, it’s slippery slope, but lies are lies and hiding behind “freedom of speech” ?
(Always good to hear from you – been watching the snow and hoping you and your pup are snug and warm)
Zuck doesn’t even need to bring those workers to the US. With the internet, his workers can stay in India or wherever and work from there. Same with a lot of other companies.
I don’t know if “Anonymous” needs to be publicly identified or not. We didn’t learn who “Deep Throat” was until some years after Nixon was gone. But either way, I worry about that person’s safety, and their family’s as well. Trump is ruthless.
DC is indeed a cesspool and a swamp. Even if we elect good men and women, they quickly learn they have to go along to get along in Washington. And once they start compromising their values, it’s all over.
(The cold and snow in late October got a bit tiresome, but since I don’t have to get out for a job or anything, it’s no big deal. 60 and gorgeous today, but snow still lingers in shaded places and where piled up by plows.) Mild and sunny the rest of the week.)
There are far too many H-1B, L-1, E-2 and B1 visa workers in Silicon Valley – and they are affecting company policies as well as local/state community policies…city/state services. Those people work for less than US citizens. All about the profits – not what is good for citizens, workers, or the country. The total numbers and % of visa workers should be public. Although maybe few would notice or understand the problems this creates.
Yep you’re right about DC…and they all quickly become ruthless as well as millionaires – not to mention aloof from the ones that put them there. I don’t trust any of them which is why all meetings need to be public access and video taped. Too many transcripts are altered or incomplete. Need the whole for context.
(People keep talking about Nixon – he resigned, not impeached. Clinton impeached, but remained in office.)
We’re rollercoaster weather: 80’s then 50’s for highs…lots of clouds and rain as bookends. )
Wow, you obviously know a lot more about visas than I do (I know next to nothing.) If all those workers are here legally, I have a difficult time objecting. A big part of me is a capitalist, thinking as long as they are within the law, businesses have a right to make their profits. Plus they owe it to their shareholders. On the other hand, I realize that by hiring foreign workers, they are taking those jobs away from Americans. So it’s a bit of a conundrum for me.
Yes, I know Nixon wasn’t impeached. He resigned rather than face that. (Still, the Deep Throat analogy applies.) I understand about Clinton, too. Too many Americans don’t understand that impeachment is only an indictment, a list of charges/accusations, and not until the Senate votes to convict will a president be removed from office. Once again, I’m bemoaning the poor educations of millions of Americans.
Research in some fields also have a great number of international partners and workers. There are abuses with the visa system which needs to be updated ( as so many things do…)
One specific example I personally saw: a man with a PhD comes over with a job, his wife comes along with a tourist visa which has a time limit. She returns home to see family briefly, but when she goes to the US Embassy to get another tourist visa, she is denied (partly because she is obviously pregnant and for other reasons). Upset the husband goes to the head of research group who is persuaded to write letter stating that she is absolutely necessary for a project and has research skills no one in the US has. We got stuck with her. She worked for peanuts ( and cost one US citizen her spot/job), she studied English in school and did well, but the language has many nuances and meanings tricky – which she did not get and got angry if someone suggested a better word choice or phrase – in research word choices are critical – especially in gov. grant projects. She was suppose to conduct phone interviews to collect data, but admitted she could not follow the conversations (only read the questions) so she would tape the phone conversations and later try to figure out what was said to complete her work. And to top it off, she spent the majority of her time doing online college works trying to complete her master’s degree from her country’s university. Great. When that grant funding ended, she was sliced to another – while qualified workers were laid off. (Still working a cheap wages) And on top of that she had 2 kids here – now US citizens ( “That was their plan”, she said, “to have kids here to take advantage of what the US offered kids and the college tuition breaks”) Despite all that, she still was quite snooty about how much better her country was and how much she disliked this one. When asked why she just didn’t go home, she blinked and said “There are no jobs there.”
So you see, I’m a bit miffed about the foreign workers and companies who employ them.
Ditto on your last paragraph!!!
Obviously not everyone appreciates the privilege of being here. They just want to milk it for all it’s worth. You touched on another issue that I’m apparently on the wrong side of: birthright citizenship. I think at least one of the parents should be a citizen before a child born here gets automatic citizenship. But at the rate we’re going, it won’t be long before nobody wants a US citizenship!
I agree with the granting of citizenship.
(FYI We knew we were in trouble when the big boss told us “Here’s X. She’s the wife of a researcher in one of our partner groups and going to work here for free a few months just to learn English – find her something to do.” (Can’t legally have a job as a tourist). Interesting enough when she returned as a “strategic job visa”, a few months later she was stunned and angry she wouldn’t get 1-2 years paid maternity leave “as mothers would in her own country” Yeah. Completely happy she I was able to transfer to another research group.) This visa thing is rampant in tech, research, and with hospital corporations who will pay peanuts – of course no US doc/skilled nurse would accept the job at that salary and the abusive 24/7 mandated hours. No life, and no way to possibly pay off student loans/med school loans…after making the same as fast food counter help the firs 1-3 years of residency. Greed is going to be the downfall of so many things….well, then all those so eager to come here for the benefits will leave…will be a long process rebuilding though.
As with those who come in across the border illegally, the employers who knowingly hire them should be prosecuted.
For Trump to justify investigating the progeny of any elected official who benefited from their association with the elected parent is laughable. Except that it’s not funny.
You won’t find me laughing. His family is the worst example ever of this kind of nepotism.